NATURAL RESOURCES BOOK REVIEW.``The Big Year - A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession'' By Mark Obmascik (Free Press, $25.00) Extreme bird watching sounds like an oxymoron, like Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run schedule or Microsoft Works. But it's real. Obmascik, a former reporter for the Denver Post, has written a lively book that captures the love of birds, ego, obsession, money and stamina that it takes to win the Big Year - what birders call an attempt to see the most North American birds <onlyinclude> This list of North American birds is a comprehensive listing of all the bird species known from the North American continent north of Mexico. </onlyinclude> in a single calendar year. ``Birders'' is the term the hard core prefer to distinguish themselves from birdwatchers This is a list of the world's greatest birdwatchers, based on the number of species of birds seen. Depending on the taxonomic viewpoint, there are about 8,800–10,200 living bird species. like your Aunt Hattie who sees the occasional robin at the feeder in her back yard. The Big Year follows three birders who vied for top honors in 1998. One spends more than $100,000 to track down rare birds. Another maxes out five credit cards in an attempt to see the more than 700 species of birds that it will take to win. A third, a high-powered businessman, is torn between his desire to compete and his guilt at leaving his wife for the hundreds of days on the road that it takes to win. The Big Year is a well-told, informative and suspenseful account of high- octane birding that even those (like this reviewer) who don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. a finch from a fork-tailed flycatcher can enjoy. - Bill Becher CHECK IT OUT --Fortune 400 boating: Four hundred exhibits are on display this week in the Los Angeles Boat Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. . Items from high-priced yachts and house boats to fishing and ski/wakeboarding boats, kayaks and inflatables, are featured. The event ends Sunday. --Reopening: The public shooting area off San Bernardino National Forest San Bernardino National Forest has two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular Range. road 1N09 opened last week, according to Eric Sweetman of the fire prevention office of the Mill Creek Ranger Station. A valid day-use or annual Adventure Pass is required. Target shooting and plinking Plinking refers to informal target shooting done at non-traditional targets such as tin cans, glass bottles, and balloons filled with water.[1] The term arises from the verbal description of the sound a bullet makes when hitting a tin can, or other similar target, will be allowed only at yellow post sites along the forest road. Shooters can use only small wood, paper, clay pigeon clay pigeon target used at gun clubs. It causes poisoning in pigs at pasture which eat the targets. The coal tar pitch used as a binder causes severe hepatic necrosis. See also coal tar pitch. , or metal spinning targets in these areas. Use of steel core, armor piercing, or tracer ammunition is prohibited. Information: (909) 794-1123. --Oh deer: The Southern California Chapter of the California Deer Association will hold its third annual banquet and fund-raiser April 17 at the National Orange Showgrounds
CDA (1) (Compact Disc Audio) The compact disc file extension that is seen on the computer in Explorer or some other file manager. CDA files are actually pointers to the locations of the individual tracks on the CD medium. See CD-DA. has been instrumental in funding and providing on-the-ground manpower for several new big-game water projects within the San Bernardino National Forest and other areas in the region the past three years. It has become one of the most vocal and active groups in support of deer management and habitat improvement in the state. Ticket prices start at $65 per person for the dinner. Information: (310) 973-8148, (909) 790-2813, (909) 237-0573, (909) 389-1537, or e-mail socaldeer(at)aol.com. --Smile for the birdie: The San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Audubon Society is offering beginner bird walks at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve on the second Saturday of the month through March. Participants are encouraged to bring sturdy shoes, layered clothing and a brimmed hat. Walks begin at 8:30 a.m. in front of the amphitheater in the southeast part of Woodley Park. Information (310) 457-5796 or (818) 831-6061. --Safety first: There are many 10-hour hunter-education classes offered in the region. These classes are required before purchasing a hunting license and satisfy the California requirement for a safety course before a handgun can be purchased. In Los Angeles County, Spanish-language courses are available in Baldwin Park, Canoga Park, Inglewood and Torrance. Instructors also are available in Santa Ana, Colton, Escondido and Lompoc. Information: (562) 590-5670 or www.dfg.ca.gov. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: no caption (book: ``The Big Year - A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession'') Box: TUNE IN |
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