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Bugguide mini gathering

Anita Gould and I have been discussing a mini (micro?) Bugguide gathering on April 19 at 10 AM at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, a few miles north of Philadelphia, PA. It may be rather early in the season but I have found some interesting stuff this time of the year such as some bees, bee flies and other creatures. The wildflower preserve is worth visiting by itself. I know that there are a few bugguiders within reach of it in Southeastern Pennsylvania and in New Jersey.
Information about it, hours, map, directions, etc. at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve. Perhaps some members who live farther away would want to join us; they can spend a whole weekend by combining this with some sightseeing; there is plenty of art and history nearby plus places to eat and spend the night. More info at Washington Crossing Historic Park and New Hope and Lambertville

So, in summary, we’ll meet at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve on April 19 at 10 AM. Bring a brown bag lunch. Let me know if you are planning on joining us by commenting here or by e-mail. Looking forward to meeting some of you.

Date changed to April 18 (10 AM). Rain date, April 26 (10 AM)

Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 12 March, 2009 - 2:07pm
Last updated 9 April, 2009 - 9:11am

Locals

look here for updates http://bugguide.net/node/view/443068

… John R. Maxwell, 17 August, 2010 - 12:09pm

NEXT!!!

We have been kicking around the idea of doing another one. I am free weekends and can also take time mid-week, so let's hear when others are available. I had suggested Rancocas Nature Center NJAS, but can offer alternatives if people want.
http://www.njaudubon.org/SectionCenters/SectionRancocas/Introduction.aspx

… John R. Maxwell, 26 June, 2010 - 9:20am

I could try for that

Not sure exactly how I'd get there, but would love to do a mini-gathering in this area.

… Abigail Parker, 27 June, 2010 - 8:27am

Maybe

someone going through the city could pick you up or take a train to NJ and I could pick you up. Atco or Woodcrest?

… John R. Maxwell, 27 June, 2010 - 9:05am

Ditto...

If you took train to Camden, the high speed line, John could get you. If you go to Trenton, you can take the light rail to Florence, Burlington or Burlington South station (same price regardless of where you get off), I could pick you up.

… Nina, 27 June, 2010 - 9:23am

yeah, the PATCO line to Camden would work

I've taken that to the aquarium a few times. A little farther to Trenton but I did use that to go to NY once. What dates is everyone thinking of?

… Abigail Parker, 27 June, 2010 - 5:15pm

Sounds great, I'd be interested

altho I distinctly remember Boyle's _Bird Finding in NJ_ saying something to the effect of "few people brave the heat and insects of the pine barrens in July and Aug". On the other hand, I bet we could get some really cool pics of deerflies. :-)

I am game, tho. With the caveat that if the heat is really awful that day, or the deerflies are really making us miserable, we might bail. (Rick wants to come with me, so I have to consider a normal human being's comfort level, not just my own crazed nature photographer's inclinations.)

Sat July 3 & Sun July 4: may or may not be able to make it
Sat July 17: not available
Sat July 24: not available

Conversely, I do have some wkdays free:
Mon July 5
Fri July 16
Fri July 30

But don't schedule around me if my constraints are a problem for others, since I may wimp out anyway.

John, thanks for suggesting! Looking fwd to seeing everybody.

… Anita Gould, 27 June, 2010 - 9:28pm

We notice on a map that there are

very few roads as you go southeast from this center. That roadless area is where we would like to go! What is that big green Wharton on the map?

… john and jane balaban, 26 June, 2010 - 9:54am

NJ Pine Barrens

I have canoed there years ago and it was almost like boating in some of the Amazon tributaries (maybe I exaggerate a little but not much). With so much native habitat it must be a haven for native insect fauna. I didn't think about it, but, yes, it must be a great place for bug photography.
If we decide to go ahead with plans we may want to start another thread.

… Beatriz Moisset, 27 June, 2010 - 8:42am

exactly

As I said yesterday, there were so many bugs there that I've never seen before that I kind of wished I had field guide with me. I took some photos yesterday of the general habitat, but I didn't bring my cellphone with us out to the smaller creek we went on for a good mile... that's where the most pristine stuff was.

If you want to see my photos, friend me at facebook under my full name (Nina C. Wilde), then look at my kayaking photos in my album. I took a nice shot on my way into Oswego lake of the really rural, sandy classic Pine Barrens back road. It was a half hour or more with me as the ONLY soul driving... and there were plenty of offshoot roads to get lost on if one wanted to. :)

Nina

… Nina, 27 June, 2010 - 9:34am

Wharton

Wharton State Forest, I haven't been on bug-hunts out there but often ride bikes in that area. I can search for some good locations. http://www.stateparks.com/wharton.html

Pakim Pond in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest is good
http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGN066-075

Franklin Parker Preserve is good, but we could also try some of the others
http://www.njconservation.org/html/preserves/index.htm

… John R. Maxwell, 26 June, 2010 - 10:06am

I was just out that way today

I was out in the Barrens today, in Lake Oswego (a few miles from the start of Wharton),
Lake Oswego, NJ
and then one of the feeder creeks... and I saw hundreds upon hundreds of dragon and damsel flies, some I've never seen before that were purple and purplish blue, and I've never seen so many ebony jewel wings in one place--I was in a kayak and they were just darting all over the creek.

