Well, it’s Labor Day. Some say, “end of summer” and some say, “beginning of fall” and of course it’s neither. But it recalls that line from a college poetry class: “The bird of time has but a little way to flutter and the bird is on the wing.”
A timely point to be made as seasons change. And a realistic reminder that we’re not going to score a “big year” again this year.
What’s a big year?
Needs no explanation to many two-fisted birdwatchers but if you’re new to the fun, it’s when competitive birders go on a marathon quest beginning January 1 and ending December 31, tracking and noting every species of bird they see, usually in the continental United States.
Some ultra-committed types take the year off, and criss-cross the country, hitting every eco-zone, where there are birds to be spotted and checked off a list. A good “big year” in the USA can mean more than 700 species.
There was a popular book about this, and it was made into a major Hollywood movie in 2011 with stars Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson among others. The “big year” quest is a thing, and it draws impressive people.
A guy named Sandy nailed a big year competition and they based one of the characters in the film on him. He’s been a reader of our stuff, and we’ve had some back-and-forth comments. A real winner, and a modest guy, too!
But back to the here and now. As far as our year of sightings, not so big. The usual cast of characters. Woodpeckers, songbirds, jays, herons and kingfishers, odd ducks and tropical visitors (the blazing favorite tanagers, both Summer and Scarlet).
Saw a Bald Eagle without leaving home, an osprey and owls, sandpipers and a slew of warblers in spring, flycatchers and larks, and, well, this is NOT going to be a litany of this year’s everyday but always appreciated sightings.
Instead, it’s a meditation about the unstoppable march of time. And the acceptance that this year—and any foreseeable year—is not going to be a “big” one here. But there’s some consolation…
We may not have a big year, but we’ve been IN one. When they made that movie, the camera crew placed a coffee cup on the night table next to star Jack Black—one of the big three in the film.
The perfect prop for that birder hero, and a mug shot we’re proud of.
Hats off to the writer, director, set decorator and property master, or to whoever selected this prop for the nightstand. The TFBW Cup — the perfect prop.
Yep, that is cool. I saw Sandy a couple of times on a boardwalk in FL, when I lived there. Also very cool.
That is so incredibly cool!