Steve Martin got the title of his latest bluegrass album from the world of bird-watching. Jack Black had a recurring dream in high school that he could fly like a bird. Owen Wilson bagged a bunch of Styrofoam decoys the one time he went duck hunting. The three play avid birders in “The Big Year,” a comedy opening Friday that chronicles an annual competition to see who can spot the most species in one year.
AP: Had any of you gone birding before you did this movie?
Wilson: I’ve done it in the sense of walking along and you notice a hawk or a bird or something, and that isn’t a big jump from that to birding.
Martin: I think you’re going to make a lot of birders angry by saying, “Well, walking along, and it’s not a big jump.” I think they think it’s a big, big jump.
Wilson: But I think any awareness of birds they probably would applaud.
Martin: I think birders would be upset. There’s a huge amount of stuff to learn. It’s not just like walking along. Don’t say that out there tonight. It’s OK to say it in front of millions and millions of people in print.
AP: Then you can just say that I misquoted you.
Wilson: Exactly.
AP: Any other birding experiences?
Wilson: Putting out a bird feeder.
Martin: Shooting birds?
Black: Buying one of those duck-calling horns?
Wilson: Duck hunting. Have you ever been duck hunting?
Black: No, I’ve never been on any kind of hunt whatsoever. Have you gone duck hunting?
Wilson: Yeah, once.
Black: Did you take a dog? Did you take a pooch?
Wilson: No, we went in a boat. We were like 10 or 11. I went with this friend, and his dad was a big hunter. … We were going along in the boat half-asleep. All of a sudden, we see some ducks in the water. I found out later you’re not even supposed to shoot them when they’re in the water. They’re supposed to be flying. And we just start blasting. And Styrofoam flies up. They were decoys that other hunters put up in front of their blinds. So we’re just blasting away, Styrofoam just going up in the air. That was the only duck I ever shot.
AP: Do you appreciate birds more now?
Martin: I notice more birds. I definitely do. But I’m like a three-bird man. Hummingbird, hawks, owls. But owls are very hard to see. … Oh, woodpeckers I like. I can identify a woodpecker.
Wilson: Yeah, I’d like to see a woodpecker. I would add a cardinal.
Martin: I don’t know what a cardinal looks like.
Wilson: Red.
Martin: I know what the pope looks like.
Wilson: And a blue jay. Those would be the two I would add.
Black: The eagles are the most impressive to me. Just because in my child’s brain, I just like the most powerful, vicious ones.
