by Michael Obmascik
This isn't a travel book. Not exactly. What it is a story of three men who decided to see as many birds as they can in North America in one year. To do this, they obviously must travel a great deal, so much of the book is them flying from place to place on a moment's notice to see a single rare bird. It is obsessive, grueling travel. It is a hunt rather than a trip. It makes for an entertaining and interesting book, one which got me thinking. Is the travel necessary for the birding of the Big Year really any different than the way most people travel today?
All too often people travel to see the sites and the sites are all they see. They hop on a plane and a bus and go from monument to monument from museum to museum or natural wonder to natural wonder and check things off their 1000 places to see before you die life list. (Oh, how I dislike those books!) Few take the time to stop and appreciate a culture different than their own. They don't venture off the beaten path to explore something outside of a guide book. They don't slow down and try something new and unsusual. They obsessively take pictures of things instead of appreciating them while standing directly in front of them. It seems very unpleasant and exhausting to me. That is not how I want to travel.
As a single traveler, I have been guilty of taking a tour or two for the sake of safety and saving money. But I was careful to select tours which allowed time to explore independently. I stop in a cafe or sit on a park bench and people watch. I go into local markets and wander. I walk and take public transport to be among locals. I try new things and I marvel at them. And I never, ever, take pictures. I live in the moment and preserve it in my memory rich with smells, sounds, and sensations. It is for me and no one else. If someone else wants to see it or experience it, they can go themselves! I come home from my trips invigorated rather than exhausted and I can't wait to go somewhere else.
Though they aren't described in any detail, the places visited in this book sounded fascinating even if only for the wildlife to be seen. I would love to take a pelagic boat trip, canoe through the Everglades, bike around an Alaskan island... I won't see them all in my lifetime, but I do hope to visit some of them someday. Though perhaps I will linger a little longer than the birders.
