Entertainment - Entertainment News

POSTED: Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009

Fanter Lane: Acme pre-teen's interest in birdwatching took flight early

If you had to picture what a typical birdwatcher looks like, you might imagine an older person with a dusty pair of binoculars and a fanny pack trekking through the forest. Fanter Lane, 10, is challenging that stereotype.

As the third generation of birdwatchers, this Acme resident estimates that he's seen roughly 300 species in North America. He's made birding trips to Texas, Arizona, as well as the northeast, and has seen rare birds such as the Altamira Oriole, Crested Caracara, and the Short-eared Owl.

He not only lives to go birdwatching with his father, Ken Lane, and grandfather, Ken Lane, but keeps track of the birds he sees, reads the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior before bedtime, and has even taken to painting his favorite birds.

Here is his story, in his own words:

"I got my first birding book when I was 3, and now it's starting to fall apart. It's the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. I love going through that book and just seeing his paintings of birds sitting on nests, and how they do things.

"My grampa started birding, and then my dad starting birding with him. When they'd go out, I'd go with them and I really liked it. I was probably 6 or 7 when I first started going out.

"Maybe one of the coolest birds I've ever seen is the Burrowing Owl. We just went to eastern Washington and saw them. They're incredible because they’re so beautiful, and they would just sit next to each other and do a lot of preening. It's so cool to see the beautiful things that mother nature can do. I really like owls, but there are other birds that are incredible by their color and their behavior.

"I've probably seen like 300 birds. I think the record of a person who's keeping track of their birds in North America is 820. I want to beat that."

"I want to be a person who takes people on birding tours in North America. When people take you out, sometimes they’re knowledgeable and they know the place so well. They know where all of the birds are. I'd like to do that."

"When I was younger, I was really into reptiles, but now it's birds. Right now, I definitely always want to be a birder."