Peripatetic Praxis » Nature

The Big Year

eweislogel — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:54:51 +0000

As a birder who has just finished his “First Year”, I was very excited to see this movie. I read the book, and I was both delighted and disturbed by the obsession to see as many species of bird as possible in a year’s time – the goal of a “Big Year.” Delighted, because there are so many species, each with its own beauty and its own story (“life history,” we birders say), and the book fascinated me and helped me learn. It certainly stoked my desire to see all of the birds there are. Disturbed, I must admit, because I find I not only want to catch just the tiniest glimpse of a bird to get it onto my life list, but I want to linger over a bird, if possible, to watch it, to delight in it. This is a recipe for losing a Big Year competition. For me, the “big” in big year would be the amount of time afforded to birding, not to the length of the list that results.

The movie did not make fun of birders, did not depict us nerdy goofballs, although it might easily have given in to such temptations. The actors, Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson, are always fun to watch, and this movie was no exception. The filmmakers conveyed the excitement of seeing a sought-after bird quite well. And the movie asked the right questions: What does it mean to succeed in life? What does it take…and what does it mean…to “win”? This is a family movie, I think, and I can easily imagine it would spark an interest in birding in its viewers. I enjoyed it very much.

For whom or what does a Praying Mantis pray?

eweislogel — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:38:41 +0000

For all of us, I hope. We could use it.

[Caught this one a prayer in Okehocking Nature Reserve yesterday.]

Let the counting begin!

eweislogel — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:54:32 +0000

The annual Hawk Count began yesterday at Rose Tree Park (and it has been going on already at other key raptor watch sites). First day count total: 7. It’s early.

Brown Booby in New Jersey

eweislogel — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:23:57 +0000

You can read my report at the Blog of the Birding Club of Delaware County. But here’s a picture of this lost little lady:

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

eweislogel — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:34:58 +0000

Didn’t you just love that essay assignment when you were in elementary school?! Anyway, at my age I spend most of my summer vacation digging my heels in trying to slow down summer vacation…and the rest of my life as well.

Among the things I did on my summer vacation was a little birding and some attempts at nature photography. Here is a reason to think this can be scary:

[Great Crested Flycatcher]

David Christian – Big History

eweislogel — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:45:15 +0000

The story of everything…in 18 minutes.
[You may want to watch this here instead of below, as the video controller does not seem to be working. Below, once you start, you can only stop it by reloading the page (at least in my browser...).]

Butterfly Twins – Ridley Creek State Park

eweislogel — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:17:13 +0000