August 2023 Sightings

5 pm, sunny, low 60’s

Partly sunny, 77degrees with light breeze in the afternoon.

Weather was clear-partly cloudy, 68°-83°, 7-9mph winds
Surveyed from 9:30am-3:00pm

R. Spink, T. Rutgers, D. Dunlap, F. Baziari, and A. Colewick

A beautiful aberrant!

Sunny and 84degrees, some breeze. More humid. Released 2 female & 2 male Monarchs that were in a cage outdoors.

Weather was partly cloudy, 81°-84°, 3-4mph winds
Surveyed 12:30pm-2:45pm

R. Spink and T. Rutgers

2:15 to 3:15, sunny and low 80’s

Sunny, high 50’s. Lots of Cinquefoil flowers and asters.

Participation in Portal-area NABA Count. Includes sightings from my territory and some from prior-day scounting of broader count circle area.

Sunny, breezy, low 70’s

Alma and Redwoods Springs Trail Loop. 0900-1230, 5.7 miles, 915-1,946 ft. elevation, 62°-76°, Sunny and light winds, perfect weather. This preserve just opened back up this week after being closed since January from storm damage. Really has potential for next spring and early summer season. The Dun Skipper appears to be a first county record for Santa Clara County.

I only spent about 15 minutes looking at the wildflowers along the road while getting ready for a big backpacking trip before it started to sprinkle.

I went to the trail earlier than usual today; the temperature was 68 degrees when I got there at 10AM and 85 degrees when I left at 12:30; sunny and windy.

Goldenrod and Coneflowers were the main nectar sources in sunny protected areas along the trail. Woodland Skippers gathered in groups in moist spots and were all along the trail, at one point landing on the back of my hand. Other species were flying all around me in sunny spots.

Areas visited
Front field, Bright Hope butterfly garden, Swift Creek Camp, Algonquin ecology camp, canoe launch, part of trails along Woodpecker road, trail from equestrian center to group camp lake7, beaver lake trail (partial), nature center parking lot gardens, district office and Dvorak trail to paved road.

A beautiful day with partly cloudy skies, a light breeze, and temperatures in the low sixties at 10am at the start of the hike and about 70° as we finished at 3pm. Butterflies were scarce and mostly faded and worn so late in the season. All observations were from along the high tundra on the ridge east of the summit.

Weather was mostly cloudy-cloudy, 78°-82°, 8mph winds
Field Trip and Survey 1:15pm-3:30pm - Photos were taken by Quyen Edwards

R. Spink, T. Rutgers, and several folks from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Pearl Crescent numbers are estimated and probably low. Also some Duskywings not counted as unable to ID species in the field.

(16-120). Hot and humid. 2 mile walk in less than two hours. Just too hot to continue. FL YR (139).

Weather was cloudy, 82°, breezy
Surveyed 4:00pm-5:30pm - Zabulon Photo taken by T. Rutgers

R. Spink and T. Rutgers

Late afternoon, 85 degrees
I saw my first Monarch of the year, but I didn’t have my camera with me at that time.

Light rain on and off. Temp of 74 degrees. Saw first Pearl Crescent in certified garden today.

(13-49). First county record of Western Pygmy-Blue.

Seen during Patagonia butterfly count. Second of 39 count years that Violet-clouded Skipper was recorded. Nectaring on lantana.

Sunny, around 2 pm, mid 60’s

Small park on the Patuxent River was improved recently with circular trail accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. It’s short (0.3 mile), but passes through varied habitat — and you can always walk around it more than once. Two Silvery Checkerspots were a nice find, and I also saw them here on Aug. 5. One of them looked nipped or tattered today.

Sunny, breezy, low 80s. Short loop with time limited to just over an hour. Surprise find of another Harvester!

Sunny, breezy and 84 degrees in the afternoon. Released 1male Monarch & 2 female Black Swallowtail butterflies. There was 1male Black Swallowtail in the garden earlier in the day

Ledaderless Walks - 7 participants. Sunny, temperatures in the high 70’s/low 80’s

There is apparently less butterfly habitat at this park due to the invasion of field/meadow habitat by Johnson Grass or by the reversion of this open habitat to forest.

Today I went looking for a Mormon Metalmark, finding it in exactly the same spot I first saw it last year. Other than than that, hardly any butterflies were flying on the trails today.

I heard several hummingbirds and saw hordes of grasshoppers leaping away from the edges of the trails as I walked by.

Sunny with a cloudless sky, 78 degrees, 10:20-11:50.

Weather was partly cloudy, 78°-79°, 13mph wind gusts
Surveyed 2:45pm-4:05pm

Weather was mostly cloudy-partly cloudy, 73°-79°, 9-12mph wind gusts
Surveyed 11:30am-1:45pm

These sightings are from a five day backpacking trip following the Purgatory Trail to the Animas River Trail to the Needle Creek Trail to Chicago basin and up to the Twin Lakes. The Great Spangled Fritillaries were found in wet areas along the Animas River, and the females are brown and orange unlike the chocolate and orange colored females that I saw a few days earlier up near Gore Pass near Kremmling. The only species confined to the Twin Lakes area were the Mead’s Sulfur, Scudder’s Sulfur, and Purplish Fritillaries.

Obs made from 9-6, Sunny to partly cloudy and 76-86 degrees. Variable winds W-WNW 6-10. Was joined at various times by Chris Herz & Mike Russell. The Northern Pearly-eye was found by Chris along the wooded portion of the Bayview butterfly trail. The Hayhurst Scallopwing was also found by Chris at the Ingleside recreation area actively nectaring on Passiflora lutea. A highly cropped image of a Hackberry Emperor on Trumpet vine is submitted. At one point the Emperor appeared to be nectaring on this deep throated flower. A pristine Tawny Emperor landed on my camera strap over my shoulder. Sadly I was unable to photograph this stunning butterfly.

Mostly cloudy with brief moments of sun and a light breeze, with temperatures from the upper fifties to the mid-sixties from 9:45am to 4pm. I was hoping to find and photograph late season Phoebus Parnassian Apollos so hiked up from the Arctic Valley ski area to Rendezvous Peak (elevation 4,050 feet). I spent most of my time along a ridge below the summit. With little sunlight, the Apollos were mostly resting but stirred and flew around when sun broke through the clouds. While not optimal butterflying conditions and so late in our season, it was wonderfully quiet high on the mountain.

Mostly cloudy with slight breeze, temp of 79degrees. Rain came 30 mins after releasing the raised Monarchs.

Second time this year seeing a Northern White-Skipper in my backyard. Both times a female, and both times they sat for long periods in semi-shade on my bush mallow host plant. Waiting for a male?

It was a warm day and I watered a patch of earth to see if it would come down for a drink. It did for a short time, then went back to the bush where it sat in the shade outlasting my patience.

Partly sunny, mid 70s, WNW at 11mph. Between 1:30-4pm

I walked for about 2 1/2 hours, starting at 10:40am, covering lake circuit and path branches and including the construction staging site along the south branch. Great Spangled Fritillary, which I last saw around this lake in May 2015, evaded camera. It flew out of vegetation along the south branch — large, showing brownish or burnt orange color (no black borders like monarch); too big for variegated fritillary or viceroy; flying fast with rapid wing beats in and out of trees then high, near treetops, and flying toward the lake.

Following a heavy rainfall early afternoon, it became partly sunny and humid.

2 to 3 p.m., overcast, low 80’s

Weather was partly-mostly cloudy, 74°-79°, 6mph winds
Surveyed 11:30am-1:40pm

Temp 80’s, calm, humid

12:30-3:00pm walked the upper meadows and most of wooded areas near Visitor Center

Mostly sunny afternoon with temp of 83degrees.

It seems to me that this Gulf fritillary has an extra short wing.

I walked this trail from 10:20-11:50 under sunny skies, 72 degrees. I saw a handful of distant white butterflies, too far away to ID and one Wood-Nymph. On my way back to the car, I stopped to photograph a small Showy Milkweed flower. As I was standing there, a Monarch flew into the frame. Lucky me!

[Mike: Spicebush Swallowtail photo in my Aug. 11 Lake Kittamaqundi list is mislabeled as Black Swallowtail.] Located down the street from my house, this area includes cultivated gardens around the Oakland Manor and church and a restored or naturalized wild area leading into the wetland. There is also a small neighborhood park on the street near the manor which can yield some butterflies. All of it is connected by traces of the former drive which led to the manor from what is now Rte. 29.

Western Whites have been moving north of Lake Superior and into Eastern Minnesota. A pretty good number of them have migrated into Wisconsin along the southern edge of Lake Superior. I saw them at three locations in two counties. This was my 140th species photographed in Wisconsin out of 156 recorded using the NABA Common Name List.

Humid with sunny skies. One female Monarch was laying eggs on common & swamp milkweed. Released a raised male Monarch. Peck’s Skippers appear in the gardens as well.

Breezy, humid, upper 80s. Quick pit stop to eat lunch…

Sunny, windy, 82 degrees, 11:50-1:40.

The large mowed field which takes up most of the park’s area has abundant low-growing flowers and adjacent edge habitat. These areas are interesting to search, but sometimes the butterfly activity is concentrated on plantings around the parking lot. My FOY Ocola Skipper was on annuals around banana plants by the pool entrance. View of Zabulon Skipper (in the edge habitat) has a swift feather-legged fly in frame.

Flowers were fabulous and butterfly activity was excellent all morning. These are conservative numbers for each species listed. Our elevation was 6440 feet to about 7200. Weather was warm (70’s to 80’s) and clear initially with thunderclouds moving in by mid-afternoon, reducing butterfly activity.

Weather was mostly clear-clear, 77°,-80°, 3-7mph wind gusts
Surveyed from 1:15pm-4:45pm

Yard butterflies

Mostly cloudy, breezy, humid, 80s. Surprised to see several Eufala Skippers within the dunes protected from the wind around a handful of Sachems. A good number of Horace’s Duskywings around Hatteras Light. A possible Phaon Crescent, however unfortunately it wouldn’t let me get within 10 feet before getting blown away, resulting in a very grainy cell phone image. They are known to be found in the area…

Sunny and 78. Also found my first Wheel Assassin Bug. The Red-banded Hairstreaks were seen in the Farmington unit including one nearly dead on a gravel road,

Very windy! Temp @ 60-65 degrees.
The trail is at 12,000 feet along the toll Road. All the Blues were worn.

Weather was clear-mostly clear, 72°-73°, 12mph wind gusts
Surveyed 1:10pm-4:30pm

R. Spink and T. Rutgers

Partly Cloudy to raining, 77 degrees was the high, wind not a factor before the rain arrived. In the field 11 AM - 1:40 PM. With Ray Bruun.

This week Painted Ladies have been moving through my backyard, not in huge numbers but there have been some there every time I have gone out to look.

Of special note, Northern White-Skippers have been there almost every day this week. Two nice males battled it out yesterday, with only one returning to its perch for a photo on my Bush Mallow.

Between 10:45am and 12:25pm. As usual, most of the butterfly activity was in the meadow-type wildflower garden around the main building. Wandering through the woods down to the Middle Patuxent River turned up a large group of tiger swallowtails puddling in the middle of it.

Sunny, around 68 degrees at 8260 feet in elevation. With Ray Bruun.

10:45 AM - 4:30 PM, 68 - 75 degrees, partly sunny with low humidity. One of the twenty plus Eastern Tiger Swallowtails was a black type female, the first one we’ve seen at this location.

Butterfly garden & Woods trail. 10:15-3 pm. 80 degrees and sunny. Ran into Dave Amadio and we compared notes. We had 2 Pearly Eyes on the Woods trail later in the afternoon, and one on the wood trail by the butterfly garden. Hackberry and Tawny Emperor landed on our white car. One Tawny seen in the parking area by the woods trail and Dave saw in another spot.

2 to 3:30, mostly sunny, mid-70’s

South Valley of Albuquerque. Mid 80’s,dry, a lot of locusts and grasshoppers.

We observed a Northern White-Skipper during our transect survey. This was new for this area. We may have had a 2nd based on flight pattern but couldn’t verify that one. One had been observed by Dana Ross further North near Parsnips Lakes in the Monument on 6/23/23. Our surveys have been done in this area now for 4 years, every two weeks from April through September. Weather today was partly cloudy and mild (76 F to 86 F) with a little smoke after a week or so of extremely hot weather, 95+. Activity was a bit low due to the clouds.

The swallowtail was laying eggs on my black cherry tree.

Hot and humid with 89 degrees in the afternoon.

First time this season seeing numerous butterflies at the refuge. Feeding on Purple Loose Strife about the only nectar plant available. Ocola was a first time sighting at the refuge. Confirmed by “Seek” although I have seen them before in Cape May.

1 Monarch caterpillar also seen.

While doing yard chores, I saw two Viceroys in the willow tree. Partly sunny, low 90’s.

A small area of flowers - from 12:20 - 12:50 PM.

One intermediate female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Also, had good looks at a Queen, but it never landed for a photograph.

I hiked a new trail this morning; this was a steep wide rocky path along East Elk Creek with plenty of shade and temps in the mid 80’s. Elevation about 6600 feet.

Not all species listed.

Weather was cloudy-clear, 66°-77°, 7mph winds
Surveyed from 9:45am-3:30pm

R. Spink, D. Dunlap, T. Rutgers

Much nectar in the form of False Sunflower and not as many butterflies as expected. Planting at the Visitor center brought in 3 Hummingbird Moths. Plus Snowberry Clearwing moth caterpillar out on a trail.

Weather was partly cloudy, 86°-90°, 12mph wind gusts
Surveyed 12:45pm-1:45pm

10:30 to 1:30, sunny, mid-70s, most butterfles seen at the native plantings in front of the recently-constructed Energy Center, or at the Plantings at the Central Mall at Field 4; the latter produced a first-of-season Cloudless Sulphur.

(14-185) Super hot and muggy. Checked a couple of roadsides and a field - all near saltwater environs. Western Pygmy-Blues continue to flourish throughout the county.

Much of the nectar has died but I think earlier in the year this meadows would be great.

Rare sighting for SE Arizona. According to Peter DeGennaro, this is the 6th state record for this species in Arizona.

Good day in home backyard. Sunny light winds. First of year Common Buckeye. Continuing good numbers of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. Sleepy Orange caterpillar continues. 14 Monarch caterpillars here also. estimated counts on the skippers.

Mid 80’s, sunny but damp the previous day

Hiked from Milly Express Ski lift (Brighton Resort - 8700ft) to Twin Lakes and a bit above (9500ft) and back. 8am - 9:30 - sunny, clear.

This list was my usual walking route around the Historic Oakland area, then I noticed a few in my garden (Southern Broken-Dash) and condominium grounds down the street.

Weather was partly cloudy, 75, 8-12mph wind gusts

R. Spink, S. Rutgers, C. Rutgers, and K. Rutgers

Incidental sightings while visiting the area. Partly cloudy and low to mid 80’s

No Swallowtails were observed. Sulphur numbers are also very low this year.

First of Year Painted Lady in the yard. Sachem’s are everywhere. Estimated count ~50

In addition to the single adult Monarch, 3 Monarch Caterpillars were encountered!

9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. 84°-90°, winds 6-12, partly sunny to overcast at 4 p.m. Only a few scattered liatris but lots of partridge pea, elephant’s foot, shrubby false buttonweed, frog fruit, pluchea, loosestrife in bloom. 4 Arogos Skipper caterpillars found in lopsided indiangrass leaf shelters. LCooper, SFarnsworth, PGotter, EPerry, NPrine, DSmith.

First visit but will go back. First, Zebra Swallowtail I have seen in PA. Lots of nectar for the butterflies and host plants.

This makes it the fourth year in the past seven that we’ve seen Giants here. They seem to have a real affinity for this park at this time of year - not sure why.

Weather was clear-partly cloudy, 63°-75°, calm-6mph winds
Surveyed 10:30am-3:30pm

R. Spink and D. Dunlap

After a nine day hiatus following a rain, I was hoping for another Northern White-Skipper, and I found one on my Bush Mallow.

Fiery Skippers are ever-present. Cabbage Whites, occasional fly through. Painted Ladies seem to have moved on, none seen in several days.

Cloudy, light breeze, 70 degrees with humidity. Species and numbers likely down from low clouds and lower light conditions. Numerous Sleepy Orange cats along the trail on Senna…

Shocked to go back and find the main field with butterfly weed and other wildflowers has been mostly cut to the ground in prime season for the butterflies. I was told by a Nature Conservancy volunteer, they planted them instead of the grasses they had a grant to plant so are cutting everything now so they can replant in Oct. Very sad not to wait another 4-6 weeks.

This butterfly meets the diagnostic criteria for a “White-tufted” Common Sootywing. Additionally, it has a distinct and unusual two-toned (brown/black) hindwing below.

Tour areas in and near Sitgreaves NF, permitted areas of local tribal lands and general area searches.