Photo: Jane Bell
Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Join us for guided Sunset Walks, a unique birding event, and a special Second Sunday program.
Sunset Walks every night.
Sunday, October 14 – Saturday, October 20, 5:30 pm – dark. Meet at Bluebird Parking Lot, 197 Pleasant Plains Road.
Easy guided walk on service roads to watch flock after flock of migrating ducks descend into the Refuge pools to spend the night. It’s awesome. Easy walk on service roads, about a mile round-trip.
Special Photographer Sunset Walk
Thursday, October 18, 4:30 pm – dark. Meet at Bluebird Parking Lot, 197 Pleasant Plains Road.
Get out to the impoundments and set up your cameras early.
The Big Sit.
Sunday, October 14, during Refuge hours. Meet at the Overlook on Pleasant Plains Road.
Volunteers will be counting all the bird species seen or heard from the Overlook Parking Lot. Stop by any time to learn more about birds and bird identification, or to help with the count. For beginning or experienced birders. It’s a great way to learn and to participate in citizen science.
Guided Bird Walk to Join The Big Sit.
Sunday, October 14, 9:00 am
Join walk leaders Carolyn and Corinne on a guided bird walk. We’ll meet at the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center and bird our way down Pleasant Plains Road to join The Big Sit! It’s Fall Migration, so there should be lots to see (and hear)!
Second Sunday – Great Swamp Wilderness Area Turns 50.
Sunday, October 14, 1:30 – 3:00
Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Great Swamp Wilderness Act, protecting 3,660 acres of the Refuge as part of the National Wilderness Preservatoin System. Join Deputy Manager Lia McLaughlin to learn why this was significant, what’s so special about Wilderness, and the unique restrictions imposed by the Law. And, of course, to celebrate – there will be cake!
The days are getting shorter – and cooler – signals that fall migration is getting into full swing. Each year, during the second full week of October, wildlife refuges around the country celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week, a time to visit and learn about a wildlife refuge near your home. Fall is a great time to visit Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Spend some time at the Wildlife Observation Center or at the Overlook to enjoy the fall season and the many migrating birds. Stop by the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center to find out what birds have been reported – or to report your sightings. Take advantage of our free public events. In signing the original National Wildlife Refuge Week proclamation in 1995, former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Mollie Beattie remarked: “It’s a time for all Americans to learn about and celebrate this magnificent collection of lands we as a people have set aside for wildlife.” Come celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week at your national wildlife refuge.
Sunday, October 7, 1:00 pm at NJ Audubon Society’s Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary
In 2017, George Heinrich and his team from the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust, crossed the country to find as many of the 62 species of turtles in the United States as they could in a single year. On December 27, they logged species number 57!
Turtles play significant ecological roles, are visible in many habitats, and are the most endangered wildlife group in the world. The purpose of The Big Turtle Year was to highlight the conservation needs of North American wild turtles and to increase awareness regarding the status of this often overlooked species. A national lecture series has been developed to disseminate this information to a wide range of audiences.
As part of that lecture series, on Sunday, October 7, George Heinrich will share the exciting adventure of The Big Turtle Year. He will talk about the rich diversity of this species, natural history and conservation needs. You will hear about the threats facing turtles and the actions that are needed to support their well-being.
This program is being co-sponsored by New Jersey Audubon Society and will be held at the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, 11 Hardscrabble Road, Bernardsville, NJ. Join us for an amazing adventure story. For more information check out George’s blog here.
Fall in the swamp is an almost magical season. Spectacular autumn foliage, awesome bird migrations and perhaps the best weather of the year. So to get an early start, you’re invited to the 19th Annual Fall Festival at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. On September 15, from 10:00 to 3:00, we will once again offer an exciting variety of exhibits and activities for the whole family. And like the wildlife in our refuge, it’s all free.
This year our theme is “Trees”, and there will be guided “tree walks” on our trails where you can learn from the experts. If creatures are your thing, we will have close-up exhibits of birds, frogs, fish and reptiles. Kids can build a birdhouse or climb on the refuge’s massive heavy equipment. And then there’s the always popular river seining in the Passaic where you will see… well…who knows?
All this plus target archery, photo contest winners, free hot dogs on the grill, fall apples and more. It will all be at the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center, rain or shine. You can see our informative, suitable-for-framing poster announcing the festival here. So mark your calendars, and follow us on Facebook for updates and announcements. We look forward to seeing you here at the swamp. And don’t worry. If you stay on the walkways you won’t fall in.
