Monthly Programs
Since 2015 Fyke's monthly speaker costs have been funded by a generous grant from the Winifred M. and George P. Pitkin Foundation
October 24, 2025, Friday - Monthly Meeting, 8:00 PM, via Zoom
Long-time Fyke Member Jerry Barrack Presents Some of His Favorite Bird Images


Jerry will present some of his favorite images of birds from his extensive collection taken over more than 65 years. While many will be from the Celery Farm, which he has been photographing for over 35 years, many others will be from Florida, where he has been living for the last ten years as well as a few from Belize and South Africa.
Jerry has been a member of Fyke for over 35 years and has presented many times over the years, initially by himself and then later with his friend, Jim Wright. He has given over 100 nature programs and together with Jim and Doug Goodell, written In the Presence of Nature, better known as “The Celery Farm” book. They also produced a book entitled Jungle of the Maya, a celebration of the magnificent rain forest that encompasses much of Belize, Guatemala, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Jerry and Jim have also written three children’s books about the Celery Farm; Duck Enough to Fly; Icky, the Hungry Heron; and Swan Babies.
Register in advance for this webinar here.
December 5, 2025, Friday - Monthly Meeting, 8 PM, live at the Allendale Community Center, 210 W. Crescent Ave., Allendale
A Social Get-Together Celebrating Fyke Members and Celery Farm Volunteers

Our social held last December was so successful we decided to hold it again. Join us as we come together to celebrate the dedication and passion of our incredible volunteers and members. During this in-person meeting, we’ll enjoy light refreshments and conversation. Bring your questions, suggestions, nature-inspired poems, stories or art related to the preserve. It’s a great opportunity to get to know one another. We look forward to seeing everyone, and celebrating the heart and soul of our preserve—you!
January 23, 2026, Friday - Monthly Meeting 8 PM via Zoom
Nomadic Birds and Their Stories with Rick Wright


Many birds travel regularly between one place and another, migrating from site to predictable site, season by season. Others are less reliable in their movements; crossbills, nutcrackers, waxwings, and chickadees can appear at virtually any time of the year virtually anywhere, staging massive incursions into an area in one season and utterly absent the next. How have humans sought to explain these irregular invasions? Join Rick Wright to examine the sometimes startling and often humorous interpretations put forth over the ages.
A widely published writer and sought-after speaker, Rick leads Birds and Art tours worldwide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, ventbird.com. His recent books include the Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America; the second edition of his American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of New Jersey appeared this autumn. Rick lives in Bloomfield and in Carrboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Alison Beringer, and their jet-black lab, Quetzal.
Registration is required. A link to register will be available early January. It will be emailed to Fyke members and posted on the website under Programs. Presentations will be recorded and posted to the website soon afterward.
February 27, 2026, Friday - Monthly Meeting 8 PM via Zoom
A Fascination with Finches with Matt Young


From backyards to wilderness peaks, finches are some of the most exciting, mysterious, and popular group of songbirds. In this information-packed presentation, finch expert Matthew Young will introduce you to the 43 finches of the United States and Canada from feeder-favorite goldfinches to Red Crossbill tribes, to poorly known mountain-top Black Rosy-Finches to endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Matt co-authored with Judy Stokes The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada, which covers detailed finch identification, language, behavior, irruptions, specialized maps and foraging charts on crossbills, conservation, and much more.
Registration is required. A link to register will be available early February. It will be emailed to Fyke members and posted on the website under Programs. Presentations will be recorded and posted to the website soon afterward.

September 26, 2025
Plants of the New Jersey Highlands, Mike Lefebvre

May 16, 2025
Northern Exposures: Birds and Wildlife From the Far North, Kevin Watson

April 25, 2025
Flora, Fauna, and Feathered Friends: The Birds and Wildlife of the Celery Farm, Presented by the Ridgewood Camera Club

March 28, 2025
Plants of the NJ Meadowland’s Losen Slote Creek Park, Mike Lefebvre

February 28, 2025
Kinship With Kingfishers, Marina Richie

January 24, 2025
From Invasives to Natives, Frank and Christian Alcaide

October 25, 2024
Sustaining Wildlife in Fall and Winter Gardens, Deb Ellis

September 27, 2024
Find More Birds, Heather Wolf

May 17, 2024
Bring the Butterflies to You, Sharon Wander

April 26, 2024
The Connection Between Migration & Astronomy, Lisa Fanning

March 22, 2024
Garret Mountain Reservation: A Migration Hotspot, Carole Hughes

February 23, 2024
Spring Migration at Teaneck Creek Conservancy, Executive Director Kathleen Farley

January 26, 2024
Travels in Japan: Island Endemics and Winter Wildlife, Kevin Watson

December 1, 2023
2023 Fyke Members Night, Kurt Muenz

October 27, 2023
Cowbirds: Villainous Mobsters or Falsely Maligned Native Species? Sarah Winnicki

September 22, 2023
What's Growing Inside the Celery Farm's Deer Exclosure? Mike Lefebvre

May 19, 2023
State Line Hawk Watch 2011 to 2022, Karl M. Soehnlein

April 28, 2023
Lorrimer Sanctuary: Then and Now, Alexa Fantacone

March 24, 2023
Avian Rehabilitation, or How to Live with a Loon in the Bathtub, Giselle Smisko

February 23, 2023
Grassland Birds Are Thriving in the Least Likely Place, Dr. Shannon Curley and Jose Ramirez-Garofalo

January 27, 2023
African Safari: Big Game and Birds, Kevin Watson
December 2, 2022
Fyke Members Night

October 28, 2022
Red-Shouldered Hawks of Allendale, Jim Wright

May 20, 2022
New Jersey Moths Through the Seasons, Wade and Sharon Wander

April 22, 2022
Plants of the Celery Farm's Klomburg Woods, Mike Lefebvre

January 18, 2021
Remembering the Bajor Farm: An interview with Patricia Cooper and Marie Breen, Jim Wright

May 17, 2019
Florida Gulf Coast Winter Birding
Tom Mitchell and Sharon Ayling

May 18, 2018
Loads of Odes, Kurt Muenz