Napa Solano Audubon Presents: An African Safari with Denise & David Hamilton 9-14-23

About the Presentation:
In September of 2017, David & Denise visited South Africa with Rockjumper Birding Tours, a SA-based eco-tour company. This was a two-and-a-half week tour covering the world-famous Kruger National Park, Sani Pass, Cape Town, and places in between. It was an adventure just getting to Africa, but once there the real adventure began! We birded from the ocean shores (Atlantic and Indian) up to 9,436 ft at the top of Sani Pass, and spent part of one day in the independent mountain-kingdom of Lesotho (Hamilton Lesotho life-list = 14 species). Both Denise and David sighted their 2,000 world birds during the trip on consecutive days (ladies first.) The trip ended with a visit to the Tankwa Karoo, a unique semi-desert natural region east of Cape Town, and a trip list of 439 birds and more than 60 other animal species. At the September meeting, the Hamiltons will share some of their stories and pictures from this amazing adventure!
Meet the Presenters:
David and Denise Hamilton are members of Napa-Solano Audubon and have been birders for the past 42 years. Both grew up in southern California; Denise enjoyed birds from the start, but David didn’t catch the bug until they got married in 1980 and moved to Minnesota. David finished school there, and Denise finally got to see her first Northern Cardinal. Then they saw an Indigo Bunting followed by a Baltimore Oriole, and were hooked! They spent the next five years on the northern prairies of Montana, living with birds that many still have on their “want-to-see list”; this really helped spark their passion. Since then, they’ve travelled around the USA, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Romania, Australia (twice), South Africa, and Ecuador. Their Napa backyard bird list for the past 22 years is at 142 species, including 6 species of hummingbirds, 10 species of warblers, Evening Grosbeaks, and some amazing sparrows such as Clay-colored and Black-throated (a new bird for Napa County in 2021.)