EAST BRUNSWICK
NATURE NOTES
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EAST BRUNSWICK
NATURE NOTES
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Butterfly
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Yellow butterflies Over the blossoming virgin corn, With pollen-painted faces Chase one another in brilliant throng. --translation of
Hopi song
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Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued is just beyond your grasp, but if you will sit down quietly, may light upon you. - Nathaniel
Hawthorne
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 The East
Brunswick Butterfly
Park
is a collaborative effort of a great many individuals and groups. First
conceived by the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and approved
by the Town Council and Mayor’s office, it was developed primarily
through volunteer efforts and donations with the assistance of the
Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Planning and
Engineering. The Butterfly Park has received numerous awards and media
coverage and is used year-round. The park is an ongoing project of the
Environmental Commission and numerous volunteer opportunities continue
to exist. The Butterfly Park would not have been possible without the
significant contributions of the following:
Butterfly Park is also home to numerous native flowers and trees, as well as several species of dragonfly. We encourage you to visit this unique resource, learn, relax and enjoy. Bring your binoculars and a camera. Allow children the opportunity to sit down and draw what they see. Observe seasonal changes. What a wonderful way to spend a warm day, from spring through fall. And, walking the trails through the park is excellent exercise, too. Make this a regular stop for your leisure activities and renew yourself here. Parking is conveniently located at adjacent Great Oak Park. |
| Moth
Night 2007 was a success, even with our version of 'equipment failure'.
Learn more about this event on our MOTH NIGHT EVENT page. Use the menu at the top of the page to navigate to previous Moth Nights. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
A map
to help you locate Butterfly Park is now available. Use can the
Google Map to navigate your way to Moth Night as you
would any other Google Map. Use the 'Get Directions' link near the top
of the window to enter your starting point. Press "Enter" or "Return"
on your computer and customized directions should be generated for you.
As usual, questions, suggestions or ideas, please contact us here. |
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Click here
to read about and see photos of the
August 24th, 2006 Moth Night. |
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Click here to send in reports or to sign up for our e-mail updates. |
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Butterfly Park Update(s) — September 3, 2007 — Butterfly Park is teeming with butterflies
right now. A visit to the park is likely to pay off with excellent
opportunties to observe and photograph quite a few different species,
especially if the time is taken to search them out. There are literally
thousands of small skippers on the butterfly bushes and sedum along the
trail, and loads more out in the meadow on the goldenrod that is
beginning to flower. I also saw:
Viceroy Monarch Clouded sulphur Wild indigo duskywing Eastern tailed blue Gray hairstreak Silver spotted skipper Tiger swallowtail Cabbage white Red banded hairstreak It would also be a great help if someone
wanted to take the time to identify the skippers and would likely wind
up expanding the butterfly park butterfly list quite a bit. This is the
time of the year when southern strays can be found in NJ and you just
never know what might show up! Regardless, we would love to hear about
anything found at the park and would love to see any photographs that
are taken.
In any case, now is a great time to visit the park and to look for butterflies....Dave — July 15, 2007 — by Rich Wolfert Most of you know that we have initiated a (casual and easy) Butterfly Survey for the summer and early fall months. We'll probably run this survey each year. We are very interested in knowing what butterflies you see in town and throughout the region, when they seem to be most abundant, and when they appear to be finished for the year. You might note where you have seen them, as well. We don't need you to report precise numbers of each species you see. We're not doing a statistical survey. This would be an excellent way to become familiar with the butterfly species of our region. We have plenty of resources for you; the links are just below. You may refer to Dave's wonderful photos (the link is directly below). Also, we have brochures about our award winning Butterfly Park, and also of the Checklist we have created of butterfly species that we know to be around. Butterflies are NOT best seen when the birds are…that is, the crack of dawn. They begin to show up and move as the sun warms things up (and us as well) so 9 or 10 AM is a good time to start. That's also AFTER the dawn mosquitoes have done their foraging, and way before they reappear close to sunset so you'll have less trouble from insect bites. Binoculars are helpful as is a field guide, but not necessary. Just watch carefully. Some of them are small and you might think they are just large bees. Butterflies are beautiful and varied, as are the birds we watch throughout the year. After some observing time, you will begin to discern the subtle differences in similar species. It's very empowering to be able to walk through a field or in front of someone's garden and recognize increasingly more of what you see. Of course, you can always e-mail us with questions. We'd be more than happy to answer them. Photos would be wonderful, too. E-mail links are on the bottom of this page. * Finally, the Star Ledger covered our Butterfly Survey announcement (link here). The East Brunswick Sentinel also ran a story about it (here). |
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Recent Reports
Key: BP=Butterfly Park, EB=Within East Brunswick, R=Found in the surrounding region ------ From Sue Kelly: Butterflies: (every day lots of those small white cabbage butterflies). 7/8/07 2 tiger swallowtail 7/13/07 2 black swallowtail w/ turquoise dots on wing edges (on hydrangea) 1 black swallowtail w / yellow dots on wing edges 1 monarch 7/15 1 monarch (on Monarda) 7/16 one monarch 1 tiger swallowtail (2:pm) about 6pm - two monarch flying on main st. s.r. 1 tiger swallowtail - in yard 1 black swallowtail w/ blue dots on edge 7/17 2 monarch 7/18 2 monarch Here's a question someone may have an answer for: Our house is on two lots - so we have lots of garden. I read about plight of honey bees and if you know how I could go about volunteering to have a beehive in my yard - I'd do it. If you know who is looking for people to have hives for them - I'd be interested to volunteer. Can anyone provide an answer here? We'd really appreciate it. Perhaps more of you might be interested in participating in such a project. |
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* Click here to see wonderful images of butterflies and moths taken at Butterfly Park. This is a GREAT resource for identifying some of the more common species of butterflies that you will see around our region. |
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The
park is located at Ryders Lane (Rt. 617) and Winton Road.
There is ample parking at Oak Tree Park, directly next to Butterfly Park.  — Click the map for an interactive map through MapQuest. — * Click here for the interactive Google map. The Google map is centered 'exactly' on the entrance to Butterfly Park. You can easily find the parking area at the bottom right of the frame. Once you are in the parking area, exit towards the woods on the left and walk in the direction of Ryders Lane. The entrance to Butterfly Park is just about 400 hundred feet ahead at the edge of the woods. |
