Mark Obmascik: The Big Year

Reviewed by MICHAEL LARSEN

All of us can probably lay claim to knowing a few eccentrics, so a few birdspotters shouldn't make for 248 pages of absorbing reading, then? Just another bunch of off-centre hobbyists, right? Wrong. Very wrong.

Mark Obmascik's fascinating book chronicles the bizarre species of biped that roams North America looking for rare birds: the birdwatcher. While Obmascik, a superb journalist, incidentally, spends the earlier pages of the book potting the history of this obscure pastime, his account focuses in on three of the more obsessive variety: Greg Miller, Al Levantin and Sandy Komito, as they pursue their Big Year, one in which each aims to spot the most species in a calendar year. Sounds simple. It's not.

Yep, these guys drive, fly and boat thousands of miles, and then make their way through alligator swamps, freezing deserts and a few suburban backyards in order to, well, in order to what, exactly? Beat the other guy, mainly. Or guys. Hundreds of thousands of people in the US alone are birdwatchers - they have internet sites, and even private phone accounts, where someone will call them if they've spotted something obscure. Which gives them a few miles on the next guy, hopefully.

And it is the competition between these oddballs that drives the narrative. Their different approaches to the whole process and their idiosyncratic strategies are fascinating enough. But when the competition gets fierce - it is well into the year before each of them twigs that the others are doing a Big Year also - that's when it gets ugly.

There are as many hilarious moments in this tale as there are species of hummingbird: Al Levantin trying to focus his binoculars on a rare seabird in between bouts of seasickness is particularly amusing; Sandy Kimoto's down-to-the-last-penny travel plans are delightfully recounted.

While these guys are easy to poke fun at, Obmascik's skill is that, through an uncritical eye and a dry, non-judgmental style, he lets us form our own opinions and, willed along by his quick, easy and very clever prose, we start to respect these peculiar fellows.

Komito, the least likeable, will have you in tears as he takes his ailing father on his last birdwatching adventure; Al Levantin's descent from corporate big cat to humble birdman is a lesson in humility I won't forget.

Obsessive, slightly crazy and geeky these guys might be, but their commitment to something so simple and beautiful, conducted in some of the world's most gorgeous settings, is truly inspirational. A fantastic surprise, and one that'll have you scanning sparrows for obscure markings.

Random House, $37.95

* Michael Larsen is an Auckland freelance writer.