February 16 – 18, 2018, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm every day
Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center
Join us for three days of birding fun. Help volunteers count the birds at the feeders from inside the Visitor Center. Daily bird counts will be reported to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to aid in citizen-science research on bird populations and distribution. Can’t tell a house finch from a goldfinch? No problem. Our volunteers will teach you how to identify the common feeder birds.
There will also be some fun bird-related activities for kids and adults. Make a suet bird feeder to take home, play bird bingo for a prize, and paint your own tree cookie ornament. New this year — help decorate four donation boxes to be used in our March Food Drive for the Interfaith Food Pantry (Morris County).
Great Backyard Bird Count Schedule
Every Day – Indoors
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Count the birds!
Volunteers will be on hand to help identify and count the species. It’s fun and easy!
Bird Bingo for kids — play our game and win a prize!
Make a pine cone bird feeder to take home.
Paint your own tree cookie ornament.
Decorate our Food Drive donation boxes with a bird theme — “Feeding More than Birds”!
Saturday, February 17
1:30 – 2:30 pm: Learn to identify common winter birds. Indoor presentation by naturalist Dorothy Smullen.
2:30 – 3:30 pm: Guided bird walk along Pleasant Plains Road
Sunday, February 18
2:30 – 3:30 pm: Guided bird walk along Pleasant Plains Road.
This event is free and registration is not required. Join us!
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an international citizen science event launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. Now more than 160,000 people of all ages from around the world join the count each February to create an annual snapshot of bird distribution and abundance worldwide. This data is critical in wild bird research to find ways to protect these wild creatures for future generations.
Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center
32 Pleasant Plains Road, Harding Township, NJ
973-425-9510
On a cold winter day in the swamp, when the ground is covered with snow, you might notice something unusual at your feet. Near the base of a tree are hundreds of small black specs that appear to be scattered dirt or soot. But a closer look reveals that these specs are moving around, and occasionally leaping high into the air. This is a cluster of “Snow Fleas,” one of the few insects that remain active year round. Their small size and dark coloration, however, make them difficult to see unless they are grazing on a snowy surface.
In fact, they are not fleas at all. Not even true insects. More properly known as Springtails, these little creatures belong to a separate class of arthropods. Like insects, they have six legs and segmented bodies. But they also sport a small, spring-like appendage in their tails with which they can launch themselves nearly 100 times the length of their body. This creates the appearance of leaping like a flea, hence the name. Unlike fleas, they are not parasites nor do they bite. Instead, they survive by “recycling” dead and decaying organic matter in their environment.
Springtails can survive cold temperatures because their bodies contain a glycine-rich protein that acts as an organic anti-freeze. Medical researchers believe that a synthetic form of this protein could be used to prevent the formation of ice crystals in transplant organs. This would allow storage and transport at lower temperatures, thereby extending the amount of time they remain viable outside the body. What’s more, this same property could one day lead to the production of better ice cream.
— Peter Lebovitz
Don’t wait – Order Deadline is December 31
Friends of Great Swamp NWR is bringing back our commemorative brick campaign for a limited time. You can purchase a commemorative brick to be placed in the patio at the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center through December 31, 2017. Your donation will help enrich and expand visitor experiences at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
A lot has happened since 2009 when the Friends first launched a brick fundraising campaign. The Visitor Center is now open seven days a week, welcoming thousands of visitors each year. School groups come to explore nature and learn about the natural world. There are additional native plant gardens, purple martin gourd arrays, and three trails for visitors. It’s a vibrant, educational, and exciting place to visit.
Bricks on the patio memorialize loved ones, honor friends and family, or express donors’ commitments to nature and the Refuge. All proceeds from brick purchases fund initiatives at Great Swamp NWR.
Download a copy of the Brick Order Form. Make checks payable to Friends of Great Swamp NWR and mail your check and form(s) to the Friends of Great Swamp NWR, 32 Pleasant Plains Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920. Credit card payments are accepted at the Friends Nature Shop in the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center, open: Monday – Wednesday, 10:00 to 1:00; Thursday – Friday, 1:00 to 4:00; Saturday – Sunday, 10:00 to 4:00.
A commemorative brick is your lasting legacy and a generous and meaningful donation to Friends of Great Swamp NWR. For more information, email info@friendsofgreatswamp.org.
