Northhampton/Amherst Butterfly Count (7/23)

My last butterfly count of the season was on Sunday. It was actually scheduled for Saturday but the rain forced a postponement. Unfortunately Sunday's weather wasn't much better. It was overcast and cool for most of the day but we did pretty well anyhow.

My group had South Hadley and Hatfield. We started at a powerline cut that ran perpendicular to a local bike path. It was still early and cool so almost everything was grounded. Besides a few Mullberrywings and a Viceroy, we didn't locate many butterflies. There were still interesting things to look at though. I found a nice dragonfly, some moths (otherwise occupied), and a bizarre looking caterpillar. The Monkey Flower was also in bloom so I got some photos of it to add to my collection. Just before we left, we were able to scare up one Great Spangled Frittilary and a Question Mark which made the stop a little more worthwhile.

Most of our other sites were as unproductive as the first but we did have tons of butterflies at a capped landfill. The area was just packed with butterflies. So many that you easily got confused about which individuals you counted and which ones you missed. Monarchs, Common Wood Nymphs, Eastern Tailed-Blues, and Pearl Crescents were all abundant.

We also had an interesting bird sighting at the landfill as well. As we walked thru the gate I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a telephone pole. In itself, this isn't a rare occurance. But this hawk stayed on his "perch" even when I got directly underneath him. He always kept me in view though, sometimes craning his neck to look around the phone line.

The only thing that got him to move was the approach of a second Red Tail. The first hawk took off, let out a series of calls, and then landed one pole down. The "intruder" was forced to land on the phone line. But, while this is a stable perch for smaller birds, the hawk had a really hard time staying balanced. He teetered forward, spread his wings to shift his balance, and then rolled back the other way. After a few seconds of this, he gave up and flew off.

After the count was over, all of the groups convened at Sugarloaf Mountain to review the numbers. By this time, the clouds had cleared taking with them almost all of the humidity. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a fantastic view from the top of the mountain.

As we got into the results of the group counts, two trends struck me. First, the count like several before it had very few hairstreaks. In general these are hard butterflies to find but their numbers are really down this year. On the other side of the trendlines were the Monarchs. My group thought we had a great day with an ending total of 58. But two other groups had over 350 individuals. In total this count must have found over 800 Monarchs. This is truly astounding and shows that the population can rebound from some setbacks that they've had in their wintering grounds in the past few years.

Wachusett Reservoir (7/22)

I got up on Saturday morning and decided that my only opportunity to get outside would be before lunch. So I went out to Wachusett Reservoir for a short hike. It was overcast and muggy and that really kept the animal activity down. But I made due and enjoyed the experience.

The day started off pretty good. I came to the powerline support which was located on a small ridge. From this vantage point I had a good look at the reservoir and was even able to pick out a Common Loon on the water.

Next I headed down the hill and out to the water's edge. On the flowers I found a copy of butterfly species including one Viceroy that was perfectly happy out on a large leaf until I got too close and he flew away. I also found a Eight-Spotted Forrester Moth that was a bit more cooperative.

The waters edge was just packed with flowering Horse-Nettle and while trying to photograph the flowers I must have brushed up against it. For my trouble I got a nasty, itchy, rash on my leg. Watch out for this one.

When I got to the water, I noticed several fish. Five or six of them were very large but there were also dozens of smaller ones. They all looked like the same species to me. Maybe Lake Trout? It was fun to watch them swim around the reeds and I was glad that there were no fishermen in the area to scare them off.

I continued up the road which runs along the reservoir until it came to another ridge. As I looked down, I saw the same Loon (photos by Michel Bordeleau) that I'd seen earlier in the day. He was right below the ridge (maybe 30 feet or so down) on the edge of the water. He nervously swam into deeper water but didn't fly away. And what great looks I got. Seeing this individual so close reaffirms how beautiful they really are. The dark black head accented with the dark red eyes , white collar, and checkered back are stunning. The lack of colors is more than made up for by the striking contrast. Its beauty is only matched by its "cousins" the Pacific Loon (photo by Keith Brady) and Red-throated Loon (photo by Keith Brady).

Mole Crab

On Sunday, while attempting to escape the heat at Horseneck Beach I found a Mole Crab swimming about in the surf. I fondly remember catching these guys when I was a kid. What a cool animal.

If I had to be reincarnated as an animal low on the food chain, I think that I'd pick the Mole Crab. It gets to spend all its time at the beach filter feeding in the surf.

Blackstone Corridor Butterfly Count (7/15)

I did another butterfly count on Saturday. This time it was the Blackstone Corridor. Our territory was Upton. We had really good numbers of Common Wood Nymphs, Pearl Crescents, and American Coppers. Just like the last week, the numbers of Monarchs were up too. But, our best find was a single Common Buckeye.

In total my group found 31 different species and over 300 individuals.

Reddish Garter Snake

The pre and post-survey meetings for the Northern Worcester County butterfly count were held at Wachusett Meadow. While I waited for the morning meeting to start I discovered a small group of Garter Snakes basking on one of the stone steps near the main office. It was pretty obvious that the rock wall was their summer "home" if not their hibernaculum. Several of the snakes slithered backbards into the wall once I got too close.

But one of the snakes was different. Instead of being yellow or tan with black stripes, it had a reddish caste. I'm not sure if this is a genetic abnormality or if it was environmental in nature(maybe it just squeezed thru some reddish soil) but I'd never seen it before.

North Worcester County Butterfly Count (7/9)

When this time of year rolls around, its time for butterfly counts. It can be challenging since you have to spend the entire day in the field during the hottest part of the summer. But the people are nice and it is a good way to collect data which can show species population trends.

The participants in the counts break up into smaller groups so that they can cover more ground. My group's territory was Sterling. We had several sites to cover, some of which had a good deal of activity... others that didn't.

Our final list was pretty good: 23 different species. The highlights were the high count of Monarchs (who really seem to have bounced back nicely from their low numbers the past few years), a few Appalacian Browns, and one Baltimore Checkerspot. The last species was a total surprise. We found it in an area where we hadn't found them before. It was resting amonst the Milkweed and Swamp Candles.

Other than the nice butterflies, we did have one outstanding wildlife encounter. While searching a small stream for the Browns, we spooked a River Otter. It flipped around and swam away before I could react but it still was a graet find.

I'm on YouTube

I was searching YouTube the other day for live Pearl Jam performances and I came across this video (WARNING: video contains profanity). Its from the second Boston show on May 25th of this year. The video shows the performance of Leash, a song that the band hadn't played live in over ten years. It was reintroduced at this show and I just happened to be in the third row. When the first chords of the song were played the crowd just went nuts. It was unreal.

The best part of the video is that I'm in it... or at least my right arm. It popps up around the middle of the screen just after Ed screams "Young... Souls...". Its really visible when the lights turn blue. I can tell its my arm because:

1) Its right where I was standing.
2) Its only the right arm. The fans were so packed together that I couldn't jump looking straight ahead and instead had to turn sideways slightly.
3) Its starts out strong but peeters out within 30 seconds. That's about all of the jumping stamina that I have.

Broad Meadow Brook MAS: Worcester, MA (7/8)

After our walk at Crow Hill, we headed over to BMB for some butterfly monitoring and a short afternoon hike. From Dunkirk, we headed up to the powerlines. The area had a pretty standard list of species including Little Wood Satyr, Northern Broken Dash, Monarch, and Tiger Swallowtail. The standout for the meadow was a Question Mark that rested just long enough for me to get a picture.

We had some nice finds on the return trip too. We spied a pair of Northern Pearlyeyes flying thru the woods near the powerlines. We walked down to Trioano Brookside Trail and found a Broad Wing Skipper (our first of the year) nectaring on the flowers. Surprising the Bullfrogs and Garter Snakes from earlier in the week were no where to be found. Maybe it was the time of day or the heat.

We drove back to the visitor's center to file the sightings report and as we left the building we were treated to something really interesting. From far overhead I heard the call of a Broad Wing Hawk. Once I found its location in the sky I noticed it was "mobbing" a Red Tailed Hawk. The Broad Wind dive bombed the larger raptor several times and the Red Tail just seemed like he wanted to get away. Both birds were calling like crazy. Seeing them side by side really gave us an understanding of their relative sizes which is nearly impossible with a single bird.

Crow Hill: Worcester, MA (7/8)

Last Saturday my parents and I went over to the Greater Worcester Land Trust's propery at Crow Hill. I was surprised how much had grown up since we were there for the Earth Day clean-up in the spring. The top of the hill, which had been burned right before the clean-up, was just starting to come back. But the meadows at the base of the hill were overgrown to the point where the trail was almost completely obscured.

We started in the meadows. A number of Yellow Warblers flitted about in the bushes. The butterflies were just starting to fly but we did get a number of good species. At the small pond we saw a few Painted Turtles, one of which was gigantic.

