Review: How Many Birds Do You Need?

"How Many Birds Do You Need?" is a six part internet documentary by Steven Siegel profiling the history of American birding and a few of its key characters. As a relative newcomer to birding, I have often heard some names mentioned with reverence, but never really knew much about these people. Siegel provides wonderful and wonderfully brief life sketches of Wilson, Audubon, Coues, Fuertes, Griscom, and Peterson. The narration, the photographs, the artwork, and the video were all well produced and engaging. I'm sure there are birding historians that may debate some items presented, including the pronunciation of names (Rick Wright where are you?), but I'm sure these concerns will be of small significance to the general birding public. This fantastic documentary does a great job at providing the historical context of modern day birding. Anyone engaged in the hobby of birding will appreciate Siegel's work on his Vimeo channel called Raven on the Mountain. I really really enjoyed this and highly recommend it to all.