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By Andrew Gottlieb, October 29, 2011 5:54 pm

The Big Year: based on a book by Mark Obmascik

Directed by David Frankel. Fox 2000 Pictures.

Reviewed by Tom Leskiw

Ever since it was revealed that a movie was being made of Obmascik’s 2004 book, “The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession,” the birding community has eagerly—tempered by some trepidation—awaited the results. Full disclosure: as an avid birder since 1987, I count myself a member of this community. I don’t invoke the term “trepidation” lightly, for within this diverse group, there remain two constants: first, a shared mania for getting the science right, such as the distinction between a species’ songs and calls; second, and most importantly, the wish to avoid a replay of past movies and TV shows that have given inaccurate, cartoonish portrayals of individuals for whom “buffoonish” is one of the kinder descriptors.

For instance, in the 1962 movie “Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation,” Jimmy Stewart meets a “half-bubble-off-center” birdwatcher whose long days in the field yield several out-of-habitat birds plus a potpourri of inaccurate soundtrack calls and songs for birds that have no business being in a marsh. And don’t get me started on the annoying Miss Hathaway from “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show, a caricature that likely remains encoded on viewers’ memory banks to this day.  

Thus, I am pleased to report that I found “The Big Year” an entertaining, enjoyable ride—one with sympathetic, 3-dimensional characters who sweep you up in their quest to see the most bird species within North America (excluding Mexico) during a calendar year.

Nearly every movie takes some literary license with its source material, and “The Big Year” is no exception. But here’s the kicker: many of the changes resulted in a more-compelling narrative, better focusing the challenges, risks, and adverse impacts to one’s family life experienced by obsessed individuals who embark on a marathon, year-long avian treasure hunt. Director Frankel had the foresight to employ Obmascik—a birder himself—as one the screenwriters, key to keeping the script true to the spirit of the book.

The movie centers around the exploits of three men engaged in a Big Year. As 1998 dawns, Sandy Komito holds the record for most number of bird species seen: 721 during 1987. Perhaps the most-notable departure from the book is that Komito, who is again doing a Big Year in 1998, has morphed into a completely different—and much younger—character named Kenny Bostick, played by Owen Wilson. Kenny is a 30-something whose current wife has been taking hormone injections in an effort to get pregnant. His character re-write ratchets up the competitive craziness that permeates a Big Year: would a real birder choose chasing his nemesis bird, a Snowy Owl, over inseminating his wife during her monthly fertile period? The answer is yes.

Bostick’s rivals are Stu Preissler (Steve Martin) and Brad Harris (Jack Black). These two characters are closer to their real-life counterparts, Al Levantin and Greg Miller. Although the movie somewhat glosses over this detail, Harris is the only one of the triad trying to juggle a full-time job during his North American globe-trotting. In the book, Black’s character’s father is also an avid birder, who shares his son’s ability to identify birds by hearing them. Whereas, in the movie, Black’s father, played by Brian Dennehy, can’t understand the buzz that Jack gets from birding. In one of the movie’s most- touching scenes, Black shares photos of the birds he’s seen with his father, who’s in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. As Black relays a bit of the biology of each species and the rigors of migration—such as the American Golden-Plover’s flight from its Arctic breeding grounds to South America—Dennehy’s face lights up and you see his transformation. We can now count him among the initiated—he understands his son’s obsession.

Again, a re-write has strengthened the narrative arc. Namely, if you are among the minority whose parents had a fascination for birds, congratulations. However, most of us, at one time or another, have struggled to communicate to a spouse or significant other, family or friends, why this communion with the winged ones is so important to us.

The script does an excellent job of translating the lure of birds and birding into a language that the uninitiated can understand. The urge to push beyond fatigue, to discover what lies beyond, and to greet life’s mysteries head-on are embodied in Wilson’s response to his wife about why he wants to do another Big Year: “Hey, Lance Armstrong, what’s the big deal? Or, hey, Columbus, what’s the big deal with that whole New World thing?”

Ultimately, the part of birds’ lives that we find most compelling is their stories: how they raise their young, how they find food during the long winter months. Black’s voice-over about the life history of Sooty Shearwaters is a masterful bit of movie-making. It illuminates for non-birders why seeing a bird is so much more than that. In the case of the shearwater—which breeds on offshore islands in the south Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and spends more than half the year flying over open ocean—to see one is to be enveloped in the passage of the seasons and the spectacle of long-distance, multi-hemisphere migration.  

The trailer for the movie didn’t bode well for the finished product. A migratory Swainson’s Hawk that spends the winter in Argentina…at a snowy Colorado ski resort? And, given the cumulative comedic talents of the three main characters, scenes from the trailer suggested that the hilarity volume would be “cranked up to 11” for the film’s 89 minutes. In reality, Martin, Wilson, and Black, along with a fine supporting cast, give nuanced, thoughtful performances. Which is not to say that comedic scenes are scarce. Martin’s “two wild and crazy guys” swagger from Saturday Night Live makes a brief appearance (although the homage is unlikely to be grasped by anyone under 50).

