Hologram Birding Tours
Birding should be fun!
Hologram Birding Tours, named after a song by one of our favorite groups -
the Austin Lounge Lizards
- came into being a number of years ago when some friends from the old Compuserve
Birding Forum asked friend Jim and I to lead them around the Rio Grande Valley to
find some cool birds. After a few trips to Texas (Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club
of Dutchess County, New York in 2000) and Arizona, the tour business kind of fell
by the wayside until we were approached to help the Iowa Ornithologists' Union
trip committee. In August 2006, HBT was revived for a ten day trip to Southeast
Arizona where we served as volunteer leaders. In April 2007 we led another
IOU trip to South Texas. This was followed in October 2009 with an IOU trip
to central California including two pelagics from Monterey. Due to various
age-related ailments these days, HBT is no longer leading tours but we are happy
to help visiting birders plan an itinerary. See our
trip reports to get some ideas of
where we've gone and what we've done.
Jim Bangma is a life-long resident of the state of New Jersey. He has led
tours in North America for New Jersey Audubon and has traveled extensively worldwide
as both a tour participant and leader. His knowledge of birds and habitats allow
him to produce species almost magically. Jim not only possesses top-notch identification
skills but he has the ability to teach those skills to others with a non-stop sense
of humor.
Ann Johnson grew up birding the Midwest and is the Secretary of the Iowa
Rare Birds Records Committee. Her combined interests in travel and birding have
generated a wealth of knowledge of the birds of North America. She has been a tour
leader in both the United States and Mexico and has developed personalized itineraries
for foreign friends wanting to maximize their birding experiences in this country.