Comments on: BIRD SONG CONTEST A WORLD TOUR HIGHLIGHT http://armchairbirder.com/2009/09/08/bird-song-contest-a-world-tour-highlight/ Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:29:00 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Mark Simpson-Vos http://armchairbirder.com/2009/09/08/bird-song-contest-a-world-tour-highlight/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Mark Simpson-Vos Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:40:37 +0000 http://armchairbirder.com/?p=91#comment-26 Great report, John! Would have been great to witness first-hand. Great report, John! Would have been great to witness first-hand.

]]> By: Ruthie http://armchairbirder.com/2009/09/08/bird-song-contest-a-world-tour-highlight/comment-page-1/#comment-25 Ruthie Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:00:41 +0000 http://armchairbirder.com/?p=91#comment-25 Would've given anything to have been there! I'm working on several calls for the next contest . . . Would’ve given anything to have been there! I’m working on several calls for the next contest . . .

]]> By: Dede http://armchairbirder.com/2009/09/08/bird-song-contest-a-world-tour-highlight/comment-page-1/#comment-24 Dede Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:45:13 +0000 http://armchairbirder.com/?p=91#comment-24 The Armchair Birder gives an accurate rendering of the process of the great event on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the truly now world-famous Decatur Book Festival. What John has not said is what a complete hoot his and Richard's and Lawson's show was. John had spent hours loading Stokes's bird calls onto his ipod. What the ACB had not mastered was how to work his player. So when we moved into the bird call identification part of the presentation, John's ipod loudly announced "Bald Eagle" before playing the call. Since Richard had tried earlier to get his really fancy-dancy player to sound the notes of the calls contestants were making and had a pretty hard time of it, the Yow boys appeared slightly Luddite-ish. Susan, Richard's wife, said in a loud stage voice, "Richard just got that thing; he doesn't know how to work it yet" to the delight of those sitting around us. I knew John would play with his like a monkey. I watched him trying to load the thing. Lawson, handsome and charming, just sat smiling throughout as though he had borne his father's and uncle's ineptness over many years. Indeed the dear boy has. The most important point, though, is that it was a really fun event. The crowd got into the spirit of birdcalling with zest and silliness, cheering wildly the dove and clapping maniacally for the sandhill crane and the exotic ibis. John didn't mention that Scott had flapped his arms wildly with his pterodactyl call, to the amusement of all. Nor did he mention that Scott scared the wits out of us earlier that morning as we walked up Clairmont toward the courthouse. Cawing like a crazed crow, he zoomed by us on his bike, shouting back: "That's not the call I'm doing!" Such a wonderful prelude to a totally cool event. Epic, I don't know. Comic, yes. Tragicomic with John and Richard's genius with technology. If you didn't make it, catch the show in Nashville at the Southern Festival of Books in early October. Maybe by then John will have figured out how to work his ipod. Or even more amazing--perhaps he will have seen a wood thrush. The Armchair Birder gives an accurate rendering of the process of the great event on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the truly now world-famous Decatur Book Festival. What John has not said is what a complete hoot his and Richard’s and Lawson’s show was. John had spent hours loading Stokes’s bird calls onto his ipod. What the ACB had not mastered was how to work his player. So when we moved into the bird call identification part of the presentation, John’s ipod loudly announced “Bald Eagle” before playing the call. Since Richard had tried earlier to get his really fancy-dancy player to sound the notes of the calls contestants were making and had a pretty hard time of it, the Yow boys appeared slightly Luddite-ish. Susan, Richard’s wife, said in a loud stage voice, “Richard just got that thing; he doesn’t know how to work it yet” to the delight of those sitting around us. I knew John would play with his like a monkey. I watched him trying to load the thing. Lawson, handsome and charming, just sat smiling throughout as though he had borne his father’s and uncle’s ineptness over many years. Indeed the dear boy has.

The most important point, though, is that it was a really fun event. The crowd got into the spirit of birdcalling with zest and silliness, cheering wildly the dove and clapping maniacally for the sandhill crane and the exotic ibis. John didn’t mention that Scott had flapped his arms wildly with his pterodactyl call, to the amusement of all. Nor did he mention that Scott scared the wits out of us earlier that morning as we walked up Clairmont toward the courthouse. Cawing like a crazed crow, he zoomed by us on his bike, shouting back: “That’s not the call I’m doing!” Such a wonderful prelude to a totally cool event. Epic, I don’t know. Comic, yes. Tragicomic with John and Richard’s genius with technology.

If you didn’t make it, catch the show in Nashville at the Southern Festival of Books in early October. Maybe by then John will have figured out how to work his ipod. Or even more amazing–perhaps he will have seen a wood thrush.

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