Utah Birds, Utah Birding, and Utah Birders. Promoting the sharing of information, and the conservation of habitat for birds in Utah and elsewhere. We are a group of people who want to share what we know, and create a positive birding experience in Utah.
It's that time of year again--we announce this years Utah Birders Challenge. This year we decided to step away from challenges involving photos and instead focus our efforts this year on... EBIRD! This year's challenge is a multi-faceted challenge with several different "challenges within challenges", or as we like to call it, eBird Inception. The actual challenge is quite simple and straightforward, but we've added in a few "bonus" challenges for extra points. Unline in years past where there is 1 clear winner, this year anyone who completes all the tasks associated with the challenge is a winner--the question is, will anyone complete all the tasks to be a winner?
So right off the bat we can tell you there are 1000 possible points up for grabs if you complete all the challenges. What do you get if you manage to reach that goal? We're working on a prize package and reaching out to several local companies for donations for the winners. Besides a small prize package you will also ge the limited edition 2015 Utah Birders Challenge Sticker--we will only print one for each person who reaches the goal so it will truly be limited. You'll also get bragging rights. This year anyone who competes can basically brag that they beat Jeff Bilsky since he might only manage a few points from his distant new home. Let's jump right into the challenge!
This year we want you to submit 1 complete eBird checklist for a birding location in Utah every day of the year. It can be any location; your home, your office, your drive, a lunch break birding sessions--whatever you can manage. It must be a traveling count or a stationary count and can be as short as 1 minute. For every day you submit a checklist you will earn 1 point, for a total possible 365 points this year, just by submitting a checklist.
Now things get interesting. We want you to try and submit 1 complete eBird checklist this year for every county in Utah during the calnedar year. This means there might need to be a little planning to make this possible, given Utah's large size. For each county you submit a complete checklist, you will recieve 3.45 points, for a possible 100 points if you were to submit a checklist for every county.
But hold on you can really tack on those points if you submit additional complete eBird checklists from every county this year. After your initial checklist, you can submit up to 10 more checklists, from different locations, for an additional 10 bonus points per county. So if you were to submit 11 checklists each form a different location in a county you would earn 13.45 points for that county--the inital 3.45 points for the 1st list, and an additional 10 points for each different location. If you managed to get 10 for each county you would earn an additional 290 points for the year.
Now if you've done your math you know that 365 + 100 + 290 = 755. This means there are an additional 245 points available to each participant. The way to earn these is simple: 5 bonus points for each eBird birding hotspot write up submitted for the Utah Birding Spots page on Utahbirders.com (http://utahbirdingspots.blogspot.com/) for up to 49 locations. We want to see if we can get a hot spot write up for every location by the end of the year, so we can have a complete guide to Utah Birding locations, with maps, photos, links to eBird lists, and the ability for users to comments and add information going forward. We have a small portion of these hot spots done, but have a listen of almost 1300 we need information for--and no one knows those places like the birders who go there.
If you want to work on the bonus points for locations, please contact us at utah.birders@gmail.com so we can set you up to do so, and make sure folks aren't double creating locations.
AND THAT'S IT!
If you'd like to compete in this years challenge click below to sign up:
For anyone interested in a side challenge just for the fun of it we are challenign you all to do a NON HOME-COUNTY BIG YEAR. The idea is simple. Do a county big year--in a county where you don't live! SO if you live in Salt Lake County, choose another county and do a Big Year!
There are no points, no awards, just your own personal satisfaction, and a little good humored ribbing between other birders as you try to find as many birds as possible in a county you don't live in this year--if you happen to have homes in 2 counties--choose one of the other 27 available... :)
This years challenge is easier than last years, but can also be quite a bit harder--this year we are sending you on a birding scavenger hunt to try and find and/or photograph some of the most unique, rare, representative, and down right hard birds to find. It will be a monumental challenge to snag all 100 species on the list--and to photograph them will be even trickier. This year photos are not required--you can just hear or see the species to count it, but if you get a photo, it's worth double points.
Are you up to the challenge?
The challenge includes 96 species on a sliding scale of 1 to 5 for how hard they should be to get--the harder the find, the more valuable the species. There are 4 bonus birds/photos that are worth more points and are a bit more of a challenge. Finally there are 16 additional scavenger hunt items that can be picked up for bonus points. Some are birds, some are people, some are events, and some have the possibility for multiple photos and points.
