September 2021 Sightings

Still large numbers of sachems all over the yard. Count is estimated and probably they are undercounted. Mating monarchs seen every day for the past week. Sleepy oranges still laying eggs.

Half a dozen silver-spotter skipper caterpillars in different instars feeding on American wisteria. At least some of the eggs laid on/about August 15. Smallest and largest cats photo'd.

Pearl crescent hasn't been in our yard for a number of years.

2 probably 3 Clouded Skippers in the garden today. But between the hoard of Sachems and bees keeping track of them was difficult.

[A FOY for our log in 2021 and a superb find of a genuine rarity! We have logged this species in only eight of our fourteen years of logging and its numbers in our area are never high. Great work, HT! jc]

11:00-2:00, along Wildlife drive

Sachems continue to increase daily. Count is probably under estimated. In the back yard, there were 30 in one small area. 3 of them were chasing the hummingbirds away from the salvia. Several times I thought I saw an Ocola fly by in the crowd of skippers but could never find it again at that time.

Morning after heavy downpour and winds, sunny and breezy, 2:30 -3:30 pm

Praying Mantis with Silver-spotted Skipper, Yellow Jacket devouring a Sachem and a newly emergent and pristine Monarch. The Sachems increase in abundance by the day. I counted 252 and then encountered many more in a flower garden. 300 is probably a low estimate.

Carol & I had a great get-together with Lucy and Bruce.
Lucy's knowledge of wildflowers and host plants is amazing. I saw my first Sleepy Orange in their backyard

1:30-3:30pm.
Beautiful sunny day in the 70's.

I saw the red-spotted purple before I even went outside- it landed on the window and right behind it from my viewpoint was a hummingbird. Pictured are the Pearl crescent on Rudbeckia triloba and the Peck’s skipper on Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana”. The skippers are an undercount. They were everywhere-besides the phlox, on mountain mint, New England asters, blue mist flower, zinnias and sedums.

Can't remember when we last had a dark tiger in our yard.
A dozen monarch caterpillars, most in late instars.

9:20 am to 2:35 pm. Sunny, breezy, 73 degrees when finished. Beautiful day. Also 5 hairstreak sp. & 10+ skipper sp.

[Our first white-M from OCN this year and an impressive mix from one of our under-explored counties. Painted lady and fiery skipper as well. Thanks for the report, Tom. jc]

11 am -2:30 pm, cool temps to start, 68 degrees to mid-70's. Main bridge closed due to damage from Ida. "muddy path" to 2nd bridge is open. Did not notice any trees down and walkways were clear.

72, sunny, light breeze, low humidity. White M hairstreaks sunning themselves on scrub oak and winged sumac in separate field locations.

[Good to see white Ms might be staging a late summer surge, as they have done before. Three of them at one site is our high count for 2021. jc]

Observation during a partly sunny afternoon.
Not a single swallowtail.
Several moth caterpillars on Late Boneset.

Another day of triple number Sachems. Looked all day to see if any of Harvey's Clouded Skippers visited but couldn't find any. First Variegated Fritillary in the yard for some time. Brazilian skipper, cats and nests here.

A beautiful afternoon to be in the park. One stranger in the midst of Sachems and Peck’s Skipper.
Nice to see here some Hairstreaks.
No Whites and Sulphurs.

[This is the first white M reported from GLO in nearly two years – since Dave Amadio found one at Riverwinds on 10-12-19. Good find, WH! jc]

[Thanks for the count. Sachems have exploded in recent weeks throughout our area. Maryland also having more than can be counted. jc]

The bright blue of two Pipevines brightened up our day.

[Excellent find. These two are only the 4th and 5th adult PVSTs found in CMY since 2019. It seems to have become a scarcer species there over the last decade. jc]

Incidental sightings while birding in the park this morning.

Limited obs. on this damp afternoon.

I was planning to go on the Harvester-trail. This trail was closed due to several fallen trees, caused by IDA.
Spent a while at the Butterfly garden.
It seems that the White M Hairstreaks are showing up in GloCo.

Wow good butterfly sighting while playing mini golf with my grandson! My first ocola of the season.

[And it's the first Ocola reported in CMY this year – and only the third in our area in 2021 (the two others were found in GLO.) Maybe more of us should take up mini-golf?! jc]

Incidental sighting while driving.

9:15 to 12 noon. Cloudy at start but mostly sunny when finished. Breezy & temps in upper 70s.

My first sighting of a Cloudless Sulphur in this park.