Dog poop & Flying potato chips

ctaylor at att.net ctaylor at att.net
Sat May 29 13:07:36 EDT 2004


Hi all -

After being dogless for over a year, Debbie got a puppy a few months ago.  Well, Yukon Jack finally made himself useful.  This morning, happily perched atop one of his deposits was my FOTY Red-Spotted Purple.  Cool.

A trip to Echo Farm State Park in Moodus was very good - the place is swimming in flowers, mostly Red Clover, but lots of daisies, Hawkweed, Buttercups, cinquefoil, and the first Cow Vetch blossoms.  I brought Gracie and a friend to go flyfishing for panfish, but my ulterior motive was to get my FOTY Common Ringlets (a.k.a. The Flying Potato Chip, the name bestowed on them by John Himmelman).   There were plenty down by the lower pond in the grassy field, but none would sit quietly for photos. 

Other butterflies at Echo Farm were; 
Peck's Skipper - dozens
Tawny-edged Skipper - 8
Hobomok Skipper - 3
Little Wood Satyr - 6 (we stayed by the ponds - had we gone to the woods there would have been lots)
Tiger Swallowtail - 1
Red-Spotted Purple - 1
American Lady - 3
American Copper - 10+
Northern Cloudywing - 1
Orange Sulphur - 8
Sulphur, white morph - 1

The really cool thing was finding DOZENS of Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillers.  They were everywhere, and some were attaching themselves to grass stalks - getting ready to pupate?  The Baltos should be everywhere just about the time we do the East Haddam Butterfly Count.

Also of note was an adult male Orchard Oriole vigorously singing in the area of the upper pond.  He acted like he was on a territory.

I will probably revisit Echo tomorrow, hoping for less wind and more sedentary Ringlets (unless I go to Long Island for the Bar-tailed Godwit...)

Clay Taylor
Moodus, CT
ctaylor at att.net 



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