Butterfly Counts - Salisbury (partial results), East Haddam and New London (upcoming)

[Clay Taylor]

Hi All-

    Back from seeing lots of new butterflies in Austria, so Rich Chyinski and I went to NW Conn. to help out with Dave Wagner's Salisbury count.   The weather front blew through, giving us sunny skies but with a stiff wind, so sheltered areas were at a premium for butterflies.  As of about 7pm, the count total stood at 49 species, which had to be considered as pretty successful given the windy conditions.  Highlights included a sweep of the Nymphalids (both Browns, Satyr, Nymph, Pearly-Eye, and even Ringlet!) and a near-sweep of Fritillaries (GS, Aphro, ATLANTIS, Meadow, Silver-bordered, just missing Variegated, which would be REALLY good).   Skippers were very good, while hairstreaks were lousy.

    OK, so that means the upcoming East Haddam (Sat.) and New London Counts (Mon.) will have a chance to dethrone Salisbury as the top butterfly count in CT (of course, Greg's Waterbury count is lurking in the wings just waiting for perfect conditions at Bent of the River....).

    So, if anybody out there in electro-lep land would like to give us a hand at either East Haddam or New London, please let me know, so I can have sites and maps ready for you.  I will be out there all day, but you can show up for two or three hours if that's all you can spare.

    East Haddam meets at 8:00 am at the boat launch area of Haddam Meadows State Park in Haddam, and later at 1:00 pm at the intersection of Rt 82 and Mount Parnassus Road in East Haddam (the Bog Copper / Skating Rink spot).

    New London meets at Haley Farm State Park in Groton at 8:00 am.  We will be there for at least three hours, and later split up to cover places like Bluff Point and Harkness Memorial SPs, as well as the Waterford Airport and other spots.

    With all the hairstreaks being reported, plus late lingering skippers, either count has the potential to break the half-century mark!   Come on down!

Clay
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