Special Events:
August
Don’t forget to sign up for the Purple Martin Spectacular August 12 and 13th. This is an amazing event when thousands of Purple Martins congregate in the marshes surrounding the Maurice River. I took the cruise last year and loved seeing the Martins from the river. It was a great ride and the desserts were delicious. Alan Jackson, the Martin Man, will be on board to answer any questions. I plan to go on Saturday and hope to see many of you there. The fee is $35 per person. To make reservations contact Jane Morton Galetto at 609-774-5853 or http://cumauriceriver.org/donate/index.tpl
Our Annual “Big Sit” will take place at my house once again on August 20th. We will start at 8:00am and continue until Noon. Drop in any time you like. You are sure to see lots of birds and butterflies as well enjoy the company of other Nature Club members. For more information call me at 856-935-2384
August 10, 11, and 12th is the Salem County Fair. We will share a booth there with the Alloway Green Team. (They are funding the booth to support the Butterfly Festival.)
Upcoming Meetings
As we decided last fall, we will continue to have meetings through the summer but will show movies instead of having speakers.
The July movie is, “Pale Male”. It is the story of a Red Tailed Hawk that decided to nest in a very unlikely place- New York City. It is narrated by Joanne Woodward.
The August movie is, “Journeys and Transformations-The Monarch Butterfly Story”. “It’s about taking care of Monarchs, taking care of people, and taking care of the land that sustains us all.” This should get us in the mood for our September 10th Butterfly Festival. This film is produced by the Monarch Teacher Network.
For our September Meeting we will have a speaker from NJ Audubon talking about Grassland Birds and their habitat.
For the October Meeting our speaker will be Jane Morton Galetto President of Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and its Tributaries, Inc. She will present a photo essay entitled, “Eggs to Flight”. This power point presentation depicts the maturation process of an osprey from egg to fledgling.
The November Meeting will feature a presentation by Salem County Nature Club members, Cathy and Jeff White. They will discuss their duties as Eagle Nest Watchers. They will also show us slides of the Eaglet banding they attended. Salem County is Eagle Central in the winter and has a growing number of nests. With the help of people like the Whites, Eagles have been brought back from the brink of extinction.
Our December Meeting is party time!! We will have our annual Christmas Party complete with a slide show entitled, This Year in Salem County. Start gathering your photos; it will be December sooner than you think. We will have are usual wonderful array of cookies and punch. We will also elect new board members.
Volunteer Opportunities:
We need volunteers to man our booth at the Salem County Fair on August 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. The booth must be manned from 3:00pm to 9:00pm daily. Any time you can contribute will break up the time for us. All you have to do is hand out literature for us and the Alloway Green Team and answer questions about the Nature Club. (The Alloway Green Team is paying for the booth as a way to support the Butterfly Festival.)
