A bird in the hand may be worth two in the bush to a hunter, but to a competitive birdwatcher (a "birder"), a bird in the hand is as worthy a prize as the chirp of a bird on a tree branch a quarter mile away.
That's because the mere sound of a bird, correctly identified, could tally a point of one on a "year list" - a year long count of bird species, a game played as disciplined as a round of golf, by birdwatchers who have advanced their hobby-sport to a competitive level.
It is the subject of the new movie, The Big Year, starring comedy kingpins Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson, and if we are to half-believe the tongue in cheek written opening of the film - "This is a true story, only the facts have been changed", - those privileged or passionate enough to spend an entire year documenting bird species do it for the love of the birds, the thrill of the hunt and the bragging rights to being hailed Birder of The Year by Birder Magazine. Plus all that comes with that, which apparently doesn't amount to a sack of birdseed.
Hopping on a jet to Alaska or climbing a snowy mountain peak at the mere rumor of a rare species is commonplace to these obsessed adventurers, yet with all the potential for a wild and crazy chase across the continent while birdwatching, ( Can't you just picture Frank Black at the weak end of a tree branch with a camera?), The Big Year scores its points on its gentle nature, its casual approach, even as you feel the hard scribe of a screenwriter avoiding heavy ventures into screwball and sentiment.
So we get a swath of human detail: marital strife, financial strife, meaning of life strife, as groundwork for three guys racing around the country with the passion of a Herculean task and the duty of an office stenographer. After about the 200th recorded bird species, you begin to care for these slightly cliched characters, (one's rich; one's poor; one is king of the birders), and envy the freedom and single mindedness they possess on their seemingly insignificant mission. Following a quaint wintry trail in pursuit of a snowy owl with a sparkling limitless credit card in your pocket, becomes a fitting movie ideology.
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Article comments
1 - Nancy
Isn't it Jack Black?
2 - Guy De Federicis
Duh! I can't believe I made such a glaring mistake in this review! Frank Black is an indie rock artist, (Frank Black and The Catholics), whose music I have recently listened to. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Hopefully the editor will correct it.
3 - Darrel
Aside from the funny actors, I like the movie because of the story about bird watching. That is one of my hobbies. Ang I was surprised that they used Kowa BD series binoculars which I've been also using. The BD performed exceptionally well
as he checked off over 740 species including his sought after Great Gray Owl and Pink-footed Goose. Great choice!