Book and Film Reviews - The Big Year

One of my favorite book/film combinations is called The Big Year.  The book by Mark Obmascik is the true story of three birders who were competing to win the North American Big Year, a contest to see who can see the most birds in North America in one calendar year.  There are fewer than 700 breeding birds in North America, and each of these birders saw over 700 species.

You have to either have deep pockets, or be willing to go into a lot of debt to complete this contest.  A birder might be in Minnesota looking for a pine grosbeak, and hear of a unique type of hummingbird in Florida.  They drive to the nearest airport, hop on a plane, and go to Florida, and hope that they find their bird.  That combined with other travel expenses means someone can spend tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars to win.

An interesting part of the book is the history of the Big Year.  In one part of the history, the author wrote about one person decades ago who managed to do a Big Year for about 1000 dollars.  He hitchhiked around North America and still managed to see over 600 birds.

You can do a Big Year in less expensive ways.  Some people limit themselves to the Continental United States, their home state, a single county, or their back yard.  I did a couple of Big Years, and only birded in places I was already going.  To see my second Big Year list, go to my blog article on John Silliman's Birding Blog.

I saw the film The Big Year before I read the book.  It is starring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black.  The strong supporting cast features the talents of Rashida Jones and Anjelica Huston.  As you can imagine with that cast, there is some good comedy thrown in.

The film is based loosely on the book, but definitely stands on its own two feet.  It really captures the obsessiveness of many of the serious birders.

Another way to learn about the determination of these birders is to do your own Big Year.  You can compete against yourself, or try to get some friends in on the action.  It is one of the best ways to learn about birding, and to get some great exercise (you often times have to walk a long way to see the birds).

I really enjoyed the film footage of the birds.  Especially interesting is the picture montage in the closing credits showing a picture of every bird seen by the winner.

Another highlight is Rashida Jones' bird call imitations.  She played one of the other birders (not competing for the Big Year) that often times showed up at birding events.  Rashida's character was also the love interest of Jack Black's character.

One of the top banjo players in the world today is Steve Martin.  He won a grammy for one of his albums, yet his music almost never appears in his films.  I was thrilled to hear his Pitkin County Turnaround in a scene in Texas where they are chasing a pink-footed goose (yes that's a real bird).

The book and film have been inspirations for many birders.  Every year, birders compete for the North American Big Year.  People are even starting to expand into a World-wide Big Year.  These works have inspired a huge amount of people to conserve birds, get outside, exercise, and go find some birds.  In an increasingly sedentary and indoor-oriented society, that contribution has been incredibly important.

I highly recommend both The Big Year book, and The Big Year film.  If you are already an avid birder, read the book first and then see the movie.  On the other hand, if you are not yet an experienced birder, I would see the film first.