Celery Farm and Beyond: My New Column: 'The Big Year,' 5 Years On

High Mountain Comma (Butterfly)!

State Line Lookout Report 100616

My New Column: 'The Big Year,' 5 Years On

"The Big Year:" flopped when it arrived in theaters fvie years ago this month. But since then...

My new column in "The Record," featuring Meadowlands Big Year winner Ramon Gomez, is all about the phenomenon.

The link is here. Photo below, by Ron Shields, is of one of the 171 bird species Ramon saw in his Big Year -- a Great Horned Owl on Disposal Road.

Featuring the Celery Farm Nature Preserve, Red-shouldered Hawks, High Mountain, and Jim Wright's column "The Bird Watcher."

Directions to The Fell House
Look for white house with pillars, white barn, on west side of Franklin Turnpike, just north of Cottage Place.
Directions to Green Way entrance to the Celery Farm
Green Way is off the Franklin Turnpike, the second right heading north after the Celery Farm parking lot on the Franklin Turnpike. Parking is in the cul de sac. This is a residential street, so please drive and park considerately. Please do not block the large gates leading into the Celery Farm, and please park parallel to the curb.
Directions To Celery Farm Main Parking Lot
Parking lot is on your right, north of Cottage Place, past three houses. Please do not park on the sidewalk -- it is illegal, by state law. You could damage the sidewalk, make it dangerous for pedestrians, and receive a ticket. (Pass the word if you see anyone parking on thes sidewalk.)

About Me
Jim Wright is the author of the upcoming "Screech Owl Companion." His other books include "The Real James Bond" and large-format books about the New Jersey Meadowlands, Pennsylvania’s Hawk Mountain, Allendale's Celery Farm Nature Preserve, and the largest rainforest in Central America. He has also written two e-books on Bald Eagles (including one for Duke Farms) and one on Red-shouldered Hawks. He has written “The Bird Watcher” column for The Record since 2009. He is a deputy warden of the Celery Farm, a board member of Allendale's Lee Memorial Library, and a former trustee forThe Nature Conservancy in New Jersey.