English
English, 01.04.2020 20:44, rodneisha1313

A Big Year
By Bob Kowalski

Would you go to the ends of the earth to see a bird? What if it were a really special bird: one with beautiful feathers, an entrancing call, or a silly dance? What if seeing that one special bird would allow you to win a contest?

If that contest doesn't get you on television or win you any cash prizes, would you still do it? For those who participate in the "Big Year," the honor of beating the previous record is the only reward they get or even want.

A "Big Year" is a year in which a person attempts to see as many different species of birds as possible within a particular region. For most in North America who participate in a "Big Year," this region is the lower 48 American states, plus Alaska, Canada, and a couple of French islands off the Canadian coast.

You may be thinking that looking at birds is silly, but just think about the numbers of the recent record holders and the commitment it takes to get these numbers. One recent "Big Year" winner managed to see 744 birds in one year, missing the record by just one bird. Big Year birders travel by train, plane, boat, car, bicycle, and of course, by foot. They can cover over 150 thousand miles to get numbers of sightings this high. They can also spend a small fortune.

Just to clarify, the birds these contestants are counting are the number that they see in a particular year. You see, the contest is based on an honor system. No pictures or other evidence is required as proof of a sighting. Most birders take great pride in their reputation and their abilities to see or hear and then identify a bird. Usually, important sightings of the rare birds needed to get counts in the 700s are visited by hundreds of birders. It is pretty hard to cheat your way to a record-breaking year, but in general, few are interested in cheating.

This honesty comes from the fact that most people who want to break such a record know the greatest rewards are not necessarily in winning. Such rewards are in being able to commit a year of your life to doing something you love. Rewards are found in seeing amazing, inspiring creatures like the California Condor or the Magnificent Frigate bird. Rewards also come in spending time with people who, like you, want to spend their time looking to the skies and trees for glimpses of emerald, crimson, or cerulean blue feathered jewels.

You don't have to be able to travel a continent to have a big birding experience though. Have a big month. Or a big weekend. Set a personal record, learn to identify the species that live in your part of the world, or try to learn the calls of just two species of birds. You will soon find looking at birds isn't such a strange way to spend your time.

Extra! Extra! Backyard Birding
Many schools, families, and young birders across the country participate in the "Great Backyard Bird Count." While not as long as a "Big Year," the "Great Backyard Bird Count" happens every year. It depends on birders and families across the country to watch feeders and other areas in their yards and count the number of birds they see. Unlike the "Big Year," the goal is not to see who can count the most birds. Instead, participants in this event work together to help bird experts get a good idea of how birds are doing. Participants are given checklists and enter their sightings on a website. Called a "citizen-science" project, this event is open to anyone, requires no travel, and happens every year over one weekend in February.
What is the main idea of the Extra! Extra! section?(5 points)
Select one:
a. The Backyard Bird Count offers helpful checklists.
b. The Backyard Bird Count creates more friendly competitions.
c. The Backyard Bird Count benefits birds and scientists.
d. The Backyard Bird Count is for everyone, not just competitors.

answer
Answers: 3

Other questions on the subject: English

image
English, 22.06.2019 02:00, hmock65
In 1808, their friend, the romantic poet clemens brentano, asked them to collect all types of folk tales so he could use them in a book of literary fairy tales. in 1810, they sent him fifty-four texts, which they fortunately copied. fortunately, because brentano then lost the manuscript in the ölenberg monastery in alsace and never used the grimms’ texts. when they realized that brentano was not going to use the tales, they decided, upon the advice of another romantic writer and mutual friend, achim von arnim, to publish their collection. it had grown to eighty-six tales, which they published in 1812, and then another seventy, which they published in 1815. –“how the grimm brothers saved the fairy tale,” jack zipes what structural technique does the writer use in this passage? the writer describes events in chronological order. the writer describes events in their order of importance. the writer provides a central idea and then lists examples. the writer shows how the grimms made mistakes and then solved them.
Answers: 1
image
English, 22.06.2019 11:20, sunflowergirl6664
Read the first stanza of wallace stevens's 'the anecdote of the jar' below: i placed a jar in tennessee, and round it was, upon a hill. it made the slovenly wilderness surround that hill. which of these is the best paraphrase of the stanza? o a. when i placed a jar outside in tennessee, it seemed to dominate all of nature. o b. the round jar i put on a hill looked strange amidst the wildness of nature o c. i put a round jar on a hill in tennessee, and the jar made the wilderness surround it. o d. i placed a jar on a round, wilderness-covered hill in tennessee.
Answers: 1
image
English, 22.06.2019 12:40, kelseyduhhh
When narrators can be trusted to tell the story the way it really happened, they are considered a. unreliable first-person narrators b. reliable first-person narrator
Answers: 2
image
English, 22.06.2019 16:30, hoyanna69
Which lines are written in iambic pentameter? check all that apply. the smoke of my own breath and what i assume you shall assume i never saw a moor yet certain am i of the spot and summer's lease hath all too short a date nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st
Answers: 3
Do you know the correct answer?
A Big Year
By Bob Kowalski

Would you go to the ends of the earth to see a bird? Wh...

Questions in other subjects: