Naturally Adventurous

Ken and Charley chat about Ken's just-completed adventurous family trip to northeast Madagascar, land of rainforest, vanilla, and some amazing wildlife. Charley talks about the picturesque Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai. The episode wraps up with an interview with Franco, a local guide from Marojejy National Park.  Don't miss the mega episode photo gallery: https://www.ken-behrens.c...

Charley and Ken catch up on what has been happening in the last week, including life birds for Charley's son Felix, Ken's son Rianala's first visit to the rainforest, and Ken's pilgrimage to see an ancient plant, one of the world's rarest. This episode also includes a new kind of feature, a short interview with Ken's friend and northern Madagascar guide and naturalist Angeluc Razafy.  Episode...

Following the popularity of their Top 10 Birds episodes, Charley & Ken embark on stories of mammal adventures. Charley tells of getting chased up a tree by peccaries in Costa Rica, going in search of giant flying-squirrels in the mountains of Taiwan, and the armour-clad Indian Rhino in the base of the Himalayas.   Don't forget to check out our photo gallery from the episode at: https://ww...

Phil is an international traveller, birder, guide, and all-around interesting dude. He has an endless array of great stories from field jobs and  backpacking trips all around the world.  Episode Photo Gallery: https://www.ken-behrens.com/podcast-episode-11 Willow Ptarmigan (Red Grouse) recording from Simon Elliott, on Xeno-Canto. If you wish to support this podcast, please check out our...

Ken tells Charley about his life in Madagascar, a place that Charley also knows well. They talk about the wonders of Madagascar as a "laboratory of evolution", a land where lemurs ranging from the tiny mouse-lemurs to 500-pound "gorilla lemurs" all evolved from the same ancestor. They also chat about the human cultures and what it's like to travel through the "8th Continent".  Episode photo g...

Ken interviews Charley about living in Thailand. Hear about the world's biggest water fight, the difference between glai and glai, and some unforgettable encounters with Asian Elephants and Coral-billed Ground Cuckoos. Episode photo gallery: https://www.ken-behrens.com/podcast-episode-9 If you wish to support this podcast, please check out our patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/naturallyadve...

Charley & Ken welcome their first guest: Keith Barnes. Keith is a South African world traveller and birder who is one of the owners of Tropical Birding. He has an insane arsenal of adventure stories. In this episode, he tells two, involving a hippo (Amadeus), and a leopard (no name). We also chat about the effects of covid on ecotourism, and the way forwards to resuming global travel.  Ep...

Find out Ken's top 3 lifetime birding experiences, including an unforgettable day on the Atlantic seaboard, and a breathless sprint up a mountainside in Spain.  To review, here is Ken's whole top 10 to this point: 4) Great Gray Owl - Minnesota, USA; 5) Rail-Babbler - Peninsular Malaysia; 6) Southern Cassowary - West Papua; 7) Red-tailed Newtonia - Madagascar; 8) Sharpbill - Bolivia; 9) Scaly...

Charley's top 3 includes two of the most critically endangered birds on Earth. Hear about the agony of missing them 20 years ago, and the ecstasy of finally sighting them nearly 20 years later.  Episode photo gallery: https://www.ken-behrens.com/podcast-episode-6 To review, here is Charley's Top 10:  1) Helmeted Hornbill, Malaysia   2) Okinawa Rail, Japan  3) Philippine Ea...

Ken & Charley discuss their parallel experiences in moving sight-unseen to a continent that they had barely experienced before. Africa has more big mammals that can easily kill you than any other place on Earth, which adds a certain spice to birding on foot!  Advisory: Be warned that this podcast contains a detailed description of a lion kill. Episode photo gallery: https://www.ken-behren...

Ken Behrens tells Charley Hesse about a bloody but exhilarating quest for Rail-Babbler, and an unforgettable "Harry Potter meets Hitchcock" spectacle in the North Woods of Minnesota. Episode photo gallery: https://www.ken-behrens.com/podcast-episode-4 If you wish to support this podcast, please check out our patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/naturallyadventurous?fan_landing=true Birding Nat...

Charley tells Ken about achieving his lifetime goal of seeing wild Crested Ibises in Japan, and they share epic adventures of searching for the "Unicorn Bird". If you wish to support this podcast, please check out our patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/naturallyadventurous?fan_landing=true Birding Nature Travel Adventure

Ken Behrens tells Charley Hesse some of his most memorable birding experiences. Hear how he ended up with amoebic dysentery searching for the elusive Sharpbill in Bolivia, travelled the worst road of his life only to get eaten alive by leeches in Madagascar, and came face to face with the "killer" Southern Cassowary in West Papua. He sure is ..... NATURALLY ADVENTUROUS. Episode photo gallery: http...

Charley talks about 5 of his top 10 lifetime bird sightings. Most of these are great adventure stories, in which the chase is more important than the thing being chased. Camping at 13,000 feet in a budget sleeping bag, with only a candle for warmth... all to see a little brown bird... definitely!  In places, the audio is rough in this pilot episode. It will be greatly improved in future episodes. ...