However, the trailer found its mark by stressing the buddy picture aspect, in order to market a film about competitive birding to a broader audience. Martin and Black team up to try to defeat the current champ, stressing the cooperative aspect of an assault on a Big Year record. A quibble: the holder of the Big Year record often was referred to as “the World’s Best Birder.” As the movie and book make clear, accruing a sizeable bird list is at least partly a function of having a large bank account and an open schedule. Although a Big Year quest is both grueling and entertaining, in reality, many of the world’s best birders work as scientists or as bird guides intent on finding avian riches for their clients.

The film also explores what life is like for spouses left behind. Martin’s wife, played by JoBeth Williams, is a font of support, encouraging him not to defer his dream for another year, instead exhorting him to “Carpe annum” (seize the year). Black’s character, recently divorced, is drawn to fellow birder Ellie, played by Rashida Jones, in a fine performance. Things grow complicated when he learns about her boyfriend, but, in matters of romance, just as in a Big Year quest, hope springs eternal.

The bittersweet nature of a year-long rollercoaster ride is well-portrayed, such as when Wilson’s character, now separated from his wife, eats Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Urging the employees to come keep him company in the otherwise-deserted eatery, he mentions that perhaps he’ll next head for China. “What do you know about Chinese birds?” he asks. Uncomprehending his focus, one of them stammers, “Peking Duck?”  

When the screenplay deviates from Obmascik’s excellent book, I sometimes was prompted to repeat the mantra “This is not a documentary…” In what appears to be Joshua Tree National Park, Black hears and then photographs a Western Tanager. Although I’m not sure what bird call it was, it certainly wasn’t a Western Tanager. One puzzling re-write is how one of the first records for North America of a Great Spotted Woodpecker on Attu, the western-most island in the Aleutian chain, morphed into a bird seen thousands of miles away on the Oregon coast. The bird is compensation for a dazed Wilson after he falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into a tree with his rental car. If a car wreck was all it took to find a near-first record for the continent of a particular species, no vehicle in the vast rental car fleet would be safe!   

Speaking of Attu, the movie’s portrayal of a birder husband and his non-birding wife honeymooning there amid the lack of privacy, leaky Quonset hut, and rats was hysterical. Perhaps there were honeymooners on the island during the time that the real characters were there in 1998, but it was not mentioned in the book. If not, writer/birder Pete Dunne may deserve “an assist” for his fine essay, “Made in Heaven” that covered the same situation.  

Concerns about the considerable carbon footprint of a full-on Big Year effort have spawned a series of similar projects. In summer 2007, Wendy and Malkolm Boothroyd and their teenage son Ken Madsen attempted a Big Year without the use of fossil fuels. They bicycled 13,000 miles, tallying 548 species and raised more than $25,000 for bird conservation. This year, I’ve assisted three friends in their efforts to surpass the Big Year record in our home county. The winner is projected to finish with nearly 340 species, a testament to the avian diversity of Humboldt County, California.   

