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Massachusetts Butterfly Club walk--Northampotn Community Gardens
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Tombw-@aol.com
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Sep 18, 2005 17:36 PDT
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Hi Folks:
We had 11 butterfliers show up for our scheduled trip this morning to
the Northampton Community Gardens. Listening to all the weather reports on
Friday and Saturday I did not think the trip would be a go. Sunday broke clear
and promising. As soon as we got to the gardens the "Real Show of the Day"
started. An almost steady stream of Broad-winged Hawks passed over head.
Some streaming out of kettles and forming other kettles right over the garden.
Total was 745 Broad-winged Hawks! WHAT A GREAT SHOW. Plus we were able to
fine the following butterflies:
Eastern Black Swallowtail 2
Cabbage Whites many
Clouded Sulphur 4
Orange Sulphur 1
American Copper 2
Eastern tailed-Blue 10
Great Spangled Fritillary 4
Pearl Crescent 3
American Lady 1
Painted Lady 2
Monarch 20+
Silver-spotted Skipper 3
Wild Indigo Duskywing 5
Tawny-edged Skipper 2
Common Sootywing 1
COMMON CHECKERED SKIPPER 1 female seen well by all with several
getting pictures of this RARE beauty. This is the 6th year in a row that we
have found this butterfly at the Northampton Community Gardens. This is the
one I was really hopeing to find on today's trip. I could hardly believe my
eyes when I found it, one garden past my garden. About an hour later we saw
it on the Tall Verbena in my garden plot. At this point we called Ron and
Sue Cloutier of New Salem who had just got home. They then meet up with us in
the meadows. Next some of us headed for the Northampton West Meadows to
check out the Red Clover. There is some Red Clover along the roadside near the
Arcadia Marsh. Here we listed a few more:
Least Skipper 8+
Peck's Skipper 2
OCOLA SKIPPER 1 very fresh individual. More pictures
were taken.
Many thanks to Bill Benner for keeping the totals of most of these species.
A great day in the field,
Tom Gagnon, Florence (Bear Country), Massachusetts
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