Great Swamp is TREE-MENDOUS
Fall Festival
Saturday, September 15
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center
32 Pleasant Plains Road
Harding Township, NJ
(Exit 30A from Route 287)
973-425-9510
Sure, we all know where butterflies come from. You know, they start out as homely looking crawly caterpillars and then one day…poof!…they turn into these gorgeous flying creatures. Of course, that’s not entirely true. First, many of these caterpillars are incredibly beautiful just as they are. And they don’t instantly turn into butterflies, there’s a little more to it than that. But don’t take our word for it. Come on over to the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center where you can see the entire drama unfolding right before your eyes.
Here we have set up several entirely self-contained habitats where two different species of caterpillars, Monarch and Black Swallowtail, are now going through this miraculous transformation. With any luck, you could actually witness the amazing metamorphoses of caterpillar to chrysalis and then from chrysalis to butterfly. But in any event, we have also assembled a collection of informative, and kid-friendly, materials to help make your visit educational as well as enjoyable.
If all this stimulates your interest in butterflies, here’s some more good news. On Sunday, September 9 from 1:30 – 3:00 PM, we will be presenting a “Monarch Mania” program at the Visitor Center. A highlight of this program will be some incredible close up videos of the Monarch life cycle, created by Friends volunteer Robert Lin. And if that isn’t enough, we will be serving ice cream to our visitors. So mark your calendars and stop by for a deliciously transformative experience.
For an up close look at waterfowl, there is no better place than the Friends Blind at the Wildlife Observation Center. Located about a half mile from the parking lot, the blind overlooks a secluded impoundment where ducks, herons, egrets and the occasional muskrat go about their business undisturbed. But while the other two blinds at the WOC are accessible by improved paths and boardwalks, the last few hundred yards to the Friends Blind is little more than a trail marked through the woods. Normally not a problem for most, the rugged terrain can be challenging for some and messy for anyone after a heavy rain or snow.
That is, until now. Since late spring a team of volunteers has been busy at work constructing a new 600 foot boardwalk over this section. Under the direction of volunteer (and master builder) George Solovay, these dedicated workers are undeterred by heat, bugs or poison ivy as they saw, drill and hammer the unforgiving landscape into submission. Not the least of their challenges has been transporting thousands of pounds of lumber and building materials into this remote area. But when completed, this ADA compliant walkway will provide greatly improved access to the blind for all visitors, at any time of year.
Friends of Great Swamp NWR is funding the entire cost of this project, about $12,000, and Friends volunteers are performing virtually all of the labor. But of course, this would not be possible without support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their staff. This is the most ambitious project that Friends of Great Swamp has undertaken in recent years, and one which will return immediate benefits to all who visit the refuge. But for now, the construction area is closed to the public, so the waterfowl and muskrats can enjoy their solitude for a little while longer. Now if only those people would stop all that hammering.
BOARDWALK UPDATE
As of July 20, the boardwalk is complete and open to the public. So head on over to the Refuge and enjoy a pleasant walk through the woods to the Friends Blind. You’re going to like what you see.
Wow! This year we set a new record for entries. Thank you to the 43 photographers who entered 188 photos in the 2018 Refuge Photo Contest. This year there were six categories plus a special youth category for those ages 16 and under. The judges will be very busy over the next couple of months reviewing all of the entries and selecting the winners.
Winners will be announced at our Fall Festival, September 15, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. in the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center. It’s a fun event with commentary from the judges and an opportunity to hear the photographer’s stories about what it took to capture the winning pictures. During the afternoon, we’ll be playing a slide show of all of the 2018 entries. Plan to come and be sure to bring your family. Fall Festival is a free, fun, day-long event with guided walks, exhibits, crafts and activities for kids, archery, bluebird box construction … and hot dogs on the grill.
We now have a digital library with over 1,000 contest entries with an incredible diversity of images – all types of subjects in all seasons. These photos have been used in magazine articles as well as our own newsletters, social media and website posts. We also fill requests from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their publications and posts and we have updated the photo frames in the Visitor Center with contest entries. In the Visitor Center Discovery Den, we play the slide show of all 2018 entries all year long, amazing our visitors with the incredible variety of wildlife and beauty of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. This digital library is truly a treasure that cannot be duplicated – thanks to the generosity of all the contest participants.