No, they didn’t make this up; The Big Year is based on the novel “The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession”, by Mark Obmascik. Birders really do have something called The Big Year. Or rather, there are several types of Big Year events throughout the world. It’s one of the many, many things you get to learn about birding in this movie. How there’s often a difference between birding and birdwatching is one. That birders are probably cooler than you is another. (They’ve probably been to more places and seen more things in one year than the average Joe Blow Couchsitter, that’s for sure.) And btw, Attu Island, Alaska? Kind of a big deal. The Big Year pulls you into the world of birding, makes it look crazy, cool and amazing. With this movie, it’s easy to see why people are drawn to it.
Atomic Fangirl 