This Birding Life

The winter of 2011-2012 has seen the largest invasion in decades of snowy owls moving southward from the Arctic. Birders all over North America have gone afield seeking to find one of these ghostly white owls. In this episode host Bill Thompson, III, and some birding companions take a trip to see a snowy owl and they get much more than they bargained for! Along the way they discuss the owl invasion and learn about the snowy owl's life history from owl expert Denver Holt.

In this episode, TBL host Bill Thompson, III, interviews David Frankel, director of the movie "The Big Year." This movie, which is loosely based on Mark Obmascik's popular book "The Big Year" has the bird-watching world all aflutter over how birding and birders will be portrayed on the silver screen. Hollywood has not always treated birders kindly. But the story of three men devoting most of their individual time and money to try to set the North American record for the most species seen in a calendar year (hence the term "big year") seems to have broad appeal outside the realm of birders.

David Frankel is a sought-after Hollywood director with two major hits to his credit: "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Marley and Me." He describes working on "The Big Year" with an all-star cast of actors which includes Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Angelica Huston, and many others.