Nature Done Wright

A decade ago, Stiles Thomas and Rob Fanning had a Big Year competition in the Celery Farm, photographed and chronicled by Tom Franklin, the terrific photographer of The Record.

I paid to download the file in hopes of getting the photo but got only the article, which follows (does anyone have a copy of the photo, and who won? — judging from the photo above, courtesy of Lisa Ann Fanning, Rob won the 2015 version of the competition):

Rob Fanning and Stiles Thomas are rare birds.

"World class" birders, the pair have spent the past year waging a friendly, but competitive, high-stakes battle of the birds. Their goal is to see who can record the most bird species within the confines of the Celery Farm nature preserve in Allendale.

So far, it's neck and neck. Fanning, 30, has all the physical advantages of youth. He's 53 years younger than his competitor. He's more apt to get up and out before dawn. He moves with greater speed and endurance. And he has far better vision and hearing than Thomas. Plus, he's got the better spotting scope.

But don't count out Thomas. He's the wily old veteran. A genial and witty outdoorsman, the highly revered Thomas can still get his game face on and go toe to toe with any birder out there.

Considered the godfather of the Celery Farm and personally responsible for its very existence, Thomas knows every stone and phragmite in the marsh. He's retired, so he has more time on his hands than his competitor, and he's finishing strong.

His tally includes a few more rarities, such as the white pelican he recorded for the first time a few weeks back. It also helps that Fanning gave Thomas a 10-bird handicap for Fanning's having gotten off to a faster start. Birding has much to do with good sportsmanship.

So who's ahead in this battle, with a little more than a month to go?

"We can't reveal the numbers," Fanning says. "But there have been rumors …."

"Rob is better than I am," says Thomas, who has birded all over the world, including regular visits to Belize. "He's more patient, more studious. He's the man. I used to be."

"I have done better than last year's 166," says Fanning, who records not only his own tally, but creates a spreadsheet on all the birds spotted in the Celery Farm. "But I think with the 10-bird advantage, he's ahead. Several times he said, 'you're going to win.' But there's basically nothing else I can get."

The Celery Farm is a 107-acre wetlands surrounded by woods and trails. It's a nature lover's paradise, in a region bulging with overdevelopment. Its footpaths take you around Lake Appert, which ducks, deer, snapping turtles, fox and raccoons call home, and its three observation decks are perfect for spotting waterfowl.

More than 240 species of birds have been recorded there, and more than 50 are known to breed there.

"It's the big mud puddle," birder John Workman says with great affection. "It's one of the most intensely birded places in northern New Jersey."

Workman says he often encounters the competitors on the Celery Farm. "Rob has always been a hotshot, and of course Stiles is the dean and savior founder of the Celery Farm. I think it's very close. I can assure you neither one has an inkling who is ahead. There is much interest among birders, and the stakes are high. It will be close."

After all, the winner of the great Celery Farm battle of the birds will take home the grand prize: $1.

THOMAS E. FRANKLIN , STAFF WRITER   
Published: November 27, 2006