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.