Yay or nay-do birding competitions help or hinder eco-tourism?  I think most birders have at least heard of (if not seen) the movie, “The Big Year”.   If not, you can get it from Amazon.com (my link).

It’s an entertaining film but not my style at all.  It just seemed that all they wanted to do was tick as many birds off a list as possible and beat other birders.  They were all rushing around, tripping over each other and not taking the time to appreciate the birds.

And now there is a new competition in Peru.  Part of it takes place in the Tambopata National Reserve so you can see my posts on how to get there.  Birding Adventures has the video on YouTube.  Interestingly, there are no women on any of the teams, I wonder why?  I see plenty of female birders at eco-lodges.  It did seem that the teams spread out so they weren’t all rushing around the same area at the same time and they did find some fantastic birds as you can see by the video.  The men in the video all seem to be very experienced birders.

What are your opinions of birding as a competitive sport?  Do you think it helps people become better birders and see more birds?  Or do you think it gets people too focused on the competition when they should be appreciating nature?  Please comment below!