Delaney WMA (5/28)

On Sunday I went on a Massachusetts Butterfly Club field trip to Delaney WMA. This area is a great place to find Silvery Blues since its caterpillars feed off the vetch that has been planted there for erosion control. The weather was relatively nice and the butterflies didn't disappoint. In total we counted 98 Silvery Blues and I got a couple of nice shots of them. Other butterflies in abundance were the Duskywings and Pearl Crescents. I also found my first Red Admiral of the season, though it was just a quick glance as it flew by.

During this trip last year I was able to find 4 different species of snakes (Brown, Milk, Northern Water, and Black Racer Snakes) so I was excited about that prospect as well. But, last year was overcast and I think that the cool temperatures brought them out to get warm. This year was warm and sunny so they were harder to find. I did find one Northern Water Snake though. It was swimming around a small pond looking for something to eat.

Also, on our way back we stumbled across an Eastern Painted Turtle returning to the water after laying here eggs.

Butterflies - Silvery Blue, Spring Azure, American Copper, Tiger Swallowtail, Dreamy Duskywing, Monarch, Cabbage White, Peck's Skipper, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tailed Blue, Juvenal's Duskywing, Least Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Pine Elfin, Pearl Crescent, Red Admiral, Common Sootywing, Common Ringlet, Tawny Edge, Dusted Skipper

Herps - Northern Water Snake, Eastern Painted Turtle, American Toad, Green Frog