DeKorte Park is open from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

The Meadowlands Environment Center (Flyway Gallery, Gift Shop and restrooms) is closed on Wednesday, July 4.

The McDowell Observatory is closed the night of July 4.

  It's July, and we are asking for Meadowlands Big Year participants to e-mail us their totals so far (if they have not done so already). 

There's still half a year left, so feel free to jump in and join the fun. It costs nothing to participate, and we are offering some nifty prizes.

If you are competing off the radar, please e-mail Jim Wright at jim.wright (at) njmeadowlands.gov so we know you are out there. 

Much appreciated, and good luck to all.  Thanks to those who have updated their numbers already!

Competition details are here.

Greg Miller ID'd this mystery moth photographed on Thursday by Regina Geoghan as a Nessus Sphinx Moth, and it sure looks like he is right.

Turns out that another species of diurnal moth (below) was in the DeKorte Butterfly Garden the same day, and photographed by Sandy Sorkin. This guy appears to be a Hummingbird Clear-winged Moth.

We'll look for both these guys on our Butterfly Beginners Walk, beginning with a short talk and slide show at 1 p.m. tomorrow  (Sunday).

Great blog post on diurnal moths by moth expert/author Seabrooke Leckie is here.

Did a 30-minute walk through prime butterfly areas at DeKorte at lunch on Friday as a preview of Sunday, and I found: Monarch, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Pearl Crescent (above), Red Admiral, Painted Lady (below) Summer Azure and Wild Indigo Duskywing. (Eight species.)  Other species have been seen recently as well.

Let's hope we are as fortunate on Sunday.

Regina Geoghan got this shot of a moth at the Butterfly Garden in DeKorte Park on Thursday. She thought this one was different from the typical Clear-winged Moths we get. So do we. Any theories?  (Thanks, Regina!)

Jim Wright, who keeps this blog for the Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice monthly nature column for The South Bergenite. Here is his latest, on Butterfly Month at DeKorte Park.

This Sunday, the Meadowlands Commission is officially kicking off Butterfly Month at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst with a free “Butterflies for Beginners” talk and walk, but we have been getting ready for months.

Butterflies are beautiful, ephemeral creatures, and you never really know whether it will be a good year for them until spring and summer unfold. But you can take several steps to improve your odds, and — with the help of the Bergen County Audubon Society — that’s exactly what we have been doing.

While Jill’s Butterfly Garden just outside the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park remains the crown jewel and main attraction for butterfly aficionados, we have been adding all sorts of butterfly-friendly native plants, including milkweed and mountain mint, in the park and nearby Harrier Meadow.

Full story follows.

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Tuesday's Teaser was a toughie — the answer is Serviceberry. Congrats to all who ID'd the plant correctly.

Don Torino's column on Serviceberry is here.

As a sneak preview of July 2012 of sorts, we thought we would post some highlights from the blog from July 2011:

July 1: Blue Grosbeak!

July 6: Black Skimmer at DeKorte

July 9: Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Mill Creek Marsh

July 15: Least Terns at DeKorte

July 25: Butterfly Day: The List

July 26: Mourning Cloak

July 29: Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow

Ron Shields writes:

This (double-banded) guy has been hanging around for a couple of weeks now.

You can always find him on top of one of the Saw Mill Creek Trail's towers like I did Sunday morning.

(Thanks, Ron!)

Kris Niewiadomski writes: "On a recent visit to DeKorte Park, I found two cute Cedar Waxwings fledglings and their mom feeding them."

One of the shots is above; a shot of just the fledgling follows.

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