Within the birding community, much anticipation of the film centered around seeing our comrades portrayed on the big screen, such as character Annie Auklet, who we know as Debi Shearwater.  But even if the players, places, and Big Year strategy are unknown to you, those making the film have succeeded in creating a lively, entertaining chronicle of a year in the life of three intrepid individuals.     

~~~

Tom Leskiw retired in 2009 following a 31-year career as a hydrologic/biologic technician for Six Rivers National Forest. His essays and book reviews have appeared in a variety of journals and are forthcoming in Riverwind, Silent Spring at 50, and Snowy Egret. His monthly column appears at www.RRAS.org and his website resides at www.TomLeskiw.com.

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By Simmons Buntin, April 25, 2011 12:49 pm

Least Tern. Photo by Tom Grey.

(Washington, D.C., April 22, 2011) One year after the start of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) announced it will launch a five-state, Gulf Coast conservation effort that will identify and implement protective measures for vulnerable beach-nesting birds such as Least Terns, Black Skimmers, Sandwich Terns, and Royal Terns.

The project will bring expertise not only from ABC, but from partners throughout the Gulf region, including the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program; National Audubon, the Pascagoula River Audubon Center (and their Audubon Junior Naturalist and “Chick Shelter” programs), and the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society; and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. The project, which is funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will focus on beach-nesting bird habitat in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

“This project will reduce impacts on key beach-nesting bird colonies, many of which are currently vulnerable to accidental disturbance by members of the public, dogs, and ATVs which can cause adult birds to abandon a nest or lead to crushed eggs and injured chicks,” said Mike Parr, Vice President of ABC and one of the leaders of the project. “Nesting birds occupy a tiny portion of the region’s beaches, usually well back from the shoreline, so there won’t be a conflict with beach goers, but the areas they do use are absolutely vital to their breeding success” he added.

“All of us love the beaches of the Gulf – they are economically vital to our coastal communities – thus our project goal is not to restrict public access, but instead we hope to engage the public in helping us with beach bird recovery by sharing this beautiful shoreline during nesting season,” said Cecilia Riley, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory.

“Audubon is excited to bring our volunteers, Audubon chapters, and over 100 years of experience protecting beach-nesting birds along the Gulf coast to this exciting initiative by ABC”, said Melanie Driscoll, Audubon’s Director of Bird Conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Flyway.

“Beaches are among the most limited and threatened of all bird habitats in the U.S. They provide only a tiny sliver of nesting opportunity for birds, and are often heavily used by humans, squeezed by development, and frequented by colonies of feral cats. Consequently, birds that require this habitat face considerable survival challenges. Much of their plight is caused by anthropogenic impacts, so it is only fitting that we take steps to fend off some of those challenges and give them a fighting chance,” Parr said.

Habitat to be targeted by the project was directly impacted by the oil spill, both from the oil itself and also as a result of the cleanup effort, which caused damage along much of the Gulf Coast through disturbance and nest destruction by cleanup crews on foot and in vehicles, and through the removal of sand from nesting areas to construct protective berms along the tideline.

Specifically, the project partners, with the help of volunteers, will implement conservation measures such as signage and fencing at critical, unprotected or insufficiently protected colony sites for beach-nesting birds, to reduce accidental nest destruction and abandonment. These direct protection measures will be supported by a public awareness campaign designed to encourage beach-goers to respect and avoid sensitive nesting areas.

Both the Least Tern and the Black Skimmer are on the U.S. WatchList, which identifies birds that need conservation attention to survive a convergence of environmental challenges, including habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change.

American Bird Conservancy (www.abcbirds.org) conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats, while building capacity in the bird conservation movement. ABC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization that is consistently awarded a high rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.

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By Simmons Buntin, March 13, 2010 11:31 pm

New Report Reveals Bird Conservation Efforts Are Critical in the Face of Climate Change

Dr. David Pashley, Vice President of American Bird Conservancy – one of the nation’s leading bird conservation organizations – cautioned last week that as climate change impacts are increasingly felt throughout the United States and beyond, conservation efforts affecting birds will take on a doubly important role in protecting not only birds that are already threatened, but also more common birds as well.

Dr. Pashley made his comments in connection with the release of State of the Birds 2010, the first comprehensive vulnerability assessment of bird species to climate change across the United States. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the report’s release at a press conference in Texas, along with several environmental organizations including American Bird Conservancy that had collaborated on the publication.  Dr. Pashley was one of the authors of the report.

“Our findings tell us that birds of conservation concern today will be in even greater peril in the future as a result of climate change, and many bird species that are now doing well may soon become conservation priorities as global warming progresses,” Dr. Pashley said.

Conservation efforts that will take on special importance include: reduction of carbon emissions; conservation of bird habitat; protection of bird prey bases and food supplies; and removal of threats, including invasive plant and animal species.

“The birds that will be the hardest hit by climate change will be ocean and island birds, whose habitat and food base are most tied to both a climate-dependent ocean biology and sea level. Hawaiian birds in particular, are already in deep trouble and may be looking at even more difficult circumstances,” Dr. Pashley said.

All 67 oceanic bird species are considered vulnerable due to low reproductive rates, use of islands for nesting, and reliance on rapidly changing oceans.  Ninety-three percent of Hawaiian birds and 62% of all U.S. Pacific Island birds have a medium to high vulnerability to climate change. Hawaiian forest birds are also threatened by the spread of avian malaria; warming will increase the rate of transmission and reduce the size of the birds’ current malaria-free safe area.

“For land-based birds, the key will be in establishing, implementing, or enforcing land management policies that recognize the increasing threat that birds are facing,” he said.

How lands are managed can help both mitigate global warming, and help birds adapt to changing climate and habitat conditions.  For example, conserving carbon-rich forests and wetlands, and creating incentives to avoid deforestation can keep already stored carbon from dissipating into the atmosphere, while also providing invaluable wildlife habitat. Market-based mechanisms that provide resources to conserve biodiversity and to store carbon should also be encouraged.

The report identified common bird species such as the American oystercatcher, common nighthawk, and northern pintail that are likely to become species of conservation concern as a result of climate change.

Dr. Pashley also said that in order to address the challenges identified in State of the Birds 2010, the Joint Venture partnerships will need to be further strengthened to identify new or changing bird conservation needs and to carry out projects to help species adapt.  Joint Ventures (JVs) are regional, collaborative partnerships involving federal, state, and local government agencies, corporations, tribes, individuals, and a wide range of non-governmental organizations working to advance conservation efforts and help identify local land use priorities. JVs provide coordination for conservation planning and implementation that benefit birds and other species. JVs also develop science-based goals and strategies, and a non-regulatory approach for achieving conservation.

The State of the Birds 2010 report is a collaborative effort, as part of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, involving federal and state wildlife agencies, and scientific and conservation organizations. Partners include American Bird Conservancy, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Klamath Bird Observatory, National Audubon Society, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey.

The report is available at www.stateofthebirds.org.