A BIRDING SAFARI IN EAST AFRICA

WITH SKIP HORNER

Babblers & Chatterers, Broadbills, Waxbills, Shoebills, Scimitarbills, Oxpeckers & Bee-eaters, Flufftails, Finfoots, Loveleafs

By Kay Fulton

You mean SKIP HORNER, the well-knownmountain guide, who has guided people to the highest peaks on each of the 7 continents, spent 30+ seasons guiding in the Himalayas, guided in Antarctica and the Arctic, and many, many more obscure ranges???

Yes, in fact, Skip has been coming down from guiding people up Mount Kilimanjaro and then continued to guide his clients on Safaris!! He actually has guided many dozens of safaris in East Africa since 1981. 

Skip confessesthat his “thrill with large mammals remains, of course. They’re the icons of the continent. But he prefers to search for the quieter, smaller creatures. While others are peering north at a lion on a kill, Skip is looking south at an overworked male weaverbird building its fourth nest for his still-unsatisfied wife. While others squint into the sun to see that far-off rhino, Skip is whistling back to the honeyguide on a branch overhead that invites us with musical down-slurs to follow him to a hidden beehive for a shared feast of rich wild honey.  Skip’s threadbare bird book has check-marks on every page.” 

Skip began birding as a young boy and has spent a lifetime honing his skills. Although many of his adventures take him into environments not very conducive for birds, he has looked for them in as many areas as possible and has found that “EastAfrica is the best place in the world to see the most and loveliest bird species the quickest and the easiest. You never realize that the rainbow holds so many color variations until you glance at an East African bird guide. It is home to over 1300 species of birds, with some of the rarest birds anywhere, some still unidentified.  From the rollicking flocks of millions of Red-billed Queleas, to the rare glimpse of a Shoebill, a giant stork-like bird, wading through the swamps at the headwaters of the Nile, birds are everywhere. Its wide-open plains, mixed Acacia forests, enormous lakesides, montane woodlands, and approachable rain forests make this a birder’s dream, the place to go to ramp up a life-list or just to experience the sheer glory of multifarious birdlife in unaltered bioscapes. Added to the mix are 100+ endemic species found only in their own little corner of the continent. All you need are your binoculars and your bird book, but a knowledgeable guide helps immensely.”

BITTERROOT AUDUBON INVITES YOU TO COME JOIN US MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18^TH, 7 P.M. FOR A “PHOTOGRAPHIC ROMP THROUGH THE BUSH WITH SKIP!” THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE NORTH VALLEY LIBRARY INSTEVENSVILLE, 208 MAIN STREET (NOTE THE UPDATED LOCATION) THE PUBLIC IS INVITED. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT KAY AT 360-8664.