A Celebration Of Birds With Roger Tory Peterson; Koalas--The Bare Facts

Two new-to-video releases from Bullfrog Films will warm the hearts of ornithologists, marsupial lovers, and just plain folks. A Celebration of Birds With Roger Tory Peterson features the renowned author/artist (who published his first "field guide" to birdwatching in 1934 at the age of 25) traveling along the Eastern coast, visiting favorite haunts, talking with fellow enthusiasts, and reminiscing about his life as an ardent naturalist. Peterson recalls his early interest in birds as a boy, when ornithology was still in its "shotgun period," and his determination to create a simple, less cumbersome, bird guide than what was then available. Thanks, in part, to his efforts, birdwatching has become a popular recreational activity and even a sport. Stopping off in New Jersey, Peterson visits with competitors in an unusual contest. In 24 hours (from midnight to midnight), teams roam the countryside trying to find as many bird species as possible. Peterson also visits a small island which he last saw in 1936, when he filmed Atlantic puffins (whose facial expressions make them look like mimes) in action. In the ensuing decades, the birds were killed off by hunters, but today, thanks to the enterprising work of concerned individuals, the puffin preens again. Whether watching a group of Central Park birdwatchers armed with binoculars, or a remote bay which serves as a rendezvous point for literally hundreds of thousands of migrating birds each year (it's a truly amazing sight), A Celebration of Birds With Roger Tory Peterson is a fascinating look at one gentle man and the league of birdwatching enthusiasts he helped to foster. Oh yeah, and the tape does include some of the most beautiful footage of birds we've ever seen.Koalas--The Bare Facts is an exceptionally entertaining, and occasionally heartbreaking, look at Australia's mascot: the beloved Koala bear. Increased land development in the suburbs of Queensland has cut into the Koala's habitat, with the result that concerned naturalists like Casper Pieters have to come rescue bewildered koalas who have climbed telephone poles after accidentally wandering into civilization looking for food. The problem with koalas is their unusual dietary requirements: they basically only eat eucalypt leaves, which they munch for five hours, resting and sleeping the other 19 hours. Since they are unable to store fat, koalas cannot go far to forage without collapsing from weakness. Some families have adopted koalas, and the scenes where adoptive mothers and fathers feed the little bears or sit and watch TV are just precious (you'll find yourself making those involuntary clucking and cooing noises that humans automatically make when confronted with cute babies). One woman, whose adopted baby bear Brendan lost his natural mother in a car accident, raised the little tyke in a sock which she kept down her shirt. In one of the most wonderful scenes in the film, the woman brings the year-old Brendan out to her arboretum to introduce him to his fellow koalas, and the little guy lasts about two seconds with an older female koala before nervously grabbing on to his human "mommy." There's also a fair amount of coverage of koalas in the wild, including their rather interesting mating habits: the female signals her willingness to do the love tango by vigorously flapping her ears (a lot like Dumbo, actually), and the male responds with a bellowing noise that sounds a bit like a series of Sunday afternoon football beer belches. But amidst all the cute and cuddly scenes, the film never loses sight of the very real problems which face the koala bear today: disease brought on by environmental stress, an increasing number of koalas hit by cars, and a steady diminution of their natural habitat. Moving, loving, and often funny, Koalas--The Bare Facts is an incredible film.Both A Celebration of Birds With Roger Tory Peterson and Koalas--The Bare Facts are highly recommended and both are Editor's Choice's. (Available from: Bullfrog Films, P.O. Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; (800) 543-FROG.)