Birders and others got to see a screening of the “Central Park Effect,” a movie about birds in New York’s Central Park at South by Southwest conference. Birder Jane Tillman wrote on TexBirds:
Jeffrey Kimball, the director, is a birder and it showed. The movie is not yet out on DVD, as he hopes it will hit prime time, but watch this Youtube video to get a taste.

The movie played to a full house, unlike The Big Year. It is a lot better too. Maybe it will recruit some new birders.
“The Central Park Effect” reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green and the equally colorful, full-of-attitude New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, an idiosyncratic trombone technician, a charming fashion-averse teenager, and a bird-tour leader who’s recorded every sighting she’s made since the 1940s are among the film’s cast of characters. Featuring spectacular wildlife footage capturing the changing seasons, this lyrical documentary transports the viewer to a dazzling world that goes all but unnoticed by the 38 million people who visit the park each year.