Opposable Chums, Guts & Glory at the World Series of Birding

I just finished watching this truly uplifting film by Jason Kessler called Opposable Chums, Guts & Glory at the World Series of Birding.  This is a must watch film for any birder.  Even non-birding folks interested in getting a feel for what bird watching is all about would enjoy watching this movie.

No, I don’t mean to say that the World Series of Birding is what birding is all about.  Far from it.  As Pete Dunn puts it, “it’s not birding at all because … you table the appreciation”.

You get to see some pretty crazy people, doing some really crazy things, all in the name of identifying the most birds they possibly can in a twenty four hour period in New Jersey.  Of course, this is all for a great cause; conservation.  These folks raise about a half a million dollars every year for conservation efforts all over the world.

“Somewhere in New Jersey” appears on a plain black screen to begin the movie which quickly shows its humor by juxtaposing images of participants giving their opinions on whether birding is a hobby, a sport, a passion or an obsession.  Quickly followed by Pete Dunn’s hilarious “morning after” greeting to the participants.

The short, quick cuts between the participants, including Pete Dunn, David Sibley, Kenn Kaufman and John Fitzpatrick, among others, keeps the pace of the film frantic, similar to the event itself.  There are, however, some teams actually engaging in “normal birding” among the 71 teams that participated in the event.

This film is interesting, informative and so funny I spontaneously laughed out loud several times during the show.  I highly recommend each and every person reading this to see this film and purchase a copy for every one of your birding friends as well.  You can purchase the DVD at the Opposable Chums website.  After seeing it I compare it to having a field guide and binoculars, I couldn’t do without it.