The Grand Prize at the Big Year midnight screening this Friday

Okay, gang, this just got real. Because we have in our hot little hands the grand prize for Friday's midnight screening of The Big Year. A pair of 10x30 Swarovski CL Companion binoculars. Retail value? One Grand. And we're giving it away to one lucky winner. So what do you need to do to win?

Just come to the midnight screening of The Big Year at the Showplace ICON theater in St. Louis Park, MN on Friday (that's the Friday, midnight screening, so stay up late on Thursday). You can buy your ticket online here using Fandango. Since we're in the VIP, you'll be able to enjoy food and cocktails while you watch Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black compete to see the most birds in one year. Sharon will be there around 10:30pm on Thursday to socalize in the bar and give away some other prizes.

Big Year Screening & Swarovski Optik

Okay folks, it's almost time for the Big Year and Birds and Beers!  Call the showplace icon and get tickets ahead of time to ensure a seat.  The number is 1-800-326-3264 and you want the Midnight VIP screening of The Big Year.

Showplace Icon is going to offer a special midnight screen Friday morning at MIDNIGHT (so you’ll need to plan to stay up late Thursday, October 13!).  There are even going to be prizes—Swarovski Optik is coming and everyone who comes to VIP event is entered into a drawing to win their prize.  Rumor has it that it's the new CL 10x30s.

I'll have some other prizes too and I’ll be there at about 10:30pm to have a drink and socialize–there’s a bar in the Icon below the theater and then carry on the fun above.

Don't tell me this is too late of an evening for you to do--really nice binoculars are on the line.  Also, I'm doing bird surveys all week (we're talking 10 - 11 hour days) and I have to go to a meeting on Friday.  This is why we have things like shade-grown coffee and Red Bull.

Golden Eagle vs Chukar

I can't believe I forgot about these photos.  While cleaning out my iPhoto cache today I came across a picture of a chukar at Antelope Island in Utah.

Okay, so it's a very mediocre photo of a chukar.  I was driving around, just taking photos of anything when I tried to get a shot of this chukar.  They are all over the island and I always end up seeing them on the sides of roads or in parking lots. They also have a knack for scurrying in to grass or brush as soon as a lens is aimed at them.  Less than a minute after I got this photo, the chukar dove into the grass. I told myself to look up and about 10 feet above my rental car windshield was a golden eagle.

I wasn't able to get a camera on the golden until it was well past, it moving moving fast!  Scott Mehus at The National Eagle center says that if you see turkeys running like a bat out of hell from a field near a goat prairie around Wabasha, MN, chances are good there's a gold eagle overhead.  The golden made a dive for the chukar and missed it, but boy, what a treat to have right in front of the car.

After that I got bonus time of watching the golden eagle circle on thermals coming off the bluffs on Antelope Island. It was great to be able to see the golden hackle feathers (the feathers on the back of the head).

Birdchick Podcast #69: Big Year midnight screening, Project Runway, and Cornell's contest

Birds and Beers: Midnight Screening of The Big Year (Facebook Event) on Friday! You can also get the info on The Birdchick Birds and Beers Page. Why were these birds on Project Runway?

project runway birds
project runway birds

There's a rare original copy of Audubon's Birds of Americaon display at Trinity College in Connecticut.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology is having a "Close Encounters of the Bird Kind" contest.

Wild Turkey chases a TV reporter. What more do you need to know?

Will bird poop ruin your car's paint job?

Famer who destroyed thousands of protected pelican eggs claims he "just snapped."

Birdchick Podcast #69

Birds & Beers Big Year Edition!! Midnight Showing

Breaking NEWS: We have a special Birds and Beers next week!!

The next Birds and Beers is a special screening of The Big Year Movie opening! Showplace Icon is going to offer a special midnight screen Friday morning at MIDNIGHT (so you'll need to plan to stay up late Thursday, October 13! 

Tickets will go on sale Monday, October 10 and we may even have a few surprises to give away at the screening.  I'll be there at about 10:30pm to have a drink and socialize--there's a bar in the Icon below the theater and then carry on the fun above.

Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, share some digiscoping tips, promote your blog–the sky is the limit. It’s low key and it’s fun.

To get updates on when the next Birds and Beers will be, become a fan of Birds and Beers on Facebook and when a new event it planned, you’ll get a notification.  Or check back here.

Have You Ever Pulled A Dick Move When Bird Watching?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf7MMNdL9Vs&feature=relmfu[/youtube] A lot of the clips for the movie The Big Year focus on the main characters faking each other out or just pulling some real dick moves out in the field--purposely making someone sick.  Has anyone ever done that?  Faked out not seeing a bird so someone else wouldn't see it?

I ask because generally I find birders are a pretty friendly lot--even during a competition like The World Series of Birding. Do people do this?  I suppose this would get into the area of ethics, you wouldn't want to flush a bird away to keep someone from seeing it, but you could give really bad direction (or make someone barfy on a pelagic birding trip).

You can keep it anonymous in the comments, I'll check the spam filter.

Birdchick Podcast #68: Eagle Shenanigans & Field Guide or Checklist

Immature bald eagle causes some serious shenanigans at Santa Barbara Zoo.  On a side note, Karen pointed me towards another wild eagle that got flirty with a captive eagle at the Orange County Zoo. Guys who make bird repellents say they can cut down on bird deaths.  Both Flock Buster (here's the ingredients) and Bird Bright ultraviolet paint say they can help.

Steve Dale from Cat Channel tries to extend an olive branch to birders over the whole feral cat issue...all while still getting in a good poke at bird advocates.

Birding is Fun is now a multi-author blog!

photo 1
photo 1

I'm very confused.  I love stuff from Princeton University Press, but illustrated field checklists confuse me.  This book is an illustrated checklist of the Birds of North America and Greenland by Norman Arlott.

photo 2
photo 2

It looks like a field guide...but it's not.  I like the illustrations but I don't understand it as a checklist. But if you're looking for a book with all the birds in North American (and Greenland) you'll find this book handy.  Although, if it's a checklist, where are the boxes to check?

Birdchick Podcast #68

More Big Year Pictures!

Some pictures of The Big Year Movie has popped up at IMDB.  Who hasn't hoisted their buddy on their shoulders to get a particular bird on their list?

I love this shot--Owen Wilson at High Island! Awesome!  I'm really curious to see if attendance increases in some of the areas featured in the movie.  Wouldn't that be awesome to have a whole crew of people enjoying them...and donating to them?  You can find more photos here.  I wonder if we should start keeping a list of Owen Wilson's various hats in the movie?

Here's another clip: