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Show Originally Aired: 3/1/2004 CALL 1 800-423-TALK
The Big Year
Image from the cover of "The Big Year" by Mark Obmascik. Email to friend
There are few competitive endeavors that require helicopters, canoes, rental cars and bicycles. Few that demand travel from the Alaskan wilderness, to the mosquito-infested swamps of Florida, to the rancid garbage dumps of Texas, all in the hopes of seeing a Bristle-Thighed Curlew or a Tundra Swan.
This is extreme birding. The Super Bowl of birding is The Big Year. People race across the country to spot as many bird species in North America as they humanly can in one year. This sport is not for the faint of heart. True birding diehards have been known to spend 270 days and $60,000 in their attempt to be the top birder. Writer Mark Obmascik chronicled The Big Year and three men who lived it. He calls it a tale of nature, man, and fowl obsession.
