Things heat up in July. Stay cool as you head outdoors to hear the croaking of frogs, view the beauty of the butterflies, and experience nature in the parks.
Here are some things to look and listen for during the month:
- Green frogs and Bullfrogs croak around ponds.
- Watch for Piping Plovers to start migrating southward by mid-July to late September. They can be spotted at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park; be sure to watch them from a distan
ce.
- Northern true katydids usually start to sing around July 20-28 in oak woods.
- Listen for the first cricket chirps.
- Monarch butterflies arrive. These are the children or grandchildren of the ones that migrated to Mexico last autumn. Try to spot them at Deep Cut Gardens.
- Blueberries are in fruit.
- Butterfly weed is in bloom.
- Snapping Turtles dig nest in loose soil. Walk the trails along the shore of the Manasquan Reservoir and see if you can spot any.
During this month:
- Parent birds start refusing to feed their large and demanding young, pushing them toward independence; some raise a second brood.
- Ospreys, Least Terns, and Black Skimmers begin fledging.
- In the third week of July, adult shorebirds begin migrating southbound through New Jersey coastal areas.
- Summer crabbing season in estuaries is at its height.
- Summer harvest begins.
- Jersey corn should be knee-high by the 4th of July.
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