Rick Haltmaier

Rick is a bird photography enthusiast who has been birding up and down the eastern US from Maine to Florida since his retirement in 2021. 

A retired software architect with over 40 years of engineering expertise, Rick specialized in image and digital signal processing. He holds an undergraduate degree from MIT and a Masters from UCSD––both in electrical engineering. Throughout his career, he designed and developed communication systems such as modems and routers, as well as image processing for printers, copiers, and cameras. 

His love for both nature and imaging processing led him to bird photography. When Rick was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023, he found solace in the beauty and creatures of the forest and shoreline. He now considers the deep focus of birding to be a vital form of daily healing and meditation. 

Rick lives on the North Shore of Boston with his poet wife, Linda Flaherty Haltmaier and artist/author daughter Rory Haltmaier and is a member of several ornithological clubs and organizations that support wildlife conservation. He spends his time in the forests and on the beaches of Cape Ann searching for his next life bird or perfect action shot. 

He also enjoys volunteering at fix-it clinics and is an election official for the city of Beverly, MA.