After finishing up with the meadow, we headed to the top of the hill. It was pretty quiet but I did get a few nice pictures of a dragonfly that I don't think that I'd ever seen before.

Broad Meadow Brook: Worcester, MA (7/4)

On July 4th I decided to get up early and see what was happening at Broad Meadow Brook. It was a relatively quiet morning but I did have some nice encounters.

1) While walking up to the powerlines I spooked a Ruffed Grouse. It scared me half to death.

2) The Garter Snakes that live by the trash collector were out sunning themselves on the rocks. I've seen these guys almost every time I got to BMB. Further up the brook, dozens of Bullfrogs were calling out. I found a trio in amplexus.

3) The summer flowers were really popping. The powerlines had several Wood Lillies which had taken the opportunity to brake thru after the fall bruch cutting. I also found Butterfly Weed, Butter and Eggs, Chicory, Crown Vetch, etc. I even found one that I didn't know: Enchanter's Nightshade.

4) While walking up to Granite St. along the powerlines I came across a baby Northern Mockingbird sitting on the trail. He adopted a strategy of concealment until I stepped a little too close and he flew away.

5) The weather was overcast so the butterflies were few and far between. I did have one Banded Hairstreak and a BUCKEYE. I hadn't seen one of these in MA in a couple of years. It flew in and gave me just enough of a look so that I could identify it before it flew away.

Birds - Blue Jay, Eastern Wood Peewee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Thrasher, American Robin, Comon Grackle, Mourning Dove, European Starling, Eastern Kingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Red Wing Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, Green Heron, Eastern Towhee, Ruffed Grouse, Red-tailed Hawk, Gray Catbird, Northern Flicker, Prairie Warbler, Wood Thrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, House Wren

Herps - Painted Turtle, Bullfrog

Butterflies - Cabbage White, Banded Hairstreak, Mourning Cloak, Clouded Sulphur, Little Wood Satyr, Eastern Tailed-blue. Common Buckeye

Plum Island (7/3)

I took the Monday before Independence Day off and my sister and I headed out to Plum Island. We started at Parker River NWR. After passing thru the gate we stopped to check out the Purple Martins at parking lot #1. I see these birds only very rarely but Plum always has a nice colony.

Next we drove up to the Salt Pannes and discovered a nice assortment of birds. Great and Snowy Egrets were hunting in the shallows and Common and Least Terns were plunge diving in the deeper sections. But my favorite were the Willets who seemed to spook at the smallest movement. As they flew in circles over the pannes we got great looks at their striking plumage.

We moved on before stopping again at the maintenance buildings. There we found a few Bobolinks. One male in particular got our attention. He let us get so close that we theorized that he must be protecting a nest in the area.

The next stop was Hellcat. We looked around the water but all of the ducks were too far away to see with only binoculars. So, we decided to take a small hike along the trail. Not much was active at this point in the day but the view was nice.

We got back in the car and drove down the dirt road. About halfway down we noticed a medium sized bird perched awkwardly on top of a post. It looked like a large sandpiper to be but I couldn't work out the identification (more on that later). The bird sat very still as we watched, probably because we never got out of the car.

We continued to the end of the road and as luck would have it, there was one parking space open so we stopped for a quick dip. The water was very cold but I found it totally refreshing on such a hot and humid day.

On our way back we stopped to look out on the Osprey platform. Earlier at Hellcat we couldn't see any birds on the platform. But now as we watched an Osprey flew in and, as it did, a second head peeked up over the walls of the nest. The parent didn't appear to have any food so the immature bird layed back down.

That was it for us at Parker River. Before starting for home we couldn't resist stopping at Joppa Flats MAS to see what was there. It was mid-afternoon so the bird activity was low. But we did have a Black Swallowtail fly past as it went from flower to flower in the garden. Hoping for something good on the water, we headed up to the observation platform. The birdwatcher volunteering there asked us what we had seen out on the island and we told him of our mystery bird. He thought that it might have been an Upland Sandpiper since pole sitting is a typical behavior for this bird. He brought us downstairs to pull up pictures of the bird on the sanctuary computer. They were a pretty good match to what we remembered seeing but I can't be 100% sure.

