This is too funny – if you are a birder!
This is just too funny by Jason Kessler of Opposable Chums fame.
This is a great video of the strange and somewhat contradictory talk of birders. You shall recognize this if you are a birder – or if you know a birder just a little too well.
Here are some great lines:
“See that green tree over there!”
“You’ve got 10s, I’ve got 8s, I can’t use 10s”
“fairly common, extinct, fairly extinct”
“Someone’s got a Peterson? Someone’s brought a Sibley’s? You’ve brought Crossley’s?”
What are your favorite quotes from birders? Tell us in the comment section below please.
Interview with Jason Kessler
The Internet is amazing. I befriended Jason on Facebook as soon as I saw the video and asked if he would consider do an interview. That was yesterday. The video had around 250 views in 4 hours or so. Now, as I write this it has been viewed 6000 times in two days.
Gracefully, Jason accepted to do the interview.
Who is Jason Kessler?
I’m a birder and filmmaker, though not necessarily in that order. My most recent documentary, “Opposable Chums: Guts & Glory at The World Series of Birding” is about the world’s foremost competitive birding events, and it was a blast to make. In between going broke making my own films, I earn a living making films and videos for New York fashion designers, a gig I’ve held down for far longer than I care to admit.
How did you come up with the idea to the videoflick?
A little too much down time these days…
Can we expect any more birding videos from you?
Yup. I’ve got some definite plans, but if I talk about them now, then I have to do them, so I’m leaving myself a graceful exit in the form of plausible deniability.
What are your best birding experiences?
Too many to mention, like most of us I suppose. One incredible day in Cape May, NJ. One incredible day in High Island, Texas. One incredible day in Central Park, NYC. Or perhaps the day, last week, when a Barred Owl sat on a branch twenty feet away at eye level and posed for as long as I cared to watch. I even went back to my car to retrieve a video camera and shoot the bird. It was still there in my rear view mirror as I finally drove away. A rare luxury indeed…
Tell us more about the film about the World Series of Birding.
Filming a WSB was far more intense than participating in one. I was out in the field for much more than 24 hours, and fielding three other crews as well. This doesn’t include the intense planning stages that preceded the event.
At one point during The Day, I decided that, as much fun as I was having, I was about ready for it to be over. I looked at my watch; it was 8am.
Big days and bird races like WSB sounds like madness? Are they?
Big Days are GREAT ways to popularize birding. They get a lot of press, and can really draw attention and money to local conservation issues.
Were you a birder then….or more of a filmmaker shooting an interesting topic.
I was a birder for about 15 years when I started shooting the film, but I’ve been making films since I was 8, and make my living at it. So I guess I was BOTH a birder and a filmmaker.
Competition
I like this video so much, I really think it should get much more views. It is a great reply to “The Biggest Year” – and it takes birding down to a more down to earth hobby than simple listing and big days. The contrast between this video, The Biggest Year and Opposable Chums makes the underlying power behind the birding bug much easier to understand for birders at all levels and non-birders.
Two competitions:
1. Who can guess the final number of views on YouTube by midnight May 3 (Eastern Time)? Please enter your guesses in the comment section of this blog (below) or on the Birdingblogs Facebook page. Don’t forget to like the Facebook page. You have until April 2 to make guesses.
2. Who can get most shares and likes on Facebook – sharing this blogpost? Post a screenshot of your shared link from your Facebook profile on Birdingblogs Facebook page on before May 1 (midnight Eastern Time).
The winner of both categories will get the DVD Opposable Chums. Value $24.95
Want to hear my guess?
1,000,000 views! Yes, 1 million. You have to think big when it comes to birding. If there is any truth in the numbers of birders presented in the statistics, why not?
And the real winner if the video hits a million? The birdwatching community and the birds. So let’s chip in everyone and take this video to the skies! Go for it.
Top photo: Screenshot from the video. Note the lens caps!
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