Birding, MLK discussion offered by Park System

Monmouth County Park System will sponsor day trips to local hawk-watching hot spots Oct. 3, Nov. 3 and Nov. 14. All trips begin at Huber Woods Park Environmental Center, Brown's Dock Road, Locust section of Middletown.

Attendees should bring binoculars or use a pair provided by the Park System, and pack a lunch. Participants will travel via mini-bus to some of the area's premier hawk-watching spots and return at approximately 5 p.m. Cost is $31 per person. For more information, call the park system at (732) 842-4000.

The park system has announced Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell will be the keynote speaker at the closing reception of its African American history celebration Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. at Tatum Park, Red Hill Road, Middletown. Caldwell will present "America at Its Best: The Civil Rights Movement and Memories of Martin Luther King Jr." The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call (732) 460- 1167. The TDD machine number for either of the above is 711.