Pleasant Valley butterflies 4/16/06

jhimmel at comcast.net jhimmel at comcast.net
Sun Apr 16 16:58:38 EDT 2006


Like Clay, I too head out in search of birds and leps.  Unlike Clay, my
highlights were moths - all Grapevine Epimenis' - about 6 of them.  They
were ovipositing in the leaf buds of grapevines (in Killingworth).

I have a photo on my website - www.connecticutmoths.com

John

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
John Himmelman
Killingworth, CT
jhimmel at comcast.net
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Discovering Amphibians, Frogs and Salamanders of the Northeast"
Go to: https://secure.downeast.com/deb/product_info.php/products_id/1171

Visit my other websites at:
  www.johnhimmelman.com
  www.connecticutmoths.com
  www.ctamphibians.com


  -----Original Message-----
  From: owner-ctleps-l at lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-ctleps-l at lists.yale.edu]On Behalf Of Clay Taylor
  Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2006 1:30 PM
  To: Conn Leps
  Subject: Pleasant Valley butterflies 4/16/06


  All -

  Took a nice walk this morning at the Pleasant Valley Preserve in Lyme - my
first dedicated bird / butterfly time spent in CT in months (I did a LOT of
yard work on Saturday, so this was my reward).

  Arrived about 9:45am and left at 11:45, having walked most of the trails.
The first vernal pool on the left (before the Preserve) is dry, but the big
ones in the Preserve look good.   There were surprisingly few fishermen on
the 8-Mile River.    I was hoping for a few early warblers and maybe a
Juvenal's Duskywing.

  The first field off the path (technically not in the Preserve) has been
mowed and a lot of the brush was cut, so this year could be a good one there
for butterflies - it was becoming a bit overgrown.   I don't know if there
are plans for that field.

  I ran into my first Spring Azure between the first field and the brook.
As always, it was very active, perching on the ground for a few seconds,
then jumping up and flying crazily for a while before setting again.  No
decent chances for photographs.    Up into the Cedar Field, I was greeted by
a singing Chipping Sparrow, and across to the right a Ruby-crowned Kinglet
was doing its manic song.  I never realized that it remains active when it
sings - hopping from branch to branch, swiveling its head, etc.   Very
different from sparrows or warblers that strike a pose, arch their backs,
and let 'er rip.   More azures there, as well as a Mourning Cloak.
Although I usually dislike British names vs. American names for things
(Moorhen vs. Gallinule, boot vs. trunk, tyre vs. tire, etc.) I definitely
like Camberwell's Beauty over Mourning Cloak.

  Walked along the 8-Mile a bit, then up the hillside, serenaded by
chickadees and titmice, with a little American Goldfinch for counterpoint.
Found more azures, LOTS of little moths and a few medium-sized ones.   For
some reason, I LOVE skippers, and could care less for moths - go figure.

  Down the hill between the two big vernal ponds (strangely quiet - no
peepers or toads calling), up the other side (another Beauty), and down to
the back fields.   Pretty quiet there, too, but it is good to see that the
fields were mowed last fall - the flowers should be good this year if we get
decent rains this spring.  By now the azure count is 17, but no Juvie.    I
figured that I was just a tad too early.    At the top of the field, the
path splits - the left heads back toward the Entrance, and the right goes
into the woods.   I took the right turn, heading NW-ish.  About 100 yards
along the path, a small black butterfly zoomed past my feet and landed on a
dead leaf.   Yes!   A very nice Juvenal's Duskywing, in perfect shape, of
course.    I tries sneaking up on it for a photo, but it was in no mood to
sit still for very long.   No big deal - it was good just to see one.

  I looped back down to the dirt road, hit the far field (with the fancy
wooden bench) and watched a pair of Bluebirds foraging along the edge.
There were no leps, and it was after 11:00, so I headed for the car.   More
azures along the dirt road brought me up to 21 - still none that would
pose...arrgghhhh.   At the entrance sign for the Preserve, I took one of the
trail maps, and found that the bird sighting list is a COA checklist - the
instructions are to mark down any bird species you see on the preserve, and
only the first sighting of the year is to be recorded.   I added a bunch of
birds.   In the last 50 yards before the gate, I added four more azures and
another (kind of ratty-looking) Beauty.

  When I got back to the car, I checked to see if I still had a few CBA
Checklists stashed in my glove compartment, but came up empty.   If anyone
has a CBA checklist and is in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley, it would be
nice to add that into the plastic baggie so we can record the butterfly
first dates, too.   I got dibs on Azure, Beauty, and Juvie on 4/16!

  Butterfly list -
  Spring Azure - 25
  Mourning Cloak (Camberwell's Beauty) - 3
  Juvenal's Duskywing - 1

  Clay Taylor
  Moodus, CT
  ctaylor at att.net

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/private/ctleps-l/attachments/20060416/6068118d/attachment.html 


More information about the Ctleps-l mailing list