In December 1959, the powerful Port of New York Authority announced plans to build a 10,000 acre jetport right here in the Great Swamp. If you have visited the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, then you know the Port Authority was not successful, but that was due to a grassroots movement that is a model for citizen action today.
Saving the Great Swamp: Battle to Defeat the Jetport is a new one-hour documentary which will have its broadcast premiere on NJTV on November 15, 2017 at 8:00 pm. The film, produced by award-winning filmmaker Scott Morris and co-produced by Larry Fast, documents the story of the fight to save the Great Swamp. Local citizens banded together to stop the Port Authority’s jetport plans. They galvanized area residents and focused national public attention on the battle. They wrote letters, presented public programs, lobbied legislators and Congress, and raised a million dollars to purchase nearly 3,000 acres, which was donated to the U.S. Department of the Interior to become the nucleus of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The film brings the story of this epic battle to life. It includes in-depth interviews with residents, historians, and officials (including Bill Koch, retired Refuge Manager), as well as fascinating historic film footage and old photographs, complemented by high-end cinematography of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge today.
This is a story that deserves to be told over and over again. There are lessons from that struggle that are relevant today as we face new threats to our public lands from many directions.
The Friends of Great Swamp NWR anticipate having copies of the DVD for sale later this fall and, thanks to a generous donation from Producer Scott Morris, we are selling the full-size poster publicizing the film for $10.00. Visit the Friends Nature Shop in the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center.
Saving the Great Swamp: Battle to Defeat the Jetport
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, NJTV, 8 pm
Produced and Directed by Scott Morris, Co-produced by Larry Fast, Narrated by Blythe Danner.
Winner Best Documentary, New Jersey Film Festival, Fall 2017.
Find more information at: www.savingthegreatswamp.com.
October 8 – 14, 2017
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 8 – Saturday, October 14, 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.
Special Photographer Sunset Walk
Thursday, October 12, 4:45 pm – dark. Meet at Bluebird Parking Lot, 197 Pleasant Plains Road.
Get out to the impoundments and set up your cameras early. Reservations required: Call 973-425-9510 to sign up.
The Big Sit!
Sunday, October 8, 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.
Second Sunday – Fall Birding Identification
Sunday, October 8, 1:30 – 3:00
Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center
Volunteer Corinne Errico will take us through the basics of bird identification during this indoor program, followed by an optional walk to join The Big Sit and practice our skills. For all ages. Bring your bincoulars or borrow ours. Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center.
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.
The winners of the 2017 Photo Contest were announced at the 18th annual Great Swamp Fall Festival on September 16, 2017. We received 193 entries – a new record high. Thank you to all of the 47 photographers who participated in our contest and congratulations to our winners. Our Photo Library now contains more than 1,000 Great Swamp NWR images – an invaluable collection for publications, websites, publicity, videos and more. This resource is used by the Friends, the Refuge, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Thank you to everyone who has contributed over the years to this incredible, rich and diverse library.
You can view the winning photographs on our Photo Contest Winners page.
The Winners:
Category—Birds
1st Place—Jim Duffy
2nd Place—Carol Duffy
Honorable Mention—Chuck Hantis
Category—Wildlife
1st Place—Carol Duffy
2nd Place—Maureen Duffy
Honorable Mention—Jim Duffy
Category—Plants
1st Place—Jim Duffy
2nd Place—Susan Neufeld
Honorable Mention—Susan Hunt
Category—Landscape
1st Place—Carol Duffy
2nd Place—Jim Duffy
Honorable Mention—Richard Harris
Category—Youth
1st Place—Justine Wang
Honorable Mention—Madison Kenny
Honorable Mention—Caitlin Moy
Honorable Mention—Delaney Moynihan
Honorable Mention – Teresa O’Neill
Honorable Mention – Beth Polito
Thank you to our judges Jim Gilbert, professional wildlife photographer, and Bill Koch, retired Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Manager.
The 2018 contest has begun! The deadline is June 30, 2018.
The entry form will be available soon. In the meantime, come on over to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, bring your camera, and start snapping!
National Wildlife Refuge Week – Special Evening Just For Photographers – Thursday, October 12
This year, we will again have a special Sunset Walk during National Wildlife Refuge Week just for photographers. The walk will start promptly at 4:45 p.m. from the Bluebird Parking Lot. We’ll walk to the impoundment pools where you will have time to set up your equipment early. Space is limited and reservations are required. Call 973-425-9510 to register.