S6E37: Ken in Western Panama

S6E37: Ken in Western Panama

Author: Ken Behrens & Charley Hesse April 12, 2026 Duration: 1:10:37

The final installment of our Panama series. Ken tells Charley about his western Panama adventure. How did Ken manage to miss all the brushfinches yet find all the quail-doves?! How was his climb up Panama's highest mountain?


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Intro by Jenna Pinchbeck https://www.jennapinchbeck.com/ Jennapinchbeck@gmail.com. Theme music by John Behrens https://nashvilleaudioproductions.com/Feel free to contact us at: ken.behrens@gmail.com &/or cfchesse@gmail.com


Pheasant Cuckoo recording courtesy of Scott Olmstead, XC1035981. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/1035981. License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0

Naturally Adventurous Podcast

Nature - Travel - Adventure - Birding


There’s a particular kind of curiosity that pulls you off the beaten path, toward the rustle in the undergrowth or the call from a distant canopy. Naturally Adventurous is built on that impulse, hosted by two guides who have followed it across continents. Ken Behrens and Charley Hesse aren’t just passing through; they’ve built lives in the remote corners where they’ve settled, from Madagascar to Thailand, Ecuador to South Africa. Their conversations are less like formal interviews and more like the stories swapped at the end of a long day in the field, rich with the details of a lifelong obsession with birds and natural history. Each episode pulls you into the texture of a place-the sounds, the surprises, the occasional misadventures-that comes from seeking out wild creatures in wild landscapes. You’ll hear about the logistics of navigating a swamp, the thrill of an unexpected sighting, and the quieter reflections on how these journeys shape a perspective. This podcast is for anyone who feels that pull toward the untracked, offering a deeply personal and authentic audio postcard from the world’s most fascinating ecosystems, all through the experienced ears of two people who have made a life out of looking.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Naturally Adventurous
Podcast Episodes
S6E12: Cuba with Mollee Brown [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:15
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://night…
S6E11: Georgia (the country, not the state) with Jackson Hagley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:52
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 A…
S6E10: Photo Management [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:38
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 courtes…
S6E9: Charley in Micronesia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:18
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 3.0Pl…
S6E8: Birding: Past, present and future, with Marshall Iliff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:18
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/worldLearn m…
S6E7: Ken in the Dominican Republic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:22
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…
S6E6: What's in your bag? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:39
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-NonCommer…
S6E5: Ken's Western US Roadtrip - Rockies and Great Plains [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:00
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 r…
S6E04: Japanese Islands with Charley & Ken [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:06
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/28…
S6E3: Ken's Western US Roadtrip - Pacific Coast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:51
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 S…