To participate you'll need to sign up below so we can give you a spreadsheet to keep track of your points. If you are going to take photos, you will need to create a new Flickr Set in your account called, 2014 Utah Birders Scavenger Hunt, and tag all photos with "utah birders", and add your pictures to the Utah Birders Flickr Pool Group.
The contest is open until December 31, 2014--you may use photos taken in January (before we announced the challenge)... The only rules are that all sightings and photos must happen in Utah. Once you've signed up we will send you the official checklist and tracking sheet to keep track of your scavenger hunt for the year.
The year came, it happened, and now it's in the past. And 5 Utah Birders stood up to the challenge and did a Photo Big Year! Big Ups to the 5 who took part in this very unofficial, and friendly game of "photo the birds of Utah". The rules were simple--find and photograph as many birds in Utah in 2013 as you can. And so it happened. Below are a few pictures, and words from the those who took part!
This was a fun challenge as I've never photographed birds in Utah, let alone kept an annual count. I enjoyed the photos mostly for showcasing the variety of birds in Utah, but also as a useful tool for identifying purposes. PLEASE let me know if any of these are misidentified!
Thanks to everyone who posted on Ubird and eBird, and thanks to anyone that helped located, identify, and email/respond to inquiries. Also a special thanks to Uncle Bill for the awesome photography equipment.
Birds I didn't get pictures of: American Crow, American Tree Sparrow, Barrow's Goldeneye (lost the pic), Black-billed Magpie (seriously!), Brown Creeper, California Quail, Horned Grebe (lost the pic), Marsh Wren, Red-breasted Merganser (lost the pic), Sage Trasher (lost the pic), Turkey Vulture (seriously!)
Tough identifications for me (please offer opinions or misidentified images) - Terns: Common vs. Forester's; Flycatchers: Gray, Hammond's, Dusky, etc.: Yellowlegs: Greater vs. Lesser (especially at a distance); and Thrushs: Hermit vs. Swainson's.
So where to start... I was gung-ho from day 1--I knew I would photograph over 300 species this year, and maybe, just maybe take a shot at my previous photo big year record of 332. I was off to a really good start bird # and photo wise--but then this summer I just hit a brick wall and came to a halt-- after the first week of June, I didn't really go birding much the rest of the summer, and took next to no pictures--then I was gone for an entire month during migration--and once I got back was bed ridden for about 5 weeks--then it was November and too late for a lot of birds. The year came to a close and I had barely scratched past 250 photos.
Oops. I already know that quite a few people did better than me, and I think that's awesome! I guess I will have to wait and try this again when I know I wont be doing any heavy traveling for a year and can really get after the specialty birds, and be here for the entire fall. Can't wait for the 2014 challenge--its a doosey!
I must add that I too enjoyed the challenge that Tim put out there for us to try and photograph all the species we could for the year 2013. I was able to compile a total of 266 photos and a observation list of 286 for the year. Trying to lug my 600mmm lens around everywhere I went birding made for an additional challenge but still was fun. There were several species that were seen by others and reported that I was unable to locate after many tries, but which I hope I can observe this year
I loved this challenge because by the end of 2012 I had all but given up taking photos. I am glad that I started again because now I have a whole collection of photos--mostly terrible--that remind me of the good times and good birds I saw over the year. Seeing a Blue Jay in my very own neighborhood was probably one of the most exciting things of the year, so I chose that as my favorite photo. But probably my highlight of the year was the day I took my first-ever trip up to Kolob Reservoir. My best-yet views of Lewis's Woodpeckers, lifer Acorn Woodpeckers, lifer Pygmy Nuthatches, lifer Grace's Warbler. Also a first that day was finding Grafton and getting lifer Scott's Oriole and Black-chinned Sparrows. And getting bit by painfully venomous Harvester Ants and having to strip down to my britches and shake out my pants and treat my wounds. Luckily Grafton is a ghost town. Despite the pain and welts that lasted for weeks, the amazing birding made up for it, and plus I have a fun story to tell. (One that my friends are probably tired of hearing.) All in all, 2012 was a great year, I learned a ton about Utah and the birds that live in and visit our state!
It was fun visiting many new areas of Utah in 2013. I got to see 43 new Utah birds in habitats ranging from above treeline to the Mojave Desert. 10 of those species were lifers for me as well. Utah birding is the best.
• • •
The were no losers in 2013, only winners--those who took part are all winners for going out and tackling something differen this year!
So congrats to the 5; and Kenny well done tracking down and photographing 315 species this past year--that's a very impressive feat!
As the year 2013 began I tried to exercise some restraint in my birding radius. It is possible to spend a lot of travel time and gas money running all over the place looking for birds. There are also work responsibilities that should not be procrastinated forever in the name of a bird that is far away, or will take to much time to track down. I live in Sandy and I told myself I would try and just chase the county birds. I failed in that goal a few times. A good birds like a Snowy Owl can show up in Ogden and I can't help but to twitch my way up there to see it.
So as the year progressed I slowly developed the goal to do a County big year. It was a small goal compared to those who do big years for the state and see 300+ birds for the year, but it was a goal I thought was doable. I never could have done it without the many very talented birders out there who were willing to post there good sighting in ebird or on the google group Ubird. A lot of the hard to find rare birds I chased down by following your leads, so thank you to everyone out there who likes to share. My number this year was not possible without the communal nature of Ubird and ebird so I can't express enough my appreciation to everyone out there, thank you for all your help.
In addition to the specific rarities I chased ebird indirectly gave me a lot of good birds. I had a list of hard to find birds for the county and I looked up the historical data on ebird. In this way I learn where to go for what birds and what the chances were of seeing these species. To say that I love ebird is an understatement. I spent years birding here and there with no connection to the other birders out there, so when I found Ubird and ebird it was a huge game changer for me, so forgive me for continually plugging them both. I have in turn tried to give back by posting sighting I think are of value on Ubird and also quickly posting my ebird checklists so others may benefit as I have.
It was difficult to decide which birds to include here as rare birds for the county. Many are obvious but some birds that some might not consider to be rare were hard for me to find and I may have only seen them once or twice, so a number of those I have included.
Here is a google map with the sightings, descriptions, and location of my rare Salt Lake County birds this year. There is also a link, in every bird mentioned, to the photographs and checklists of each species. https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zLxdN-B6-fSA.k61JejvaHVbE
Thanks to an ebird report by Rachel LeBlanc I was able to chase this bird down the next day. The bird stuck around for a couple of weeks after it was first spotted.
Ross's Goose
I focused heavily this year on the gulls. Between Lee Kay ponds, Lake Park, and Saltair, a lot of rare gulls can show up in the county and I wanted to get as many of them on my year list as possible.
Rare gulls this year were:
Heerman's Gull
Mew Gull
Western Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Glaucous Gull
A beautiful adult Mew Gull was spotted by Stephanie Greenwood. I went looking the next day and it was enjoyed by many over a few days. This was the second of two Mew Gulls I saw this year in the county but this was the best look I have ever had of one.
Mew Gull
One of two I saw this year.
Glaucous-winged Gull
This Dunlin was found mixed in with some Dowitchers on a spring bird festival field trip. A group of 20+ were the only people that I know of to see this bird in the county this year. This spot is closed to the public the other 364 days of the year so it was a good opportunity to bird a great area that you just can not get into.
Dunlin
One of the best places to bird in the county is in Farmington Bay. The Salt Lake County side is south west of the four way stop and accessible on foot part of the year. It is open for the hunters but is closed the rest of the time. I had some rare ones after a few long walk both in the early spring and fall including:
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Black Tern
Common Tern
Trumpeter Swan
Eurasian Wigeon
Lee Kay ponds is a great place to bird and where I picked up a huge portion of my county birds.
Long-tailed Duck
Red-throated Loon
White-throated Sparrow
Common Tern
Semipalmated Plover
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Harris's Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Some of the Gulls previously mentioned
First reported and found by Bryant Olsen. Very rare bird. I saw it the next day and many times after that since it stuck around for a very long time. A lot of birders got to enjoy this bird.
Red-throated Loon
First of two I saw in the county this year. The second one I saw was seen three days later at the Salt Lake International center. This bird is not that rare in the state but it seems to be quite rare in the county.
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Found by Rachel Leblanc, I ran out to see this bird the day it was found. I also went back the next morning to enjoy it some more. It stuck around for a week. This bird is usually only found briefly during fall migration up on some of the big reservoirs with Common Loons. We usually have one or two reported in the state annually so getting this bird at this spot and in the county was a major bonus.
