17th Annual Fall Festival, Saturday, September 10, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The days are getting shorter and the birds are staging for their migration south. That means it’s Fall Festival time at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Fall Festival is a day-long celebration with lots of activities for kids and adults, ample parking, and free hot dogs on the grill for lunch.

• Come for river seining and check out some of the critters that live in the Passaic River.
• Try your hand at target archery or our hoverball shooting gallery.
• Climb aboard the Refuge’s really big equipment and check the view.
• Build a bluebird nest box to take home.
• Join us for a guided nature walk on the Bockoven Trail.
• Watch our Migrating Monarchs original play!
• Check out the live refuge critters – turtles, snakes, frogs – and fish!
• Buy some Ron Orlando Wildlife Art – Show and sale.
• Learn about our innovative Head-Start program for turtles and see the wood turtle hatchlings before they head to their winter “spa”.
• Stop by and visit our partners – The Raptor Trust, NJ Audubon Society, Native Plant Society of NJ, North American Butterfly Association, the Passaic River Institute, Great Swamp Watershed Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Customs Officers.
• 2016 Photo Contest winners will be announced at 11:30 a.m.

This year we’re celebrating the Migratory Bird Treaty Centennial, 1916 – 2016. Start the day with our Migration Passport – answer all the questions correctly and collect your prize!

Fall is a fabulous time to visit Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Join us to kick off the fall season.

17^th Annual Fall Festival
Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center
32 Pleasant Plains Road, Harding Township, NJ

10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., rain or shine

View/download the Flyer / Schedule.

Story and photos by Dave Katz
Ruby throated hummingbirds are beautiful, feisty, precision-flying machines that bring joy to thousands of people in New Jersey. They are the only species of hummingbird in the eastern part of North America and spend the spring and summer here nesting. In the fall they make the long journey to Central America for the winter.  Most fly across the Gulf of Mexico in an arduous, 500 mile, life or death flight.

The Ruby Throat’s control of flight is amazing. They can hover, fly backwards, and for short periods of time, fly upside down. They are also very territorial of their feeding areas and will chase off other hummingbirds. During the mating display, which is a “U” shape pattern, males can reach speeds of over 60 miles per hour. All this make watching hummingbirds a fascinating pursuit.

Ruby Throats eat insects for protein, including mosquitoes, gnats, and fruit flies. For energy they drink nectar from tubular flowers. You can attract hummingbirds to your home by setting up hummingbird feeders. These contain “nectar” made from 4 parts water and 1 part white granulated sugar. You can also plant flowers such as the native coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) or Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Hummingbirds are also attracted to hanging baskets of fuchsia or lantana.

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• Average weight: 1/8 ounce (3.1 g)
• Body temperature: 105° to 108°F
• Wing beats: 40-80 per second, average about 52
• Heart rate: 250 beats/min resting; 1200 beats/min feeding
• Flight speed: 30 mph (48 kph) normal; 50 mph (80 kph) escape; 63 mph (101 kph) dive

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• At night, during torpor, the bird’s body temperature can drop almost 50 degrees. The heart rate may slow to fewer than 50 beats per minute, and breathing may briefly stop.
• A hummingbird eats up to one-half of its total body weight in nectar every day. This is the equivalent of a human eating 155,000 calories.

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For additional info on Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a good website is: rubythroat.org.

Photo Contest Deadline June 30

The first Refuge Photo Contest was held in 2001, and since that year, thousands of photographs have been submitted, creating a goldmine of images of the birds, wildlife, plants, and scenic shots of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. This digital library is used on a regular basis by the Friends and by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide photos for Facebook and websites, the Swamp Scene newsletter, exhibits and flyers, postcards which are sold in the Friends Nature Shop, outreach and orientation presentations, and the photo slide show which runs continuously in the Visitor Center. Thank you so much to the many photographers who have submitted photos over the years. You are hundreds of eyes capturing so much diversity in all seasons at all times of day. It’s priceless. There is no other way this incredible digital library resource could have been created.

Deadline approaching

The deadline for the 2016 Photo Contest is fast approaching. We accept digital entries only on a CD, DVD, or flash drive. Entries must be received by June 30, 2016. Download the contest rules here.

You can contribute to the Photo Library

Winners will be announced at Fall Festival, September 10, 2016. Whether or not your photo is selected as a winner, this is a great way to donate your photos to the Friends and the Refuge where they will be added to the digital library and used for interpretation, education, and public enjoyment. Thank you so much for contributing to this incredible and unique resource.

Why archery?

Kids love archery, and archery helps kids excel.

Nearly everyone can succeed at archery regardless of gender, physical abilities, or disabilities. Archery is a physical activity in which boys and girls can participate together and puts athletes and non-athletes on a level playing field.

There are many benefits to archery programs, including:

• Increased physical activity
• Gets kids out-of-doors

• Far safer than many other sports
• Teaches respect, responsibility, mental and physical discipline, increases self-esteem
• Any student can participate
• Archery is a lifetime sport that can be carried well beyond the school years.

Archery at Great Swamp NWR

Children, ages 10 and older, are invited to learn the basics of archery through this National Archery in the Schools Program. The program consists of six classes, held every Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. from April 12 to April 28, 2016, at the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center.

The class, with state certified instructors, will include safety training, target practice, scoring and competition.

Class size is limited to 8 per session. The program is free and all equipment is provided. No prior archery experience is necessary. Registration is required. Phone 973-425-9510.

The class is open to all children, ages 10 and older, and particularly home-schooled children. Additional programs are being planned for summer and off-school hours. Check the Friends website for future announcements.

Consider signing up for this exciting new program being offered at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It’s fun, easy, and rewarding for all.

The days are noticeably longer now — one of the first signs of spring. The skunk cabbage, one of the earliest spring flowers, is in full bloom in wetland areas along the Bockoven Trail and the Wildlife Observation Center boardwalks. It won’t be long before the mating calls of frogs resound in the swamp.

Did you know that during their mating season frogs and toads produce easily recognizable calls? Recognizing their unique vocalizations is a great way to identify these amphibians, often invisible to the eye. The Friends Nature Shop sells a CD with New Jersey frog and toad calls to help you learn the individual species.

March Second Sunday Program

Would you like to learn more about frogs and toads? On Sunday, March 13, naturalist Dorothy Smullen will present a program on the frogs and toads of New Jersey. The indoor slide show will feature each individual species as well as covering their unique calls. Weather permitting, we’ll take a walk on the Bockoven Trail and listen for wood frogs or spring peepers in the vernal pool. This is also a great time for kids to get started on their Junior Refuge Manager badge.

Sunday, March 13, 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Helen C Fenske Visitor Center
32 Pleasant Plains Road, Harding Township, NJ