To tempt you to join the Global Big Day, the worldwide party on 13 May for all those who are crazy about birds, we invited Jeanisse Hawa to our podcast. She talks about her passion for birdwatching and what it’s like to be a female tour guide in Rwanda. If you’ve found it a bit daunting to take flight into the world of birding, this episode will show you how approachable and exciting it can be.
HOST
Miha “Rwebandira” Logar is an adventure/cultural tourism expert, podcaster and lecturer. A Gorilla Highlands co-founder, he is an Ugandan/Slovenian national who resides in Musanze (Rwanda). Miha’s articles: https://experts.gorillahighlands.com/daily-dose/author/admin/
BRIEF YET SPECIAL VOICES IN THE EPISODE
Jon Lee, the Voice of Santa Barbara: https://experts.gorillahighlands.com/daily-dose/author/jon/
Omugurusi Festo Karwemera, our Patron Saint: https://gorillahighlands.com/karwemera/
ADDITIONAL READING
Global Big Day main page; https://ebird.org/globalbigday
Handsome spurfowl; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handsome_spurfowl
Kungwe apalis; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kungwe_apalis
Rwenzori turaco; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwenzori_turaco
Tropical boubou; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_boubou
Yellow-breasted apalis; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-breasted_apalis
🎤 voice by:
Jeanisse Hawa Mutuyimana is a tour guide driven by a love of nature interpretation, birds, reading and gender equality. Her secret hobby is sweating in the gym, and her current home base is Kigali, Rwanda. Click for her background story shared on the podcast. [bio updated: 2026-05]
Jon “Oruhindu” Lee is the legendary narrator of Gorilla Highlands Experts videos and the former grammar guru of the organisations blogs. His English teacher and TV commentator careers prepared him for this role well, but he is also a tomato grower, volleyball coach and writer. When he isn’t visiting our region, he lives in Santa Barbara, California. [bio updated: 2026-03]
📸 photography and 🎤 voice by:
ML Rwebandira — formerly known as Miha Logar — is an adventure and cultural tourism expert, writer and multimedia producer who co-founded Gorilla Highlands Experts. His most recent publication is the Pocket Treasure. A national of both Uganda and Slovenia, ML resides with his son Lan in Musanze, Rwanda. Click for his personality-infused quarterly newsletters. [bio updated: 2026-05]