Sunday was an amazing Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park — more people and more butterflies than we could have hoped for, given the uncertain weather.  Reposting after trouble with blog software.

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DeKorte Park, bursting with blooms, is particularly beautiful this time of year.

Our next free walk is this Sunday at 10 a.m. in DeKorte Park.

The walk runs two hours (if a walk can run). We will be looking for shorebirds, butterflies, and whatever we come upon.  Sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society.

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Eleven days ago, we introduced you to Joey the Tobacco Hornworm (link is here). Soon after his arrival, Joey went underground to pupate (link is here).

We checked in Joey this morning — he’s living at DeKorte Park’s Center for Environmental and Scientific Studies (the building with the observatory) — and he is  tucked away in  his homemade sleeping bag (photo above).

We also have a new Tobacco Hornworm (above), just 4 centimeters long.  We have not named him. Someone suggested George Alexander Louis, but that’s probably a better  name for a Monarch caterpillar.

Any suggestions for a name? So far, we have “Chester.”   Leave a comment below.

More on hornworms here.

Despite threatening skies, yesterday’s Fourth Annual Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park was big hit.

Nearly 600 folks attended and got some up-close looks at some cool butterflies, plus face-painting, scavenger hunts, a costume contest, and some nifty information tables to help them better connect with nature.

We will post more pix, links, and full list of butterflies seen yesterday as time allows, but wanted to post a couple of links now.

The Record’s coverage is here.

Photos from yesterday on the nj.com website are here.

The Meadowlands Commission would like to thank the Bergen County Audubon Society, the North Jersey chapter of the North American Butterfly Association,and the Lyndhurst E.M.S. for all their help! We’d also like to thank the NJDA-Forest Pest Outreach Program for participating.

Rich Romano shared these two pix — of a dragonfly and a gullet’s eye view of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron eating a Blue-clawed Crab in a tree.

Both pix were taken in Secaucus.

(Thanks, Rich.)