a big year

this movie is a must-see for birders.  (and the correct phrase is not 'bird-watching', as evidenced by steve martin's character when he corrects someone in all seriousness, "it's 'birding', rick.' ")  joining steve martin in the cast are jack black and owen wilson, who compete for the record number of bird sightings in this hilarious comedy.

a big year is a real thing.  it is commonly referred to as an informal competition between birders to identify, by either sight or sound (on the honors system), the largest amount of species in a specific geographic area within a single calendar year.

the ABA, or american birding association, gave the award to john weigel of australia who sighted 783 different species in 2016.  that same year, arjan dwarshuis from the netherlands received the world record of 6,833.

it's fun to think about actually doing a big year.  in the meanwhile, happy birding...