September 2021 Sightings

Weather was clear, 75, 8mph winds
Surveyed from 1:00-3:30pm

Photo of the Gray Hairstreak was taken by D. Dunlap

R. Spink, P. Dehnke, D. Dunlap

Obs. made from 1:25 to 5:25 p.m. Mostly Cloudy to partly Cloudy 75-80 degrees.

Weather was clear, 73°, 4mph winds
Surveyed and tagged Monarchs from 12:45-3:00pm

R. Spink, J. Meilinger

Broad day of butterflying around Patagonia and Harshaw Creek areas.

Photo of 4 Byssus Skippers on a button.

0930-1500, 73-87F, NE 4-12MPH, Cloud Cover 15-24%, Gravel roads, Georgia Piedmont. 33.09619321638692, -83.71852235781589

Sunny low humidity abd 74 degrees. One male Monarch came out of pupa today. Flew around the area, incl cert garden #2490

A beautiful day following yesterday’s heavy rain. Sunny, 76 degrees.

100% sun and low 70’s
2 to 3 p.m.

Overcast and mid 70’s today.

Weather was cloudy-mostly cloudy, 75°, 4-5mph winds

Surveyed from 2:30pm-5:00pm

Obs. made from 1:25 to 4:15, 79-81 and partly cloudy. Diversity & numbers a little better here today than at Washington Ditch. Again Joe-Pye weed the main attraction at this point in the season.

Obs. made from 9:30 to 1, Sun to part sun, 70-79 degrees. Not much nectar, mostly Joe-Pye weed attracting butterflies. Fair diversity but low numbers.

Partly cloudy skies and 60° in the early afternoon after morning rain. I was seeking out a great-horned owl nest when the Mourning Cloak emerged in bright sun at the edge of forest by the road. It fluttered up into the trees beside a small clearing.

Sunny, near 90, every dry. Most nectar source dried.

Obs. made from 9:45 to 5:40. Partly sunny to mostly sunny, 73-80 degrees. Butterfly garden attracted a decent variety, but much of the nectar was poorer than normal. Most notable was the lack of Lantana in bloom. The large drifts of Zinnias attracted the greatest number of butterflies this day. Observed both Great Southern White & Zebra Heliconian but they most likely had escaped from the enclosed butterfly house. Two dark morph E.tiger females observed.

Common Sootywing is lifer

Sightings for the past week.

Partly cloudy, low 80’s.Cliffs and belts of lava with pinons and oak.

Many butterflies nectaring on garlic blossoms.

Normally found in South FL & South TX.
A treat to see in Atlantic coastal GA.

Cassius Blue is not common in GA and may have been brought to Jekyll Island on shipments of ornamental plants from South FL.

Great species diversity.

One male Black Swallowtail released

Sunny with a little breeze. Three Monarchs released. Two female, one male

Second Zebra Heliconian I’ve seen in AZ in 18 years. Butterfly 127 for the yard.

Finding butterflies in much of Alaska during peak months of June and July can be challenging sometimes, but by September it feels like an act of futile desperation. After three hours of butterflying for late species at several locations (Baxter Bog, the Coastal Trail, and Campbell Creek Estuary), I managed to find just a single Mourning Cloak. It was well worth it, though, for this cooperative butterfly. The half dozen Mourning Cloaks I’ve seen during the past few weeks have been very skittish. At first this one flew up high along trees that border the trail before finally circling and settling on a cottonwood branch and then on a strip of sunlit wood. I was very happy for an opportunity for late season butterfly photos.

Mostly sunny, breezy, upper 70s. Targeted known Wild Senna and Partridge Pea fields for Pieridae…all 5 regulars present in good numbers (Clouded, Cloudless, Orange, Sleepy Orange, Cabbage); still looking for that elusive Little Yellow. Bonus for the day was a fresh Pipevine Swallowtail!

Sunny day with temp of 75degrees while observing 3 Monarch in garden

All seen in the main area of the town.

Lack of butterflies in the forest.

(20-180) - Mostly cloudy. First metalmark since fall 2020 when Tropical Storm Ida flooded a large majority of the thistle with saltwater.

Leaderless Walks, 7 participants. Sunny, temps in 70’s.