Pacific Loon
Saltair can be hit or miss but if your timing is right you can get some rare birds out there. From the Marina to Lee Creek a bit further East I had a good handful of rare birds including:
Iceland Gull
Western Gull
American-Golden Plover
Sanderling (rare in Salt Lake)
Black Tern
Northern Mockingbird
Millcreek canyon lent a few rare birds last winter. Rare birds were:
Pacific Wren
Varied Thrush
Northern Pygmy-Owl
After an ebird report my son and I went after this bird the next day. After a really long walk in the biter cold we got great satisfying views of this bird ready to start lunch with a recently caught mouse in its talons.
Northern Pygmy Owl
This was a good year to find redpolls and there were consistent sightings further north but sightings in the county were sporadic. I gave this bird more effort than any other this year. I chased every SLC sighting of a common redpoll but they seemed to be at a feeder with a flock of goldfinches one minute and then gone the next. I searched feeders and potential area high and low. One of my spots was near a feeder only about 50 yards within the county line and it was there that I finally found one, and on my birthday! Great birthday bird!
I chased a pair of these woodpeckers after the Obrien's found and reported them. I spent a lot of time this year looking for these guys in there habitat. I thought I would go the year without seeing them despite my best efforts. I was happy when they were found and the best part is they hung out in this area (Tanner Park) through the end of the year.
Lewis's Woodpecker
Southern side of the valley:
Pulling into my driveway on a crazy stormy spring day I happened upon a male and female Common Grackel in my driveway. What a shocker yard bird! I thought I was lucky with the weather blowing them in until later on June 23rd I saw a female flying out of my backyard. After that I tracked them and there nest down a few blocks from my house in a neighbors backyard. I invited anyone who was interested to come and see them. They remained in the area and reared there young until the middle of July when they left the area. I really hope they continue to nest hear year after year. These were the only Common Grackles seen in the county this year.
Common Grackle
Little Cottonwood Canyon Black Swifts- Only spot in the county one can find this species. The best way to find them is at dusk as they fly into there waterfall homes high up in the cliffs. This is the most fascinating bird I have ever heard of and it is very difficult to see. Studying about this bird is fascinating and I highly recommend it.
On the Jordan River across from the ebay building is the best place in the county to find the beautiful and rare Blue Grosbeak. That being said I had no luck until the 8th time I went there looking. They nest somewhere in the area. After finally seeing them I saw them again in the same spot two weeks later and then again surprisingly further south at Jordan Narrows. Then late summer I had another sighting on the ISSR property. Even though I got lucky with a bunch of sightings this is still a rare county bird. I also had my only American Bittern of the year in the Marsh here.
Blue Grosbeak
There had been a few reports of Northern Waterthrushes throughout the state and I knew they were moving through the area. I spent sometime thinking of where in the county I could find the best habitat to look. Draper Wetland Park, to me, seemed the most likely location to start and I was not disappointed. There were a few other ebird reports of this species, one of which was at the Salt Lake International Center in the fall, but this was the only one I saw this year.
I first spotted a Grasshopper Sparrow in the dry grass hills south of Herriman in spring with my son. I went back a few days later and walked through more of there habitat over a couple of miles and I was able to count 7 singing and establishing territories throughout this area. They seem fairly common in this grass fields of the area but none were reported anywhere else in the county on ebird.
Grasshopper Sparrow
I missed a few birds this year but the big miss that, despite my best efforts, I never could find was a Barn Owl. I didn't think it would be a hard one to get and that might have been part of the reason I missed it. I spent a lot of time looking for it as the year was coming to an end with no luck. That will just have to be the one that got away.
There were other birds that may be considered rare that I have left off but narrowing this list down was difficult and if I did it again I might leave some birds off the list and others I might add. For this reason I think an entire list of all the birds I saw in the county this year in the order I saw them would be fun.