Birds - Purple Martin, Great Egret, American Goldfinch, Red Wing Blackbird, Willet, Mute Swan, Snowy Egret, Common Grackle, Greater Yellowlegs, Common Tern, Least Tern, Yellow Warbler, Turkey Vulture, Double-crested Cormorant, Eastern Kingbird, Tree Swallow, Killdeer, Sanderling, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Gray Catbird, Mourning Dove, Brown-headed Cowbird, Eastern Towhee, Northern Mockingbird, Black Duck, Mallard, Purple Finch, Cedar Waxwing, Common Yellowthroat, Blue Jay, Song sparrow, Osprey, Black-capped Chickadee, Upland Sandpiper (?)

Butterflies - Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Tiger Swallowtail, Monarch, Orange Sulphur, Black Swallowtail

Wells State Park (7/2)

[OK, so I'm a week behind on my posts again. But I hope to catch up in the next few days.]

On Saturday my sister and I went out to Wells State Park for a short hike. We specifically went to check out the Black Rat Snakes that live in the trees at the park. These guys are really easy to find if you know where to look. Fortunately someone had brought me to their tree last year so I knew where it was. So, withing 30 seconds of getting to the ttree we found one large snake double folded on a limb. We also found a second snake curled up in a ball on a higher limb. Both snakes appeared to be resting but it was great just to see them. I would love to see them "climbing" up the tree though.

This was a great way to start the morning and it gave us a preview of the fantastic herp day that we were going to have. After enjoying the Black Rat Snakes for a while we decided to try some of the park's trails. As we were walking along the main road up to the first trail we found a Spicebush Swallowtail looking for some flowers to nectar on. Slightly further up the road we came across a small access road. We decided to give it a try. The sun was out and there were dragonflies buzzing around on both sides of us. The offshoot was relatively short but before we got to its end we found another snake. This one was curled up in the bushes. I think that it was a Garter Snake.

After coming to the dead end of the path, we backtracked and found another trail to explore. This one brought us deeper into the woods and closer to the water. We passed several small pools many of which supported Bullfrogs and Green Frogs. Proceeding down the trail, we spooked an American Toad who promptly hid under a log. We continued along the water, at times blazing our own trail as we lost track of the established path. Just before we broke thru to the powerlines, my sister found another frog. This one was a small Wood Frog.

Once onto the powerlines, we decided to head in the general direction of the parking lot. To get there we needed to cross a portion of the road which had been flooded. As we sloshed thru the flooded area, we saw a Fishing Spider that was very similar to the one I had "saved" a few weeks back.

Before heading out for lunch, we took one more side trip on a trail that I'd never tried before. It went deep into the woods and there wasn't too much activity. But we did find a Northern Pearlyeye and I was able to get one clear shot of it for documentation.

We headed back to the car along the trail that run along the pond at the enterance of the park. We spotted a couple Painted Turtles sunning themselves on logs in the water. As we continued down the trail, our eyes were drawn to the ground where several baby toads were hopping out of our way. I thought that they must be American Toads but halfway down the trail I found an adult Fowler's Toad. I never knew that these guys could be found at Wells. It was a great ending to the trip.

Birds - American Robin, Red Wing Blackbird, Northern Cardinal, Prairie Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Ovenbird

Herps - Black Rat Snake, Garter Snake, Painted Turtle, Fowler's Toad, Green Frog, Bullfrog, American Toad, Wood Frog , Pickerel Frog

Butterflies - Northern Pearlyeye, European Skipper, Little Wood Satyr, Spicebush Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral, Silver Spotted Skipper

Bent-of-the-River: Southbury, CT (7/1)

On Saturday I got up early to visit Bent-of-the-River, a National Audubon Society property in Southbury, CT. I had never been there before but I had heard great things about the property from the Connecticut Butterfly Association so I decided to give it a try.

I got there pretty early, around 7:15. The parking lot is surrounded by a large field but I decided to bypass it knowing that I could return later when it was warmer. I did find one butterfly clinging to a leaf. I couldn't decide what it was. I thought that it might be a species I had never seen before. I took some pictures and then left it. It was only later when I saw dozens of his kin that I realized that it was just a Common Wood Nymph.

I hiked the trail along the river for a short distance before getting to the barn. The structure houses the visitor's center, offices, restrooms, and also has a balcony for birdwatching. I climbed to the top of the stairs and spooked a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that had been sipping sugar water from one of the feeders. The feeders below me were also bustling with activity. I spotted American Goldfinches, Black-capped Chickadees, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (male and female) eating their fill. In the distance I could hear a Black-billed Cukoo.

After a few minutes enjoying the view, I headed back down and started to explore around the barn. In the woodpile beside the building I found three Garter Snakes sunning themselves. Two of them melded back into the pile when I approached but the last stayed stone still (he was still there when I returned later in the day).

