Ocola Skippers, Fiery Skippers, Sleepy Orange, Carolina Satyr

Posted on September 21, 2014 by admin

Barry Marts and I headed out to Charles and Prince George’s county, MD on Sunday in hopes of picking up some southern irruptive species. Our first location was Friendship Farm Park close to Nanjemoy Creek. We had been there in the spring when the Dogbane was about to explode and now coming back in the later part of September the Dogbane was replaced by Wingstem. The temperature at 10 AM was already in the upper 60’s and with the forecast calling for mid-upper 80’s we knew it was going going to be a banner day for whatever leps were still on the wing. After 15 minutes in the Wingstem I located an Ocola Skipper (the first of two for the day). This was a lifer for me! We proceeded to walk the Blue and Gold paths combining them for a long loop. Sachem were abundant and a number of other skipper species were flying but showed various signs of wear. The first of four Carolina Satyrs was seen along the Blue trail followed quickly by a Gray Hairstreak and  Northern Broken-Dash.  A grouping of seven Sleepy Oranges was flying in one meadow area and one of them only sat down once so a backlit shot was all we got. Eastern Tailed-Blues were plentiful. After a quick lunch in La Plata we headed up to the butterfly garden at the Plummer House in Lothian. The Lantana was teaming with skippers, mostly Sachem. Here we found our second Ocola Skipper, a few Fiery Skippers, some worn Southern Broken-Dash. We spotted our only Eastern Tiger Swallowtail of the day in the garden. A great day indeed with 29 species. As the season winds down I can reflect on a good diversity although numbers of some species were down. My regional species total YTD is 110. Barry has seen 116 species.

** = Lifer
 * = First of Year

  Silver-spotted Skipper      7
  Swarthy Skipper             1
  Least Skipper               5
  Fiery Skipper               4
  Tawny-edged Skipper         1
  Sachem                    100+
  Crossline Skipper           3
  Northern Broken-Dash        1
  Southern Broken-Dash        3
  Dun Skipper                 1
  Ocola Skipper               2           
  Eastern Tiger Swallowtail   1
  Spicebush Swallowtail       2
  Cabbage White               4
  Clouded Sulphur             2
  Orange Sulphur              2
  Sleepy Orange               7
  Eastern Tailed-Blue        24
  Summer Azure                2
  Red-banded Hairstreak       4
  Gray Hairstreak             2
  Monarch                     3
  Variegated Fritillary       3
  Great Spangled Fritillary  41
  Pearl Crescent              5
  Common Buckeye              6
  Painted Lady                5
  American Lady               1
  Carolina Satyr              4

Click on any image below to enlarge

Fiery Skipper Sleepy Orange
Ocola Skipper Ocola Skipper
Carolina Satyr Carolina Satyr
Posted in Blues, Brush-footed, Gossamer-winged, Milkweed Butterflies, Remote Trip, Satyrs, Skippers, Swallowtails, Whites and Sulphurs | Leave a comment

Leonard’s Skipper – Soldier’s Delight

Posted on September 14, 2014 by admin

After missing the first part of the month away from the area on an Alaska birding trip I went out to Solider’s Deight Environmental area in western Baltimore county, MD. Blazing Star was now begining to wind down but there was still ample nectoring to be had. The Little/Big Bluestem grasses provide the perfect habitat for Leonard’s, Swarthy, Dusted and Cobweb Skippers to name a few during the course of the year. I arrived at the parking lot across from the Choate Mine trailhead about 1:45pm. It was a cool 68 degrees, partly cloudy with a northerly breeze. Barry and Bev joined me for a second pass of the trail about 1 1/2 hours later. At the end of the day whille we were chatting and preparing to go home back at the parking lot we ran into fellow lepster Beth Johnson. We traded stories of the afternoon’s  events. Sachem and Pearl Crescents were abundant. In all we located 10 Leonard’s Skippers throughout the entire length of the Choate Mine trail. Also of note were Painted Lady, American Lady and a Red-banded Hairstreak. I’m still hoping for some southern irruptives before the season plays itself out.

