The Big Year

We saw "The Big Year" last night and found it amusing. I had read the book by Mark Obmascik; it's based on the real story of three birders, two well-to-do types from the NYC area (Sandy Komito and Al Levantan) and a young guy from the mid-west (Greg Miller). Komito actually had already held the Big Year record of 721 (or 724, I'm not sure which is correct) species seen in a year but he was now out to top himself and create a new record. What he didn't know was that Levantan, a highly successful businessman with plenty of cash to spend, and Miller, a relatively poor young working stiff from Ohio were also out to break the record. Eventually, the competition between the three came out in the open and, in spite of herculean efforts by the others, Komito kept the title by logging 745 birds. I was not that impressed with Obmascik's book which was, it seemed to me, written by an outsider without much sympathy for his topic or his subjects. The movie Hollywoodizes the story quite a bit making everything seem quite gorgeous and glamorous (Hollywood has always had a soft spot for outsiders with stars in their eyes). Even the spartan life at Attu -- the westernmost of the Aleutian Island chain and a hotspot for Asian migrants and strays -- has a romantic glow about it (minus a rate or two). The depiction of a fall-out at High Island in Texas is a cinematographic, computer-assisted dream and not like anything you are ever likely to see in the real world. The three birders, only vaguely based on their real-life models, have invented names and characters: Komito becomes Kenny Bostwick played by Owen Wilson, Levantan becomes Stu Priessler played by Steven Martin and Greg Miller turns into Brad Harris played by Jack Black. There is considerable fictionalization, turning one of them into a competitive villain (a type that is, of course, completely unknown among birders) and creating a kind of substitute father-son relationship between the other two. The real-life Debi Shearwater (who runs the pelagic trips off Monterey) becomes Annie Auklet, played by Anjelica Houston. Because these characters are fleshed out with real motivations and personalities and woven into a story, however sentimentalized, the movie seems to me to be more successful than the book on which it is based. Gorgeous scenery flies by and the birds sometimes look pretty unreal but I can't imagine anyone seriously interested in birds and birding not having a good time. Even Birding Magazine, a publication for which I write and edit, makes a cameo appearance! Best of all, instead of the usual mocking attitude (the little-old-ladies-in-tennis-sneakers sort of thing), this movie shows birding as almost an extreme sport. And, not incidentally, it also shows bird songs and calls as an essential element of high-end birding, a notion dear to my heart!

By the way, it is likely to be a while before Komito's record will be duplicated or surpassed. Not only was 1998 an El Nino year but regular flights to Attu have ceased and it has become difficult to get to the island.

Speaking of birds and bird calls, I forgot to mention that the rails were active and noisy in the marsh yesterday morning. There were at least two Clapper Rails calling and one of them was doing his or her toilette right in the open in the center of the marsh. And a Virginia Rail was seen in silhouette against the rising sun as it picked up and scooted right across the top of the Spartina before dropping back down into the grass. Also, a very small bird dropped into the marsh right in front of me but all the pishing in the world could not lure it out for a better look. It seemed much too small to be one of the marsh sparrows and there is a good chance that it was a Sedge Wren (this is the perfect time of year for that bird to migrate) but, alas, I could not be sure.

Eric Salzman