Northampton, MA (9/24)

On Sunday I attended a Massachusetts Butterfly Club field trip to Northhampton. We started at the Northampton Community Gardens where Tom Gagnon, one of the trip leaders, has a couple plots that are planted entirely with a single species of butterfly attracting plant (I can't remember the name). When we got to the gardens it was pretty overcast and before long the skies opened up and everyone had to take shelter from the rain. But, the worst of the weather only lasted 10 minutes or so and as soon as it stopped everyone was back in the garden.

I'd never been to the gardens before and it certainly was a treat. Each plot had something different. Some were planted with vegetables like tomatoes, green beans, peppers, and even brussel sprouts. There were others overrun with raspberry bushes.

But, not everyone devoted their portion of the garden to food. Some of the plots were filled with cultivated flowers and others had native plants like Smooth Aster, New England Aster, etc. Finally, some members created a zen style garden with stone paths, small plants, and Buddha statues. It was a blast looking at them all.

And, even though it was another dreary day, we did find a good number of butterflies. Cabbage Whites, Sulphurs, Pearl Crescents, and ET Blues were all prevalent. We even found a Wild Indigo Duskywing, a Delaware Skipper, and a few Variegated fritillaries. The garden was filled with Monarchs and the group actually caught and tagged a few of them.

Strange, but there weren't many birds at the gardens other than Chipping Sparrows and Song Sparrows. We did have a flock of Cedar Waxwings in a nearby berry tree and I found a Palm Warbler searching for food in one of the plots.

After finishing up with the gardens, we headed over to Mass Audubon's Arcadia sanctuary. In the fields there we found several Common Buckeyes as well as a Common Wood Nymph and an American Copper. The sanctuary isn't far from the Connecticut River so we were lucky enough to spot an Osprey circling above. Just before we left the site, an American Kestrel flew into view. As we watched it hovered over the field looking for something to eat.

Here's a tally of the butterfly species curtsey of the trip co-leader Bill Benner:

Gardens:
Black Swallowtail 1
Cabbage White 30+
Clouded Sulphur 6
Orange Sulphur 5
Eastern Tailed-Blue 11
Variegated Fritillary 3 (2 in tandem at one point)
Great Spangled Fritillary 3
Pearl Crescent 5
Viceroy 3
Monarch 30+
Silver-spotted Skipper 2
Wild Indigo Duskywing 2
Least Skipper 2
Delaware Skipper 1 well marked male

Arcadia area:
Cabbage White 3
Clouded Sulphur 75+
Orange Sulphur 50+
American Copper 1
Eastern Tailed-Blue 25+
Pearl Crescent 15+
Common Buckeye 7
Common Wood-Nymph 1