James Currie (born April 9, 1972) is a

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

expert, conservation advocate, and host of ''Nikon’s Birding Adventures TV'' and

Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27% ...

’s ''Aerial Assassins''.

Early life

Currie was born and raised in

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

.Elizabeth Clarke
“Lake Worth’s James Currie is a star among bird-watchers,”
''

Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...

'', January 13, 2012. His parents owned and ran the restaurant at

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens Kirstenbosch is a botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South African Natio ...

Table Mountain Table Mountain (; ) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, cableway or hik ...

.“James Currie puts the adventure in birding,”

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

, June 25, 2012. Currie started birdwatching around the age of seven, becoming enamored of the power and beauty of birds after witnessing a

black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

swoop down and grab a

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (from some interpretations of a word used in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Common ...

right in front of him.Linda Ballou
“Interview with Birding Adventurer – James Currie,”
National Association of Baby Boomer Women, September 11, 2011. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in African languages (he speaks

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

, Zulu and

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

) from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

; a Master of Science in Environmental Management from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

; and worked for over a decade in Africa as a wildlife and birding tour guide. From 2004 to 2007, Currie was the managing director of the Africa Foundation, a nonprofit working to protect rural lands across Africa.

Television

''Birding Adventures TV''

Currie created, produces and hosts ''Birding Adventures TV''.“The King of the Quest,”
Wingscapes, June 24, 2011. The show, sponsored by

Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...

, debuted in 2009 and was initially broadcast regionally on Fox Sports Net Florida and Comcast Southeast.Amy C. Rippel
“TV discovers scrub-jay’s star power,”
''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'', January 3, 2009. In 2012, the show aired nationally on

NBC Sports Network NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), w ...

. The show also airs on CarbonTV. It focuses on rare and unusual birds, “the adventure of birding, the new smells, new bird calls, new wildlife and amazing cultures,” and emphasizes the importance of bird and wildlife habitat preservation. Going against stereotype, ''Birding Adventures'' showcases birding as an active sport, rather than a passive one. Episodes have been filmed around

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and in exotic locations such as

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the

Andes Mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

. There are 13 episodes per season.

''Aerial Assassins''

In keeping with his philosophy of birding as an active sport, as host of ''Aerial Assassins'' on

, Currie follows packs of the unpredictable

Harris's hawk Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly also known as bay-winged hawk or dusky hawk, and known in Latin America as the peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argent ...

s hunting in the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The show premiered on January 20, 2012.

Books and other media

Currie consulted on and provided footage for the 2011 film ''

The Big Year ''The Big Year'' is a 2011 American observational comedy film starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, directed by David Frankel and written by Howard Franklin. The film was based on the 2004 non-fiction book ''The Big Year: A Tale of M ...

'', a comedy about a bird-spotting competition, starring

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

and

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''T ...

. In 2012, he produced a four-part series on the birds of

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

for the Botswana Tourism Organization. He contributes to the

American Birding Association The American Birding Association (ABA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birdwatching, birding in Canada and the United States. It has been called "the standard-bearer for serious birding in North America." ...

’s blog. Currie produced a 24-part series of lectures about

for the

Teaching Company The Teaching Company, doing business as The Great Courses, formerly Wondrium, is a media production company which produces educational, video, and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, and series under two content brands: The Grea ...

’s

The Great Courses The Teaching Company, doing business as The Great Courses, formerly Wondrium, is a media production company which produces educational, video, and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, and series under two content brands: The Grea ...

titled ''The National Geographic Guide to Birding in North America''. In 2014, Currie published his memoir ''When Eagles Roar: The Amazing Journey of an African Wildlife Adventurer'' . In 2016, Currie launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to film ''Last of the Big Tuskers'', a documentary inspired by the death of Isilo, the largest tusker in the Southern Hemisphere. Currie traveled throughout South Africa and Kenya to film the largest elephants on earth and document what is being done to ensure their survival. The documentary was released in 2018.

Personal life

Currie and his wife Rebecca have three children. They have lived in

Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Wort ...

, since 2007.

References

External links

''Birding Adventures TV''

Birding Adventures Official CarbonTV Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, James Living people Birdwatching American television hosts 1972 births People from Cape Town People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of Middlesex University