Rant: Bringing Birding Back!
There's an opinion piece being ciruclated about by Pepper Trail on why he thinks birding is viewed as uncool as opposed to fly fishing which is viewed as very cool. The writer feels that there a lack of literary examples of making birding cool like there is with fly fishing.
Okay, first let's not kid ourselves about the coolness of fly fishing. Why is fly fishing so cool and so up front in the minds of Americans? Because of a little movie called a River Runs Through It. You have a hot, wet Brad Pitt swirling around in a river going for the perfect fly fishing experience--that's what made fly fishing so cool. Just typing that last sentence makes me want to go get completely outfitted for some fly fishing. If you have a hot, wet Brad Pitt traipsing around in the woods, pishing and sportin' some optics America would take interest.
The person who sent the email with the article was asking that editors and writers help the birding community "establish a higer opinion (read more cool) of the actvivity". The sender even wrote, "I know that some writers have attempted to make birding really cool too..."
Wait, attmepted?? Attempted! The sender of the email obviously doens't read this blog! There is no attempting--birding is cool and is well established as such here.
Birding is cool and it's not about how many books are written about it. Cool is a state of mind. It's time to take birding back. No more of this, "Yeah I'm nerdy 'cause I like to look at birds." It shoud be, "Of course, I look at birds, and why aren't you doing the same?"
Okay, first let's not kid ourselves about the coolness of fly fishing. Why is fly fishing so cool and so up front in the minds of Americans? Because of a little movie called a River Runs Through It. You have a hot, wet Brad Pitt swirling around in a river going for the perfect fly fishing experience--that's what made fly fishing so cool. Just typing that last sentence makes me want to go get completely outfitted for some fly fishing. If you have a hot, wet Brad Pitt traipsing around in the woods, pishing and sportin' some optics America would take interest.
The person who sent the email with the article was asking that editors and writers help the birding community "establish a higer opinion (read more cool) of the actvivity". The sender even wrote, "I know that some writers have attempted to make birding really cool too..."
Wait, attmepted?? Attempted! The sender of the email obviously doens't read this blog! There is no attempting--birding is cool and is well established as such here.
Birding is cool and it's not about how many books are written about it. Cool is a state of mind. It's time to take birding back. No more of this, "Yeah I'm nerdy 'cause I like to look at birds." It shoud be, "Of course, I look at birds, and why aren't you doing the same?"
posted by birdchick at 10:25 PM
16 Comments:
Actually, one might argue that there are more birders than fly fisherman, since fishing is a dying sport, to believe some sport and game commissions.
What? Birding not cool?!?!
And "The literature is thin." ?????? Bibliography to come.
BTW, I think Pete Dunne is cool, but only because he pulled me out of the mud on South Georgia. :-)
Fly fishing does have a bit of a literary history with writers like Hemingway, among others. Birding, of course, has its own excellent writers, but none of quite that stature.
Wow, Pete Dunne a gentleman? Who knew?
The literature is out there and if a bibliography is coming, I'll start it with the obvious: Big Year by Mark Obmascik, Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman (mmmm, I'm seeing a movie with a hitchhiking Brad Pitt. He'd be too old for the part, it would have to be played by some teen hearthrob guy), Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book.
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Oh, no, the literature is not thin, it's fat fat fat. I had trouble narrowing it down to things that would make good movies starring Brad Pitt. Alas, none except the Thoreau is in a class with Hemmingway.
Forbush and the Penguins by Graham Billing -- this has already been a movie, unfortunately it makes birding look insane, but it is literature -- a novel even.
Songbird Journeys by Miyoko Chu – only partly great birding stories, but the oil rig story and the tracking the transmitter story are suitably cool
The Feather Quest by Pete Dunne
The Grail Bird by Tim Gallagher
Parts Unknown by Tim Gallagher
The Prophet of Dry Hill by David Gessner
Return of the Osprey by David Gessner
Spring in Washington by Louis J.Halle
The Storm Petrel and the Owl of Athena by Louis J. Halle
The Bird of Light by John Hay
The Geese of Beaver Bog by Bernd Heinrich
Ravens in Winter by Bernd Heinrich
An Exhilaration of Wings by Jennifer Hill – an anthology of birding literature
Those of the Gray Wind: The Sandhill Cranes by Paul Johnsgard
On Watching Birds Lawrence Kilham
Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman -- how about Ashton Kutcher to play Kenn Kaufman?
End of the Earth by Peter Matthiessen
The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes by Peter Matthiessen
Logbook for Grace by Robert Cushman Murphy
Living with Seabirds by Bryan Nelson
My Famous Evening by Howard Norman – the story about the garganey
The Big Year by Mark Obmascik
The Adventure of Birds by Charlton Ogburn
At the Turn of the Tide by Richard Perry – the Joy of Oystercatcher Sex would be a better title
Wild America by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher -- how about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as Peterson and Fisher?
Rare Bird by Maria Mudd Ruth – again only partly great birding stories, but the parts that involve the actual birding are worthy of a movie
A Tour in Sutherlandshire by Charles St. John
The Natural History of Moray by Charles St. John
The Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands by Charles St. John
Birds of Siberia: The Petchora Valley by Henry Seebohm
Birding on Borrowed Time by Phoebe Snetsinger -- Meryl Streep as Phoebe Snetsinger?
Early Spring in Massachusetts from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau edited by H.G.O. Blake
Summer from the Journals of Henry D. Thoreau edited by H.G.O. Blake
Autumn from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau edited by H.G.O. Blake
Winter: From the Journals of Henry David Thoreau edited by HGO Blake
The Herring Gull's World by Niko Tinbergen
In Audubon's Labrador by Charles Wendell Townsend – a Massachusetts birder retracing Audubon’s route in Labrador
Two Ornithologists on the Lower Danube by Kirke Swann – this is weird but would make a good movie
Let's not forget "On the Wing" by Alan Tenant. Hopefully to be made into a movie by Paul Newman and Robert Redford's production company.
Might I add The Big Twitch by Sean Dooley? (I so want to meet that Aussie. Can anyone arrange that?)
Woof! Sean Dooley sounds like my kind of birder. Amy, any chance WildBird could sponsor him visiting a festival.
I would love to do a segment with him and extreme birding. He is just the guy to help show how cool we are.
Janet!
Holy Bird Lists, Batman! You really went to town with a great list.
I just want to read "hot, wet Brad Pitt" one more time.
I'm with miz_geek: "Hot, wet Brad Pitt" - Mmmmmmmmmmm, Yummy! (If I might add, circa "Meet Joe Black." Ever since the dumping Jen for Angelina thing, I have lost respect for the Bradster.)
~Kathi, who is proud to be a Birding Geek (never a nerd, though)
KatDoc, agreed on circa "Meet Joe Black." Hummina hummina.
All together now:
Hot, wet Brad Pitt!
.... the birding most of us do is just not cool. What is cool about going to the local pond and looking at ducks? Nothing. Thats where everyone takes the four year old and some stale bread. Not cool. Not the stuff of epics. But pish in a Le Contes sparrow to your very feet and THAT is cool. That is exactly what the fly-fisherman is doing. And finesse is the name of that game. Bird at that level and you don't have to worry about being cool. You are, and really don't need to tell anyone. In the end we just need to be pleased with ourselves.
Yes, but sometimes that local pond might have a rarity that isn't suppsoed to be there like a Thayer's gull.
I think to someone from the outside, pishing in a little brown job might be interesting (and HUGE kudos from that small hardcore birding crowd), but pish in a colorful bird like a cardinal and the larger population of non birders will give you standing ovation and think you're the coolest ever.
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