by Larry Jordan
on December 4, 2008
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.
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by Larry Jordan
on December 4, 2008
Mount Shasta As Seen From Big Lake, Fall River Mills photo by Larry Jordan
This is a photo taken from Big Lake in Fall River Mills California. One of the three Christmas Bird Counts will be held here on December 14th so we took a little trip up there to scout it out a couple of weeks ago. We observed 97 bird species that day but we expect to see more during the CBC. We counted 119 species in Fall River Mills during the 2007 Christmas Bird Count.
Check out all the great Skywatch Friday photos.
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by Larry Jordan
on December 3, 2008
Ian “Birdbooker” Paulsen has created a list of the top 50 books that every birder should have in their “basic” library. You can download the list in PDF format from my Resources Page.
Grrlscientist from Living the Scientific Life always has the latest book reviews and The Birdfreak Team has a book review page with loads of great bird book reviews.
Here are some other great bird book resources and reviews…
Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted): Birds in the … – This week’s issue of the Birdbooker Report lists ecology, evolution, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. Ian also recently published an article in the magazine, Winging It, about the 100 …
Review of Falcons of North America – Falcons of North America by Kate Davis is a fact-loaded complete study of the six species of falcons that are found in North America. The detailed, yet readable text is interspersed with over 200 of the most amazing falcon photographs, most by Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop, two superb photographers.
Review Roundup: December 1, 2008 – Review Roundup: In Print, July and August ‘08 · Review Roundup: October 28, 2008 · New Bird Books to be Published in April and May, 2008 · Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America · Review Roundup: The Smithsonian Guide …
Truly Essential – Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion – Shelfari: A Community for Bibliophiles · Between the Wingtips: The Secret Life of Birds · New Bird Books to be Published in April and May, 2008 · Review Roundup: April 17, 2008 · Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land …
The Owl and the Woodpecker (Paul Bannick) – Bird books seem to my biggest new indulgence this year. No fewer than seven of them have followed me home (so far) in the last 12 months. [I’ve reviewed several here; search my blog for “birds” to retrieve them. …
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by Larry Jordan
on December 1, 2008
A South Korean control tower along the border with North Korea
photo courtesy of Newscom/File
The stretch of wilderness along the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea encompasses 390 square miles of diverse terrain virtually untouched by human development for 55 years. Does this sound like a perfect place for a National Wildlife Preserve?
Take a look at this great article from the Christian Science Monitor, written by Tony Azios. This concept of making the DMZ into a bio-diverse haven and increasing tourism to the area would not only be economically important to the area, it could also foster peace in this troubled part of the world.
The most important aspect of this conservation effort to this observer is that perhaps one-third of all Red-crowned Cranes, the world’s rarest, depend on the DMZ’s wetlands and nearby agricultural fields while migrating. The Spotted Seal, Chinese Water Deer, and Lynx are just a few of its resident mammals as well as some of the last wild bears and leopards in the region.
Up to 67 percent of all plant and animal species found in Korea live in and around the DMZ and several species are found only there. With these kinds of figures, how can we not preserve this jewel as one of the most bio-diverse spots in East Asia?
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