The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession

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Every January 1, a quirky crowd storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year a grand, expensive, and occasionally vicious 365 day marathon of birdwatching For three men in particular, 1998 would become a grueling battle for a new North American birding record Bouncing from coast to coast on frenetic pilgrimages for once in a lifetime rarities, they brave broiling deserts, bug infested swamps, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man This unprecedented year of beat the clock adventures ultimately leads one man to a record so gigantic that it is unlikely ever to be bested Here, prize winning journalist Mark Obmascik creates a dazzling, fun narrative of the 275,000 mile odyssey of these three obsessives as they fight to win the greatest or maybe worst birding contest of all time. Read The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession author Mark Obmascik – kino-fada.fr Here s a strange but fascinating world I knew nothing about competitive birding It can be fun but it can also be almost vicious Every year there are state competitions and a national one to see who can spot the greatest number of different birds over a calendar year There s also a non competitive annual Christmas day bird count The author interviewed the top three winners of the 1998 competitive birding year to come up with his story Part of the year for one man is written in a day by day Here s a strange but fascinating world I knew nothing about competitive birding It can be fun but it can also be almost vicious Every year there are state competitions and a national one to see who can spot the greatest number of different birds over a calendar year There s also a non competitive annual Christmas day bird count The author interviewed the top three winners of the 1998 competitive birding year to come up with his story Part of the year fo...Welcome to the world of Competitive Birdwatching Nope, I didn t know there was such a thing either.And not to sound sexist, but leave it to MEN to turn the gentle pastime of enjoying our feathered friends into a pissing contest This book chronicles the adventures of three men competing to get the highes...So, on Thanksgiving, while we were waiting for the Turkey to finish, Robin wanted to watch a movie and we picked The Big Year Robin, Sarah, and I had seen it years ago, but it was a new pick for James and Rebecca After dinner, we went up to Red Gate a fire road near our house that s in the Shenandoah Forest and went birding There wasn t much out, ...Mark Obmascik s style here is playful and almost conversational He really plays up the competition among the three contenders I discovered, however, that I d much rather read about birds than about bird chasers I m generally content to observe thecommon species of birds sharing the habitat close to my home I can be thrilled by a robin feasting on fall berries, barn swallows building a nest in spring, hundreds of crows gathering in a huge pine for an evening confab, or a winter wren Mark Obmascik s style here is playful and almost conversational He really plays up the competition among the three contenders I discovered, however, that I d much rather read about birds than about bird chasers I m generally content to observe thecommon species of birds sharing the habitat close to my home I can be thrilled by a robin feasting on fall berries, barn swallows building a nest in spring, hundreds of crows gathering in a huge pine for an evening confab, or a winter wren singing his heart out, putting on a concert just for me I do enjoy the challenge and excitement of identifying a bird I ve never seen before, but I ve never kept a life list and never will.To me, the concept of competitive birding is absurd Birdwatching is not a sport People who race around the country checking off species as quickly as possible are not watching birds They are bird chasers We may as well put them on a reality TV show and fo...An awesome book It took recommendations from several friends before I finally decided to give this book a try The subject matter seemed so uninteresting to me.When you re wrong, you re wrong, and I was totally off base on this one It was fascinating from start to finish What I realise now is that books like this one, which document someone s obsession doesn t have to be the author s often turn out to be completely engrossing, if the author as Obmascik does succeeds in conveying the An aweso...The topic of the big year is really quite compelling, and I thought this book would take its place on my shelf right next to The Orchid Thief, in the section reserved for obsessives who focus solely on one aspect of the natural world and seek that single thing with complete devotion Unfortunately, the writing in this book is nowhere near the quality of The Orchid Thief, and doesn t deserve a spot on my shelf at all First, the good things The three birders featured are exactly right for the The topic of the big year is really quite compelling, and I thought this book would take its place on my shelf right next to The Orchid Thief, in the section reserved for obsessives who focus solely on one aspect of the natural world and seek that single thing with complete devotion Unfortunately, the writing in this book is nowhere near the quality of The Orchid Thief, and doesn t deserve a spot on my shelf at all First, the good things The three birders featured are exactly right for the book The author sort of succeeded in teaching the reader about birds, their environment, and birding He s about 70 percent there Most importantly, he clearly explains why 1998 is the year that MUST be covered, even though it was a decade ago But the writing He needs to learn how t...For those of you who haven t seen the charming movie adaptation of this equally charming book, the Big Year is a competition in which birders try to spot as many species of bird as they possibly can in the U.S and Canada in one calendar year Note that I use the term birder, as opposed to bird watcher In the movie, Steve Martin s character bristles when his co workers use the term bird watching, but the book explains the difference I am a birdwatcher I own a field guide and I use it to For those of you who haven t seen the charming movie adaptation of this equally charming book, the Big Year is a competition in which birders try to spot as many species of bird as they possibly can in the U.S and Canada in one calendar year Note that I use the term birder, as opposed to bird watcher In the movie, Steve Martin s character bristles when his co workers use the term bird watching, but the book explains the difference I am a birdwatcher I own a field guide and I use it to identify all the species that land on my deck I let the birds come to me A birder goes out to find the birds And Big Year contestants will spend a fortune of money seeing birds...I am sure no one will be surprised, that I LOVED this book It tracks 3 birders, as they attempt to do a Big Year , seeing as many bird species in North America that they can, in a calendar year It is like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but with birds and lots and lots o...I doubt anyone would ever guess that I d read this book I found it on the clearance table at Barnes Noble, and since I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I thought why not I am 100 pages into the book It is part memoir, part travel expedition, part field guide, and part history I found it interesting that James Audubon started out on his birding journey from right here in Cincinnati, Ohio I m surprised t...What a thoroughly entertaining book It was a strange subject, bird watching, but the dedication, single mindedness and obsession of the individuals is both scary and admirable I have always enjoyed watching birds but...

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
  • English
  • 19 July 2019
  • Paperback
  • 288 pages
  • 0743245466
  • Mark Obmascik
  • The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession