First butterfly of 2016 – Mourning Cloak

I’ve recently moved to a community that is adjacent to the Northern area of Sleepy Creek WMA. We live at 815 ft. elevation and the trailhead into the WMA is 3 mins away. A hike of 15-35 mins will take you up into mixed hardwoods and Blueberries galore from 1,400-1,700 ft. I took my dog Shadow for our first venture and coming back we found a Mourning Cloak flying at 1,300 ft. with temps in the 40’s. I hope this is a sign of new discoveries in the spring. Happy and healthy New Year to all!