The only butterflies I saw were either painted or american ladies, but there were plenty of beetles, bees and wasps, flies of all kinds, etc.

There's a canoe and kayak rental place there too, which would allow you to access some of the really gorgeous unspoiled areas, but there are also LOADS of sandy trails to walk or bike. From Lake Oswego Road, it's just a short drive to the beginning edge of Wharton.

If you've never been to the area, it will totally change your mind of what NJ is like--Wharton is huge and can make you feel very much like you've left civilization way behind.

I also think that it would be kind of neat for a mini gathering b/c we're likely to encounter species that are not going to be found in other environments--it's sandy soil, the water is acidic/tannic from cedar, and there are tons of bogs, marshes, and pine trees as far as you can see, as well as laurel, grasses, etc.

John, I don't know about you, but my only caution would be that if we go out that way, we should meet up in one of the nearby towns, maybe one of the diners on the last circle at 70/72 and then travel as a group to our destination. Personally, I don't get cell or gps signals once I enter Chattsworth / Oswego, and I'd be concerned that people unfamiliar with the area could easily become lost on dirt back roads that are not marked, and unlikely to be on their map.

… Nina, 26 June, 2010 - 3:54pm

get together

I'd love to be able to be there, but alas I can't make it due to work related issues. Thanks anyway

… murray wilson, 9 July, 2009 - 11:44am

Also local

3rd Annual Monroe County Bug Fest!
July 11
A festival celebrating insects from 10am - 3pm - Displays, activities, games, live insects, nature walk, and puppet shows all day, all about insects! Cost: $2/person.
http://www.mcconservation.org/downloads/PDFs/Summer%20Newsletter%202009%20e-mail.pdf
http://www.mcconservation.org/
http://www.mcconservation.org/default.asp?contentID=26

They also have a Butterfly Count Friday July 17
Help count butterflies from 9:30am - 12:30pm. You'll become part of an ever - growing group of people who call themselves citizen scientists; regular folks who collect data for scientists. For anyone interested in counting numbers and species of butterflies in our area for the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). Cost: $5 of which $3 goes to NABA to fund the nationwide count.

… John R. Maxwell, 16 June, 2009 - 1:16pm

Reminder

these are getting closer.

… John R. Maxwell, 8 July, 2009 - 2:27pm

Dragonflies of the Pine Barrens

I'm adding this here because it applies to a local event near the Bugguide mini gathering, so there may be some overlap in interest...
Anyone interested in: Dragonflies of the Pine Barrens
Discover the mysteries of the dragonfly. Explore the habitat, investigate the characteristics, life cycles, differences between damselflies and dragonflies. Collect aquatic samples; observe the various stages of this Pine Barrens insect.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Whitesbog
$10
http://staff.bcc.edu/pines/
http://www.whitesbog.org/

… John R. Maxwell, 9 June, 2009 - 12:04pm

Unfortunately, I'm going to b

Unfortunately, I'm going to be on a plane at roughly that time. (On the other hand, I'm going to Mississippi, where my friend promises me it is high katydid season.)

… Sonya L Volkhardt, 10 June, 2009 - 9:27pm

Can´t do

I will be still in Argentina.

… Beatriz Moisset, 10 June, 2009 - 7:37am

bummer

I'm still working 'til the end of that week...

… Nina, 9 June, 2009 - 2:15pm

Mental Health Day

… John R. Maxwell, 9 June, 2009 - 2:49pm

Mental indeed!

Unfortunately, I've used all my "mental" health days for the school year 8:)

… Nina, 9 June, 2009 - 7:44pm

Finding images of the mini-gathering

You can search "Bowman's Hill". Curiously not all images show up (at least not with my browser) but when I searched for "Hill wildflower preserve" I found them all. It must be something about the apostrophe.
It was great to be together with other bug photographers; we sure puzzled quite a few people : )
To me the best thing was learning to use a camera lens protector as an insect trap, instead of chilling them during photo ops. Quicker, easier, more natural poses. Thanks John Carr.
The coffee filter idea as a light diffuser was a good one, too. Thanks John Maxwell.

… Beatriz Moisset, 27 April, 2009 - 2:45pm

Aha!

So that's where all the photos are. Thank you! I had been searching on Bowman's, of course.

Fun revisiting the day seeing everybody else's shots & reading your posts. Thanks again for organizing it, Beatriz! And glad you got your Trout Li*ly Bee. Just starting to get my shots processed & posted. Will chip in anything worthwhile, but really I don't expect to be able to add much compared with all the big guns out there.