* = First of year

  Common Checkered-Skipper    2
  Swarthy Skipper             9
 *Leonard's Skipper           10
  Sachem                      abundant
  Crossline Skipper           1 (female)
  Dun Skipper                 1
  Orange Sulphur              4
  Red-banded Hairstreak       1
  Eastern Tailed-Blue         2
  Monarch                     1
  Variegated Fritillary       1
  Pearl Crescent              abandant   
  Common Buckeye              6
  Painted Lady                1
  American Lady               1

Click on image for larger size

Leonard's Skipper Leonard's Skipper
Posted in Blues, Brush-footed, Gossamer-winged, Remote Trip, Skippers, Whites and Sulphurs | Leave a comment

Milbert’s Tortoiseshell

Posted on September 10, 2014 by admin

I recently returned from a birding trip to Alaska. Most of the time was spent on St. Paul Island but for a few days I was in Anchorage. Temperatures ranged from 38-63 degrees on the mainland and it was mostly cloudy with rain a lot of the time. On the last day however the Sun finally came out and I spent a little while north of Anchorage looking for birds near Eagle River, AK and then Arctic Valley. The scenery was stunning with glaicers and snow capped moutains majestically rising from the lowlands around Prince William Sound. Just east of Eagle River, AK I saw the first butterfly of the trip (only saw three species) which was a lifer Green Comma nectoring on flowers. I could not get out of the car for photographs but managed a few very poor quality shots to confirm the ID. The second stop was at tree line near the Arctic Valley Ski resort located within Chugach State Park. It offers hiking in the summer and outstanding views of Anchorage and the upper portion of Prince William Sound. It was here I saw the other two species for the trip, Clouded Sulphur and Milbert’s Tortoiseshell (5). 

Whittier_Pan2

Milbert's Tortoiseshell

Posted in Brush-footed, Remote Trip | Leave a comment

DC NABA Count

Posted on August 17, 2014 by admin

I was among five participants on the 17th annual NABA on Sunday August 17th which covered parts of the the National Arboretum and the Kenilworth Park and Aqutic Gardens. Although some of the expected common species were AWOL like Sulphurs, Ladies and Common Buckeye we more than made up for it with record numbers of Southern Broken-Dash, the count’s first Harvester and a White Admiral. Tally details can be found at: 17th DC NABA Count. A couple of Fiery Skippers were also seen. I encourage you all to consider helping out on this count next season. With the later date it always holds the promise of southern irruptive species. Hightlight photos for me are below.

Click on any image below to enlarge.

Southern Broken-Dash Fiery Skipper
Broad-winged Skipper Harvester
White M Hairstreak
Posted in Gossamer-winged, Skippers | Leave a comment

Giant Swallowtail

Posted on August 16, 2014 by admin

A trip to Rickett’s Glen State Park in NE PA provided a nice surprice for the traveling lepsters. The weather was supposed to be mostly sunny with a high in the lower 70’s. It turned out to be mostly cloudy and temps never got out of the 60’s. This however did not keep all the butterflies down as we still managed to see 18 species. The targets for the trip were Milbert’s and /or Compton Tortoiseshell. These are northern species that are in very small numbers in the mtns of SW PA, western MD and the mtns of WV. Compton had been reported in July and Barry had found a Milbert’s on a trip 10 days earlier. No luck on the Toroiseshells but we saw three Common Ringlets (assumed second flight?) as a consolation. Around the Beech Lake area we were surveying a nice field of wild flowers when there it was, a beautiful Giant Swallowtail. This was the first one I’ve seen outside of Texas so it was indeed a welcome sight. Also in the field were Aphrodite and Atlantis Fritillaries. The area was full of wild berries (Cranberry, Blueberry (high bush and low bush), Hackberry, Blackberry). We could have filled a bucket a had a three berry cobbler for dinner. The allure of the area is strong and we’ll be going back up next spring looking for Early Hairstreak.

Giant Swallowtail

Posted in Blues, Brush-footed, Duskywings, Milkweed Butterflies, Remote Trip, Satyrs, Skippers, Swallowtails | Leave a comment