2013 Salt Lake County total: 256
1
Sharp-shinned Hawk
64
Belted Kingfisher
127
Sandhill Crane
190
Yellow Warbler
2
Mourning Dove
65
Peregrine Falcon
128
Western Grebe
191
Black-headed Grosbeak
3
Northern Flicker
66
Marsh Wren
129
Bushtit
192
Ruffed Grouse
4
American Kestrel
67
Evening Grosbeak
130
Burrowing Owl
193
Virginia's Warbler
5
Western Scrub-Jay
68
Clark's Nutcracker
131
Tree Swallow
194
Bullock's Oriole
6
Black-capped Chickadee
69
Mountain Chickadee
132
Lincoln's Sparrow
195
Spotted Sandpiper
7
European Starling
70
Red-breasted Nuthatch
133
Greater Yellowlegs
196
Common Tern
8
Cedar Waxwing
71
Long-eared Owl
134
Great-tailed Grackle
197
Black-throated Gray Warbler
9
Dark-eyed Junco
72
Eared Grebe
135
Caspian Tern
198
Brewer's Sparrow
10
House Finch
73
Downy Woodpecker
136
Red-breasted Merganser
199
House Wren
11
Lesser Goldfinch
74
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
137
Savannah Sparrow
200
Flammulated Owl
12
House Sparrow
75
Red-naped Sapsucker
138
Chukar
201
Black-chinned Hummingbird
13
Canada Goose
76
American Crow
139
Canyon Wren
202
Gray Flycatcher
14
Eurasian Collared-Dove
77
California Quail
140
Band-tailed Pigeon
203
Cordilleran Flycatcher
15
American Robin
78
Ring-necked Pheasant
141
Say's Phoebe
204
Plumbeous Vireo
16
American Goldfinch
79
Golden Eagle
142
Turkey Vulture
205
Swainson's Thrush
17
Rock Pigeon
80
American Avocet
143
Black-necked Stilt
206
Green-tailed Towhee
18
Black-billed Magpie
81
Northern Pygmy-Owl
144
Long-billed Dowitcher
207
Dusky Grouse
19
Spotted Towhee
82
Brown Creeper
145
Bonaparte's Gull
208
Willow Flycatcher
20
Song Sparrow
83
Bohemian Waxwing
146
Fox Sparrow
209
Warbling Vireo
21
Merlin
84
American Dipper
147
Cassin's Finch
210
Sage Thrasher
22
Steller's Jay
85
Varied Thrush
148
Franklin's Gull
211
Pinyon Jay
23
Townsend's Solitaire
86
Virginia Rail
149
Great Egret
212
Rock Wren
24
Gadwall
87
White-throated Sparrow
150
Long-tailed Duck
213
Black-bellied Plover
25
Mallard
88
Western Screech-Owl
151
Cliff Swallow
214
Dunlin
26
Northern Shoveler
89
Pine Siskin
152
Common Loon
215
Northern Mockingbird
27
Green-winged Teal
90
White-breasted Nuthatch
153
Osprey
216
Common Yellowthroat
28
Ring-necked Duck
91
Juniper Titmouse
154
Willet
217
Yellow-breasted Chat
29
Greater Scaup
92
Wilson's Phalarope
155
Long-billed Curlew
218
Common Poorwill
30
Lesser Scaup
93
Short-eared Owl
156
Snowy Egret
219
Common Grackle
31
Bufflehead
94
Prairie Falcon
157
Barn Swallow
220
Northern Waterthrush
32
Common Goldeneye
95
Loggerhead Shrike
158
Lesser Yellowlegs
221
MacGillivray's Warbler
33
Barrow's Goldeneye
96
American Tree Sparrow
159
Marbled Godwit
222
Western Wood-Pewee
34
Pied-billed Grebe
97
Western Gull
160
Swainson's Hawk
223
Wilson's Warbler
35
Bald Eagle
98
Pacific Wren
161
Red-necked Phalarope
224
Gray Catbird
36
American Coot
99
Tundra Swan
162
Northern Rough-winged Sw
225
Sora
37
Killdeer
100
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
163
White-faced Ibis
226
American Bittern
38
Ring-billed Gull
101
Northern Goshawk
164
Blue-winged Teal
227
Olive-sided Flycatcher
39
White-crowned Sparrow
102
Hairy Woodpecker
165
Vesper Sparrow
228
Hammond's Flycatcher
40
Northern Pintail
103
Ferruginous Hawk
166
Clark's Grebe
229
Eastern Kingbird
41
California Gull
104
Golden-crowned Kinglet
167
Forster's Tern
230
Grasshopper Sparrow
42
Herring Gull
105
Wild Turkey
168
Violet-green Swallow
231
Williamson's Sapsucker
43
Thayer's Gull
106
Mountain Bluebird
169
Snowy Plover
232
Common Nighthawk
44
American Wigeon
107
Yellow-headed Blackbird
170
Solitary Sandpiper
233
White-throated Swift
45
Canvasback
108
Mew Gull
171
Least Sandpiper
234
Black Swift
46
Redhead
109
Lesser Black-backed Gull
172
Western Sandpiper
235
Blue Grosbeak
47
Hooded Merganser
110
Black Rosy-Finch
173
Short-billed Dowitcher
236
Rufous Hummingbird
48
Great Blue Heron
111
Cinnamon Teal
174
Bank Swallow
237
Red Crossbill
49
Northern Shrike
112
Western Meadowlark
175
Red-throated Loon
238
Calliope Hummingbird