0900-1615, 80-88F, Variable 3-14MPH, Cloud Cover 13-48%, Overall a beautiful day for butterflies.

Sunny with 25mph winds, 88 degrees. Monarch Waystation #2490

Weather was clear-partly cloudy, 72-73°, 11-14mph winds

R. Spink, P. Dehnke, D. Dunlap

Weather was clear, 72°, 11mph winds

R. Spink, D. Dunlap

Weather was clear, 71-73°, 14mph winds
Surveyed and tagged Monarchs from 12:45-2:30pm

R. Spink, P. Dehnke, D. Dunlap

9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Weather: 79°-90°, winds 3-6, sun a.m. 70%, p.m. 50%. Fall wildflowers are mostly not in bloom yet. Nectar:; Bidens, Lantana, Spermacoce, Mistflower, galactia, pluchea, buchnera, blackroot, FL milkweed, CBlais, LCooper, SFarnsworth, DFraser, EPerry, NPrine, BWelch.

A gorgeous day! 83 degrees and very sunny. Perfect day for seeing butterflies!

Sunny, 93 degrees, more humid than usual. Since last report 3 days ago, 5 FOS species have appeared. Sleepy Orange, a desert species, is a new yard bug.

0900-0945, 80-82F, SW 4-8MPH, Cloud Cover 36%, 30.728545456511483, -81.5478266278496

Weather was partly cloudy, 72°, 10mph winds

Surveyed and tagged Monarchs from 12:45pm-3:00pm

R. Spink, J. Meilinger, T. Springer

Observed Monarchs visiting nectar plants. Sunny most of the time and 70degrees

Full day of butterflying from Proctor Road up to Carrie Nation Trail split.

Blooming tithonia bringing in enormous numbers of butterflies.

Rainy morning, then partly sunny afternoon. 74 degrees.

Lovely morning for birds; butterflies coming active around 9ish. Didn’t get great looks at a lot of species, and we were birding solid.

Common Blue
two females
Found by Bryan Pfeiffer and Josh Lincoln

Another beautiful day here in St Louis! Sunny and 86 degrees.

Backyard on lantanna flowers around 2:30pm. Yard backs up to woods.

Weather was clear, 75-81°, 15mph winds
Surveyed from 12:20pm to 04:00pm

R. Spink, P. Dehnke

The Observatory itself is closed to the public, but John Hibbard and I spent a few hours along the road just below, checking the rabbitbrush which is just starting to bloom, and nude buckwheat in full flower. Not many butterflies, but a nice variety.

I wish there were more different species. Banner day for Duskywings.

Sunny around 79 degrees this morning in Imperial. There is approximately 50 acres that are fairly wooded behind my home.

We have been monitoring this particular area for several years. This was the first time we have observed a Eufala.

Mostly sunny, breezy, 70s. Hike at the park with the kids…

Perched on stem of Pityopsis gramnifolia. Studied it for a couple of minutes before it flew as I attempted to photograph it.

Elevation 9600ft
Seen on the trail down past Devil’s Castle back to the campground.
Also saw 2 very worn Frits.

With Lance Verderame
Cloudless Sulphur was laying eggs.

Today was sunny started out 78 degrees then got up to 94 degrees.

9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Weather: 80°-88°, winds 9-13, sun a.m.-25%, p.m.-30%%. Nectar: Rayless Sunflower, Spanish needles, Pickerelweed, liatris, elephantsfoot, pine lily. Very few fall wildflowers. LCooper, SFarnsworth.

Partly Cloudy, breezy, 80 degrees. Cloudless Sulphur and Sleepy Orange caterpillars on Senna…

First Long-tailed Skipper of the Year, almost a year from last year’s sighting on Sept 13th.

74F, mostly sunny, light breeze; Leaf cutter bees, metallic green bees, small carpenter bees and halictid bees busy on the asters.

Mostly cloudy, 83 degrees.

1555. When I returned home from the Albany Nursery WMA, there were a couple of Monarchs in the yard along with a worn Long-tailed Skipper.

Spent much of the time trying to find additional Texan Crescent(s) in and around a swamp with nearly impenetrable vegetation. The two that I found did not allow close approach.

1300-1500, 86-89F, NE 5-7MPH, Cloud Cover 20-40%, Swamp Edge, Georgia Costal Plain

Leaderless walks - 10 participants. Temps in the 80’s and sunny and humid. THOUSANDS of mosquitoes!

Sunny humid and 89degrees. Had 6 Monarchs visit waystation #2490

Surveyed from 7:30 to 11:45 when rain sent me home. Most butterfly activity didn’t start until about 9:30 am. Fall flowers are yet to come and are usually better at this spot from mid-Oct to mid-Nov. Some spots do look promising. West Loop is the spot now for Arogos Skipper, with the population climbing perhaps one or two more weeks. Look for areas on the west side of the drive that have patches of Rayless Sunflower. Get there early if you want dorsal shots, they rarely present. Hunting starts 9-18 with Archery kicking off the fall season. A good time was had by me! EP

Looked for the Texan Crescents (seen and distantly photographed yesterday). No luck today.

1300-1415, 86-87F, SE 4-5MPH, Cloud Cover 58-65%, Swamp and field habitats. Coastal Plain of Georgia.

Weather was mostly clear, 73°, 8mph winds

R. Spink, D. Dunlap, J. Huggins

Weather was partly cloudy-clear, 66-73°, 5-9mph winds

R. Spink, Jackie Huggins, D. Dunlap

Weather was partly cloudy-mostly sunny, 70-73°, 6mph winds

R. Spink, J. Huggins, D. Dunlap

Sept 14 + 15

(18-149) Limited time. Rain arrived after just over an hour’s worth of fun. Liatris and bidens were main nectar sources.

Sightings for the past week. Most days temps hoovered around 95 degrees with higher than normal level of humidity the area. The weather has helped deliver 7 FOS species to my yard the past 10 days.

A four mile linear survey following a gravel road through swamps, pines and fields.

Clouded Skippers were observed over a wide area (wherever I stopped), so the count is probably low.

Also observed/photographed a Limpkin family (2 adults and 2 immatures); they are somewhat uncommon in Georgia.

0845 - 1335, 74-80F, SE 4-10MPH, Cloud Cover 99-100% with some rain. Georgia Coastal Plain, 31.482115586585525, -84.36242453758365

Weather was partly cloudy-clear, 77-81°,6-7mph winds

R. Spink, J. Meilinger

Horsepen Trail

AR03
E.05L

Blazing Star, Thistle and various other nectar sources. Seeing the female Diana Fritillaries was a real treat as we had previously only seen males! Leonard’s Skipper was a ‘lifer’ !

(28-177) Lots to see, but so little time.

Weather was mostly clear-partly cloudy, 79-82°, 9-12mph winds

Weather was mostly clear, 84°, 6-14mph winds

Many strayed much further west than in normal years, reaching all the way here to the eastern border of Arizona in the Chiricahua Mountains. Several seen around the southern Arizona area.

Sunny, mid-80s, moderately breezy.

Walked trail past the Cardiff Mine up to an elevation of 9300ft.
Also saw a couple of Skippers.

One Viceroy was about half the size of a normal one.

Partly sunny and 77 late afternoon.

(12-417) Limited time in the late afternoon under cloudy skies. Lots of roadside liatris blooming and the Long-tailed Skippers & Ocola Skippers were taking advantage.

Early morning peek; warm and sunny.

First Cochise County record, may be the ssp. from Mexico, that has never been reported in the US. Would need DNA test to prove for certain. A very fresh individual, which implies breeding nearby.

9-1030am, 77-80 degrees, cloudy, calm. This was the first local field trip this year (due to Covid) for the NABA area chapter aka The Sarasota Butterfly Club. While not many butterflies were found due to conditions, we found one of our target species - a Mangrove Buckeye on its host plant. This was a first sighting for a number of members.

Late afternoon bright but overcast. 85 degrees.

86 degrees, partially sunny.

86 degrees partially sunny, overcast.

Cloudy, 83 degrees.

84 degrees bright but overcast.

85 degrees party sunny.

This is the 2nd time in 3 weeks that the meadow has had flowers but no butterflies to be found which is highly unusual. Also abundant flowers at the wetlands but little flying.

Sunny, 85 degrees about 4 pm.