Naturally Adventurous

Ken talks with Douglas McMeekin, the founder of Yachana Foundation. Douglas has had a remarkable life, much of it spent in the Amazon, where he founded the Yachana Foundation, which uses for-profit ventures to fund its non-profit work in conservation and among local communities. Want to hear what it was like to travel in the Amazon in the 1960s?! Listen in! Piratic Flycatcher recordings courtesy o...

Charley tells Ken about his latest 2 new bird families. Malaysian Rail-Babbler recording courtesy of Ding Li Yong, XC987719. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/987719. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: https:/...

Charley and Ken talk about the state of the podcast, after delivering weekly episodes for over five years (!). They chat about the results of the survey from earlier in the year, and wrap up 2025. Ken's photo gallery of 140/150 of the world's bird families: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kbehrens/albums/72177720330473375 Pallid Scops-Owl recording courtesy of Sven Normant, XC982497. Accessible at h...

Ken tells Charley about the top 6 experiences of his recent trip to the Arabian Peninsula country of Oman. CORRECTION / CLARIFICATION: Regarding Silverbills, the country of Saudi Arabia also has both Indian and African Silverbills, and of course much of East Africa has two species, though the Gray-headed Silverbill is in a different genus, and is quite unlike the African / Indian. Please check out...

Charley talks with one of India's top birders, Harish Thangaraj, about some amazing rediscoveries he has made this year Jerdon's Courser recordings courtesy of P Jeganathan, XC294415. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/294415, and Harish Thangaraj, XC1038584. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1038584. License for both: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Please check out the web...

Charley tells Ken about his recent trip to the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Golden Masked-Owl recording courtesy of Charley Hesse. Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: https://patreon.com/naturallyadventurous?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&a...

Ken chats with Charlie Harcourt about the country of Myanmar; it's biological and cultural riches, as well as its troubled history (and present). Charlie's organization for higher education access: https://www.myanmar-foundation.org Support for democracy and public assistance in Myanmar: https://www.mutualaidmyanmar.org Bird tours: https://www.myanmarbirding.com White-browed Nuthatch recording cou...

Ken tells Charley about the second half of his recent trip around northern Ecuador. It started with a wisdom tooth removal, but was all uphill from there! Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/naturallyadventurous?fan_landing=true⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In...

Charley chats with Colin Conroy about birding in Lebanon. Syrian Serin recording courtesy of Barry Edmonston, XC721507. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/721507. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0. Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: https://p...

Charley and Ken chat about Indonesia, sitting in the Garuda lounge of Jakarta international airport, surrounded by clinking dishes and screaming kids (sorry about the abient noise). Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo recording courtesy of Daan Drukker, XC964067. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/964067. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Please check out the website of our sponso...

Ken chats with Ryan and Derek Sallmann about their top 5 North American birding destinations, how to start international travel, and more. These guys run the Badgerland Birding YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPOxZjoHULhsO95SRN4ScPg) and Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-badgerland-birding-podcast/id1722771407). Theme music and outtro by John Behrens https://nash...

Ken tells Charley about the first half of his recent trip around northern Ecuador. It was a sort of avian bioblitz around this incredibly diverse Tropical country! Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/naturallyadventurous?fan_landing=true⁠⁠⁠...

Ken and Charley chat about what has happened in Madagascar in recent months: protests, the flight of the president, and the installation of a transitional regime. Is this a classic African coup? Is it dangerous to visit right now? Is this a good or bad thing for the country? All these questions are addressed.

Ken chats with Mollee Brown about birding in Cuba. Covering this country is long overdue on the podcast! Check out Mollee's website, with information about her consulting services and tours that she guides: https://nighthawkagency.com/ Cuban Solitaire recording courtesy of GABRIEL LEITE, XC975391. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/975391. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-S...

Charley chats with Jackson Hagley about birding in Georgia (the country, not the state) Caucasian Snowcock recording courtesy of Ding Li Yong, XC678207. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/678207. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Intro by Jenna Pinchbeck https://www.jennapinchbeck.com/ Jennapinchbeck@gmail.comPlease check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding:...

Charley & Ken chat about why they take photos, how they sort, manage, and backup these photos, and what they do with them. It's a big part of the life most travelling naturalists these days! Black Eagle recording courtesy of LIN Wen-Horn, XC539063. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/539063. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Intro by Jenna Pinchbeck https:/...

Charley tells Ken about his recent trip to Micronesia. Palau Nightjar recording courtesy of Todd Mark, XC113913. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/113913. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://...

Charley chats with Marshall Iliff about Ebird, Merlin and Avilist. Check out Marshall's bio: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/staff/marshall-iliff/ ....and his ebird profile: https://ebird.org/profile/MzQ2MDM/world Learn more about Avilist: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/avilist-unified-global-checklist/ Hooded Warbler recording courtesy of Joseph Morlan, XC558114. Accessible at www.xeno-can...

Ken tells Charley about his (somewhat) recent trip around the Dominican Republic. Run-in with the police, long drives, little sleep, rental car company extortion, and yet a great time! Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo recording courtesy of Hans Matheve, XC963056. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/963056. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Please check out the website of ou...

Charley & Ken chat about some of the strange items they travel with. Sooty-headed Bulbul recording courtesy of Greg Irving, XC823878. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/823878. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Intro by Jenna Pinchbeck https://www.jennapinchbeck.com/ Jennapinchbeck@gmail.com Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tro...

Charley & Ken chat about the final sector of the long western US road trip that Ken recently embarked upon. What was the biggest surprise, the biggest disappointment, the high point, and the low point?! Sprague's Pipit recording courtesy of Andrew Spencer, XC13750. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/13750. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Please check out t...

Charley tells Ken about his recent Spring trip around several Japanese islands in search of endemic birds, mammals and herps. Amami Thrush recording courtesy of Peter Boesman, XC286175. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/286175. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to...

Charley & Ken chat about the Pacific sector of the long western US road trip that Ken recently embarked upon. What was the biggest surprise, the biggest disappointment, the high point, and the low point?! White-crowned Sparrow recording courtesy of Ed Pandolfino, XC445849. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/445849. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Please chec...

Charley gives Ken his top 5 fish from his recent trip to Sicily. Eastern Subalpine Warbler recording courtesy of Nicolò Grasso, XC986799. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/986799. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Please check out the website of our sponsor Tropical Birding: https://www.tropicalbirding.com/ If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreo...

Charley & Ken chat about the next sector of the long western US road trip that Ken recently embarked upon. What was the biggest surprise, the biggest disappointment, the high point, and the low point?! Canyon Towhee recording courtesy of Scott Olmstead, XC878011. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/878011. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Please check out the...