50
Common Raven
113
Great Horned Owl
176
Wilson's Snipe
239
Nashville Warbler
51
Horned Lark
114
Glaucous Gull
177
Lark Sparrow
240
Ash-throated Flycatcher
52
Red-winged Blackbird
115
Wood Duck
178
Western Tanager
241
Townsend's Warbler
53
Brewer's Blackbird
116
Hermit Thrush
179
Brown-headed Cowbird
242
Cassin's Vireo
54
Northern Harrier
117
Common Redpoll
180
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
243
Sanderling
55
Red-tailed Hawk
118
Ross's Goose
181
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
244
Pectoral Sandpiper
56
Rough-legged Hawk
119
Northern Saw-whet Owl
182
Western Kingbird
245
Black Tern
57
American Pipit
120
American Three-toed W-pkr
183
Lazuli Bunting
246
Semipalmated Sandpiper
58
Ruddy Duck
121
Neotropic Cormorant
184
Chipping Sparrow
247
Clay-colored Sparrow
59
Horned Grebe
122
Double-crested Cormorant
185
Orange-crowned Warbler
248
American Golden-Plover
60
Yellow-rumped Warbler
123
Eurasian Wigeon
186
Pine Grosbeak
249
Lewis's Woodpecker
61
Cackling Goose
124
American White Pelican
187
Dusky Flycatcher
250
Snow Goose
62
Common Merganser
125
Black-crowned Night-Heron
188
Semipalmated Plover
251
Pacific Loon
63
Cooper's Hawk
126
Trumpeter Swan
189
Baird's Sandpiper
252
Heermann's Gull
253
Glaucous-winged Gull
254
Iceland Gull
255
Lapland Longspur
256
Harris's Sparrow
Here is a google map with the sightings, descriptions, and location of my rare Salt Lake County birds this year. There is also a link, in every bird mentioned, to the photographs and checklists of each species. https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zLxdN-B6-fSA.k61JejvaHVbE
Although this isn't an official Utah Birders Competition (yet) I am challenging any takers to a friendly match of "photographic big year". The goal here is to take identifiable photos of as many species of birds in Utah in 2013 as you can.
They can be taken with a camera phone, a point and shoot, an SLR, a video camera, etc. It doesn't matter how you take them, as long as you can identify them.
We will use the Utah Birders Flickr Pool as the official location of the contest. Create a SET on your Flickr account called 2013 Utah Photo Big Year, and upload your images there--1 photo of each species, what # of bird it was for the year, and when and where it was photographed. Then also make sure to add it to the Utah Birders Photo Pool so we can see everyone who participates progress as the year goes on.
This is just for fun, but I will come up with some prizes for the winners--at least for 2nd and 3rd place since I don't want to give myself a prize :) Now that I have staked my claim, are there any takers?
UPDATE: 01/01/2013 at 4:45pm MT
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask via email at western.tanager@gmail.com. I went and created my new SET and added 32 pictures from 2.5 hours of birding this morning... Good Luck Everyone!
I consider myself a movie buff. I have been known to go to midnight openings for highly anticipated movies. I generally like most movies as well. I am not a tough critic, and for the most part enjoy movies for the art, the acting (good or bad), and the subtle things that others may not care about (music, set design, things going on in the background). Truth be told I didn’t have the highest hopes for this movie, from the first previews, to the teasers, and the blog post reviews after opening night. I had read the book some years ago and found it enjoyable. I figured with the movie Hollywood would take some liberties, and try to make it interesting to the mainstream. So this was what I went into the theatre in my head—but with an open mind to what it may actually end up being.
Now having seen the movie I can say two things. First, I see why birders have for the most part raved about it, and enjoyed it—I for one enjoyed it as well. Secondly, the producers, writers, and directors missed a chance to make something big, and make something memorable. Let’s talk about the second part first.
