Bromance or Birdwatching? What “The Big Year” is All About

It stars Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin. The previews show pratfalls, manly action and women rolling their eyes at the pratfalls and manly action. It’s competitive, it’s mid-life crisis and it’s masculine ambition, spiced with car crashes, one-liners and a touch of romance. So what is “The Big Year” about?

Birdwatching, of course – though you’d have to know that to see it in the marketing for the film. Check out this preview link and see for yourself.

Among American birders, a “big year” is a year-long tally of bird species in the 49 continental states, Canada and adjacent waters. It can easily number in the hundreds – the still-standing record set by Sandy Komito of 745 birds in 1998 is doubly remarkable, in that there are only 675 native species in North America (El Niño was the likely cause of the high number of rarities).

The movie, set for release Oct. 14, is  based the book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, written by Mark Obmascik and first published in 2004. It reports on the 1998 race between Komito and two other birders, and while the book does have humor and an inevitable amount of competition, it’s safe to say the movie plays to a movie-going demographic, not a birdwatching one.

Another (highly recommended) book on the same topic is Kenn Kaufman’s Kingbird Highway, which documented Kaufman’s own pursuit of the Big Year title for U.S. birdwatchers. In 1973, when he was only 19, Kaufman brought to birdwatching the sort of adolescent enthusiasm a 19-year old could muster, and tabulated 671 species on a journey he largely traveled by hitch-hiking.

These days, several U.S. communities that loom large in the birder’s itinerary have become reliant on birdwatching as a revenue source: the Rio Grande Valley area around McAllen, Texas, says “nature tourism” brings in $300 million each year (a number that does not include Spring Break partiers at South Padre Island).

Closer to home, Marin County, October is prime season for spotting migrating raptors (hawks, falcons, vultures and eagles) from the aptly-named Hawk Hill, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands. Morning is always best time for birding, but newcomers can visit anytime for this scenic and informative introduction to the avian adventure.

Here in Sonoma County, a good source for local birding spots is at this link online. Local birdwatching groups include the county-wide The Madrone Audubon Society, Petaluma's Redwood Region Ornithological Society (RROS), and Sonoma Birding in the town of Sonoma.

The last seems particularly active, and founder Tom Rusert was presented with the prestigious Ludlow Griscom Award from the American Birding Association last week. His big ornithological accomplishment was opening the annual ABA Christmas Bird Count up to children, with the Christmas Bird Count for Kids he founded five years ago.

Like many, I once thought birdwatching was the sport of the retired, elderly or the socially inept. But on a whitewater rafting trip to Mexico in 1978 I found out otherwise – several of the most avid birders were of my own age – and I was myself seduced by the fine art of species-spotting. I’ve since made several trips (like this one to Panama) specifically designed around birding, which is as adventurous a sport as our fragile earth might still be able to support.

With its attention to detail, focus on nature, and immersion in the sights, sounds and smells of the natural world, the only corresponding sport I can think of is hunting – and birdwatching bears a lot of similarities, too, with its heightened sensibilities, stealth and cunning. Only difference is, you don’t kill the prey, you identify it.

Personally, I’d rather be known as an advocate of the right to bear binoculars over the right to bear arms.

So when "The Big Year" shows up in the theaters next week, I’ll not be seeing it for the pratfalls or exotic locations or even Jack Black. I’m going for the birds.