Pleasant Valley butterflies 4/16/06

Clay Taylor ctaylor at worldnet.att.net
Sun Apr 16 13:29:56 EDT 2006


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

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