A movie about birders competing to see the most birds in a year in North America. To your average Joe this has no appeal—I mean come on think about how absurd that sounds to someone who doesn’t watch birds. SO Hollywood tries. They take a book, change a bunch of facts, come up with a story that works based off the original facts, and make a movie. They get three huge stars to play the main roles, and a supporting cast that has some pretty big names as well. Regardless of the story, this thing should be gold. Then opening weekend comes and the movie comes in #9 at the box office with just over $3,000,000 gross. IT will be a miracle if it stays in the big theatres more than a week.
So what would have worked? Does anyone remember Best in Show? The parody of the Westminster Kennel Club’s top dog competition? What about Dodgeball? The movie that made the “sport” more than just a playground game. These movies were vividly different, but both immensely hilarious in their own ways. They made fun of their subjects, but at the same time took the serious nature of the characters as a juxtaposition that made for comedy gold. They were funny, entertaining, and successful. They were everything the Big Year could have and should have been.
Imagine a docu-comedy about birders, where the characters are the extremes, and so serious about what they do, that you can’t help but laugh. It’s okay to be made fun of—especially if it spreads awareness and gains popularity because of that. Or a comedy that is just laugh after laugh after laugh at our expense. Those types of movies would have been more geared at your average watcher, and may have been more successful.
Now some will say I am being too tough on the flick. But thus far the sugar coated blog reviews are not an honest look at the movie. They are reviews from the eyes of birders and that makes them lopsided. And don’t get me wrong, I liked the movie—I found it entertaining, and I enjoyed the fun it poked. Having done my own big year I felt some of the joy, the frustration, the pain, and excitement of the characters as they went about their journeys. I laughed when I saw a bit of myself in each of them. My wife by my side smirking at me from time to time as we both thought, “Man they nailed that portrayal”. And yes in some instances they were over the top in their portrayals, but for the most part, it was pretty spot on and as hard as it may be for some of us to admit, we know some of those characters in real life. We see those actions when we interact with other birders, and we have been through the same experiences as those in the movie.
Perhaps the thing I found most enjoyable was the computer animated birds—some of them were stunning. A certain woodpecker and hummingbird come to mind. Some were equally bad, and others just ridiculous (High Island comes to mind). Some of the actions of the birders were equally ridiculous, while others were just slight exaggerations. At one point I saw Owen Wilson assuming the Jeff Bilsky birding stance—all rights reserved (I joke). All in all like I have said, before, I enjoyed the movie.
My wife, god bless her sat through it with me. She saw the movie from the other side. The wives of the characters, the people who deal with that craziness that ensues when birding is in full swing and the experiences we have had together and could relate to what was happening on screen. She even told me afterwards that I had qualities of all the characters, and she had seen me do some of the ridiculous things they do.
With that being said, if you are a birder (and I imagine if you are reading this you are), GO SEE THIS MOVIE. Go see it before it is out of theatres and all you can do is pick it up at Redbox or on Netflix. You should enjoy it, and you will probably have some of the same thoughts that I had. You may even want to do a big year yourself!
Back in 2007 I set out to break the Utah Big Year Record. It was an impressive 332 species, and it had been set in 2004 by Dennis Shirley. The previous high was 327 in 2001. I figured the 3 year pattern could only help my odds even though that really was just something to add to the fun. When the year started I had high hopes, but no idea how far the year would actually go. By the end of April I quit my full time job and took a seasonal position with DNR to conduct riparian breeding bird surveys in southern Utah. It was a strategic decision that I knew would help my big year. It would put me at a number of natural migrant traps during the height and tail of spring songbird migration. And it did help. When the summer came to an end, I had enough money saved up to spend the rest of the year birding pretty much full time. By mid-September my big year turned into an attempt to set my own high mark after I saw my 333rd species.
Birding for at least 2 hours a day more than 20 days a month the last 4 months saw a number of great species, including a couple of first state records. By the time the end of December rolled around I was ready for the year to end as I ticked off my 355th species. I won't get into more details, but if you have some free time check out the big year list I added to my website with pictures and/or video of 332 of the species I saw:
The page will take some time to load all the images, so be patient when you get there, it may take a few seconds to fully come together. And if you are on a dial-up I probably wouldn't bother.
Since my big year I have fallen out of big listing, and spent more time just taking pictures and trying to find new birds for my Utah list. If I never see 300 species of bird in Utah a year I will be okay with that. I have no plans of putting together a Utah big year ever again--but if you ever have the chance, I highly recommend giving it a go--as it can be a lot of fun.
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