I decided to start my hike in the meadow which bordered the river. The field was just starting to wake up and some of the butterflies were flittering about. In the grasses I found a rather large Nursery Web Spider crawling over its web. After taking some photos, I continued down the trail and as I rounded the corner I spooked a raptor which had been sitting on the ground. It quickly flew into the trees near the river. I didn't get a good look at the bird except to see that it was rather large and had a striped tail. I think that it was probably an immature Red-tailed Hawk. Anyhow, I thought that he had been on a fresh kill, but I couldn't find anything when I searched the site. A few seconds later I heard a big crash that sounded like a tree limb breaking. Could it have been the raptor falling from its new perch? I never found it again to solve the mystery.

After all that excitement, I continued with my hike. The property has several trails and I picked a new direction at each intersection. I had missed the trail maps at the information kyosk so I was limited on how much I could explore. But I did manage to find my way to the Overlook Trail which provided a nice view of the valley. At the overlook, I decided to explore the rock outcrop hoping to find a Hognose Snake (which are said to be residents of the property). Instead I found another Garter Snake. This one wasn't ask calm as his brothers back at the wood pile. When he saw me, he shot off the rocks and launched himself off the ledge. Luckily he landed softly in the leaf litter.

After enjoying the view, I decided to head back. I made it back to the main road and planned to follow it back to the barn. A few yards down the road I heard a bird calling from the trees to my right. It only took me a few minutes to find it since it called incessently. To my surprise, I identified it as a Worm Eating Warbler. This was a life-bird for me but apparently they are nesting species at the Bent. This individual was particularly cooperative. It stayed on the same perch for several minutes. I even thought that I might be able to get a picture but it flew when I got too close.

Energized by my find, I continued my trip. After a while I passed through the wooded area and into more fields. I was astonished to find that they were filled with Indigo Buntings. I saw several birds, both male and female, as I walked. This was a real treat since this is a bird that I typically only see one or two of. But they were everywhere at the Bent.

As it got closer to mid day, the temperature rose and the butterflies started to come out. As I walked though the meadows I spotted several dozen large Frittilaries, most likely all Great Spangled. On my way to the barn I also spotted a Spicebush Swallowtail, a pair of American Coppers, an Eastern Comma, and a Compton's Tortoiseshell. The Compton's seemed to taunt me by landing at my feet for only 10 seconds or so before taking off again. It flew into the meadow never to be seen again.

It was getting late and, even though I didn't want to, I had to leave. But before leaving, I had to explore the meadow that I had skipped in the morning. I'm glad that I did. There weren't too many butterflies but I did find some great birds. A pair of Orchard Orioles scolded me from a tree and an Eastern Bluebird perched on the sanctuary sign. It was a nice end to a great day.

I had a fantastic time at Bent-of-the-River and look forward to going back there soon.

Birds - Barn Swallow, American Crow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Mockingbird, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, Blue Jay, Black-billed Cuckoo, Red Wing Blackbird, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker, Indigo Bunting, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Wood Thrush, Prairie Warbler, Winter Wren, Red-tailed Hawk (imm)?, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Peewee, American Robin, Brown-headed Cowbird, Worm-eating Warbler, Tree Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Eastern Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat, Orchard Oriole, Eastern Bluebird

Herps - Garter Snake, Bullfrog

Butterflies - European Skipper, Cabbage White, Compton's Tortoiseshell, Spicebush Swallowtail, Eastern Comma, Tiger Swallowtail, Wood Nymph, Great Spangled Frittilary, Estern Tailed-blue, Silver Spotted Skipper, Clouded Sulphur, American Copper

Guida Farms Conservation Area - Middletown, CT (6/30)

After work on Friday I headed over to Guida Farms Conservation Area in Middletown. I actually found out about this property during my nightjar surveys. It was nice to see what it was like in the daytime.

The property appears to still be a working farm. I think that it may be an easement situation between the farmers and the City of Middletown. Large trucks went in and out and I could hear farm machinery in the distance. But the area was still very nice. I hiked down the main road a bit and found a small pond with Painted Turtles and Bullfrogs. Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows were active above the fields.

I followed the path thru the woods until I came across a small field that had a couple of patches of milkweed. These were really the only flowers in bloom so they were packed with butterflies. I found one Monarch and 4 Banded Hairstreaks. There were also a few Silver Spotted Skippers, one European Skipper, and a couple other skippers I couldn't ID.