Since the remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie were keeping us cloudy in Berkeley County and increased the chance of rain as daytime heating occurred, Barry Marts and I decided to go west and take our chances. It was a great decision in retrospect as the weather in Tucker County was party sunny with temps in the upper 70’s. We started off our quest in Grant County along Hougeland road (west of Pertersburg) as a Marsh Wren had been reported by Fred Atwood the previous day. Since it was on the way to the mountains, why not? We dipped on the wren but found a decent supply of butterflies on the wing as there was an ample assorment of wildflowers along the road. Here is where we saw a few FOY’s; Common Sootywing, European Skipper and a beautiful fresh male Dun Skipper with its golden head. We then headed for the mountains first stopping at Blackwater Falls State Park followed by a visit to Canaan Valley NWR. At Blackwater Falls we found several Pepper and Salt Skippers, part of the “Roadside-Skipper” Genus “Amblyscirtes“. In Canaan Valley the grasshoppers were so thick that it sounded like is was raining as they jumped away to avoid our steps as they landed on nearby leaves. It was here we located FOY Common Ringlets, Meadow Fritillary and the rare Silver-bordered Fritillary. Coming back home we drove through rain showers…
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