December 2017 Sightings

The Orange Sulphurs were busy flying and gathering nectar from Self Heal and Dandelion flowers. Got a December butterfly species! Recorded butterflies for all twelve months.

Migrating south along with an amazing late-season hawk, eagle, & vulture flight! One eagle kettle held 8 birds.

Mostly sunny, low 50's with a cooling NW wind. As soon as I arrived a stray cat ran across the field and flushed an anglewing (judging from its size and strength my guess leans to a question mark) which zoomed 50 yds to the wood's edge. While searching for it I found an ovenbird.

Went searching for a December butterfly this afternoon. Found only this Buckeye along the powerline cut.

Flushed as we walked the path behind the dune from the State Park to and through the SCMM.

All found between 11:30 & 12:30. Photo of a very tattered buckeye & a sulfur sp.

Found at 12:18 pm nectaring on a Dandelion.

Counted 7 active Orange Sulphurs.

Stone Harbor still has some blooming Goldenrod and some folks have planted pansies.
The American Lady was on the Goldenrod, the Painted Lady on the Pansies.
A sulphur sp. went whizzing by in the parking lot.

The sixty degree temperature and a quick splash of sun brought out 6 Orange Sulphurs in an open field.

60, cloudy, winds 10-15.

Temps in 40's; sulphur was in sunny area sheltered from the cool breeze.

After thirty minutes of searching this field in ten to fifteen mph winds and temperatures barely above the mid forties, the sun came out for about ten minutes and two Orange Sulphurs emerged from deep inside the vegetation to bask, fly and feed while the brisk winds continued. This species is so amazingly hardy!!
Photo - Orange Sulphur basking in the sun revealing its pink hairdo and green eyes through a face on approach.

A very questionable Question Mark on my fruit dish – in need of careful review by our moderators.

PS: This is what crazy butterflyers do when snow covers the ground.

[No fair, Dave! I haven't had any coffee yet…and your carefully-massaged pic had me wondering, "Yikes! Could it be?" jc]

There was a small window today to see if the Orange Sulphurs survived the recent cold weather and snows. With 15 to 20 minutes of sun and no wind, there were 4 active Orange Sulphurs within this large vacant field along Rte. 9 just past noon - 12.17.17.
Photos of the Orange Sulphur field on 12.10.17 (a second snow fall in this field before 12.17.17), and a macro close up of an Orange Sulphur.

Flushed an Orange Sulphur near 12:30 pm. Saw Eastern Meadowlarks and Eastern Bluebirds, also.

Discovered three active Orange Sulphurs this day!

Although there was snow and a bfly, unlike Dave Amadio, I could not get the bug to land on the snow. Still, pretty cool to see a bfly after three light snow storms in the past two weeks.

While birding near the MUA water treatment facility along Sunset Road, the Painted Lady flew into the area.

As I was leaving the city, the Monarch was seen flying alongside my car and then across Stimpson Lane.

Even though, it was barely 40 degrees, I saw three active Orange Sulphurs. Saw them just before noon and after winter officially started at 11:21 am.

Eked out, possibly, my last butterfly of the year today. The weather does not look good for butterflies the rest of 2017.
An Orange Sulphur was angled for sun warmth this morning and it was somewhat sunny, but the temperature was struggling to reach 40 degrees! It eventually gave up on flight and walked backwards down a grass blade and then clouds covered the sun for the rest of the day.

Sometime on the 24th of December an Orange Sulphur, previously reported, backed down a blade of grass and walked to a hidden spot within the small tuft of grass that it was on. This butterfly was there Christmas day and still there on December 26, 2017 awaiting warmer weather!
Photos of Orange Sulphur hiding within tuft of grass and a closeup of its dark scales for warmth.

[A very cool find by Will K. – in both senses! jc]

The Orange Sulphur is still hidden in the grass tuft and it went deeper in and was laying parallel to the ground surface. Lightly touched this bug and the wings moved open and then closed. Tonight will really test its survival skills!

Checked in the early afternoon to see, if the Orange Sulphur in the grass tuft survived the last two mornings in the lower teens. It did not and am sharing photos of it.
Photos of it dead in the field and on a quarter to show its small winter size.