… Anita Gould, 27 May, 2009 - 10:48pm

My theory was, the missing photos were entered without the name and the system didn't catch the edit when it was added. The reverse problem shows up a lot -- a search term finds a page that used to have the word, but no longer does.

… John F. Carr, 27 April, 2009 - 5:14pm

Nope

If you copy and paste "Bowman's Hill" from John Maxwell entries you get to see his entries and not yours or mine and vice-versa. It is all on the apostrophe because you see all the images when you search for "hill wildflower preserve".

… Beatriz Moisset, 27 April, 2009 - 8:04pm

Funny thing is

I had copied my name from the inital forum post (link to site) above so I would have the same format as everyone else!

… John R. Maxwell, 29 April, 2009 - 5:33pm

I hate Windows

Sounds like the Microsoft smart quote silliness. They made their software use different punctuation from the rest of the world. A Microsoft quote/apostrophe is a different character from an ASCII quote/apostrophe even if they look the same on screen.

Maybe bugguide software should merge equivalent punctuation when indexing and searching.

… John F. Carr, 27 April, 2009 - 8:09pm

The search index is not immediately updated; it happens periodically. So give it a little time and the results will adjust to your new content.

… Mike Boone, 27 April, 2009 - 6:01pm

I'm glad that

you guys got such a great day for your meeting, Beatriz! Looks like the weather should be awesome, I wish I could be there

Hope to see lots of bee photos being posted from this trip ; ) Lots of species are emerging now

… Vespula Vulgaris, 15 April, 2009 - 7:53pm

Meeting

Let us meet at the visitor center at 10 AM on the 18th. If you need to get in touch with me, e-mail me and I will send you my cell phone number.
The weather promises to be great for bug activity.

… Beatriz Moisset, 15 April, 2009 - 4:51pm

Maybe late

I may arrive late, depending on traffic and how many cats I find sleeping on my car. Is there a place I'm likely to find the group if I am late? I could wander around looking for people behaving oddly. I don't know how big this place is.

… John F. Carr, 14 April, 2009 - 6:09pm

Not too big

Pick up a map at the visitor center. I will probably hang around the nearest trail, "Marsh Marigold trail". And, yes, we are the ones with the cameras. Wouldn't it be nice if somebody designed a Bugguide T-shirt?
I am glad that you can make it; looking forward to meeting you.

… Beatriz Moisset, 14 April, 2009 - 6:47pm

We're still planning on coming--need to leave around 1pm

My dad is still in the hospital, but as things stand right now, it looks like Teri and I will both be able to be there...cameras in tow.
Nina

… Nina, 14 April, 2009 - 8:45pm

T-shirt

I made a t-shirt for the gathering last year, but not far enough in advance to check them out and get one for everyone, so there might be about 10 in existence.

I'd love to see more BugGuide shirts. Now, back to your thread....

… Mike Boone, 14 April, 2009 - 8:21pm

April 18 then

OK, let us do it on April 18, Saturday; rain date April 26, Sunday. Keep in touch.

… Beatriz Moisset, 3 April, 2009 - 4:54pm

I'll put it on my calendar!

I hope to be there, but with the caveat that my Dad's been in and out of the hospital and is scheduled for surgery on April 8th...as long as he's stable Teri and I will attend...it'll give me good practice with my way-more-tech-than-I-really-need-camera.

Nina

… Nina, 2 April, 2009 - 1:09pm

Oh, btw, I have friends who just opened

a bed and breakfast about half hour south of Wash Crossing in Burlington City, called the Lilly Inn. I've never inquired about cost, but it's a lovely restored home just about 200 yards from the Delaware River walkway/promenade, for anyone coming from far away and wanted a place to rest their head

… Nina, 2 April, 2009 - 1:11pm

Date change, perhaps?

Would it be possible to switch to April 18, Saturday? If everybody can make the change we move the date, if not it remains unchanged and I will be there to meet whoever comes along. So, please, let me know. Also, let us set a rain date of April 26 and keep in touch.
If anybody else plans to join us, please let us know. Also, you all have my e-mail.

… Beatriz Moisset, 2 April, 2009 - 7:15am

I think

either is fine with me and my wife (she's a maybe). She's more likely to be birdwatching or plant IDing, but will likely attend.

… John R. Maxwell, 2 April, 2009 - 12:12pm

Looks interesting

I have to practice shooting insects that aren't on the side of my house. Maybe I'll bring a tiny square of siding just in case (security blanket) ;-)

… John R. Maxwell, 19 March, 2009 - 1:14pm

Cool!

I will totally be there.

… Sonya L Volkhardt, 15 March, 2009 - 8:40am

Great!

I might be able to go to this one. I will have to get back to you about it though. Sounds like it would be a great opportunity

Thanks for letting us know, Beatriz

… Vespula Vulgaris, 12 March, 2009 - 8:50pm

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