NABA Butterfly Count: Florida Caverns State Park - Saturday, June 4, 2016
The 13th annual Florida Caverns State Park butterfly count is scheduled for Saturday, June 4th. This will be an all-day count of the butterflies found in a 15-mile diameter circle centered around the park. You do not have to be an expert butterfly watcher in order to participate. We often see Silvery Checkerspots, a species found nowhere else in Florida!
There is a charge if you wish to buy the NABA Butterfly Count publication that summarizes the results for all the butterfly counts nationwide. We usually compile the count results over a relaxing dinner in Marianna.
To car pool meet at 7:45 am EDT at the Florida DEP building parking lot on Commonwealth Boulevard, near the intersection of I-10 and Capital Circle Northwest. Or you can meet in the visitor center parking lot of Florida Caverns State Park at 8:00 am CDT (9:00 AM EDT). NOTE: the Caverns are in the Central Time Zone!!
David Harder will be our leader for the Count. If you have questions OR are meeting us at the Caverns, contact Dave McElveen at 850/841-0899 or d.mcelveen@comcast.net.
For a map and directions to the park, go to: https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Florida-Caverns . The entrance fee has been waived. Just let the office know as you enter that you are participating in the NABA count.
Be sure to bring close-focusing binoculars, insect repellent, water and a lunch.
Field Trip: Big Bend Wildlife Management Area- Spring Creek – Sunday, June 12, 2016
Please join us for an all-day butterfly excursion to the Spring Creek unit of the Big Bend WMA, located southwest of Perry in Taylor County. This will be our chapter’s second field trip to Spring Creek in June. That trip was a resounding success, with 38 species seen. The highlight of that trip was a new county record for the Seminole Texan Crescent and the sighting of a Zebra Heliconian. Some of the butterflies we will look for include Appalachian Brown, Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper, Southern Pearly-eye, Little Metalmark, Little Glassywing, and Byssus Skipper.
To car pool from Tallahassee, meet at 8:00 AM at the Village Square Shopping Center parking lot near Newk’s (intersection of Thomasville Rd. by Village Square Blvd.) north of I-10. Or you can meet at 9:15 AM at Rocky’s gas station. It is on US 98 at C.R. 356, about 4 miles west of US 19. For a map of the Spring Creek unit go to: http://myfwc.com/media/2515733/bigbend-springcreek-map.pdf
Please bring lunch and plenty to drink, in addition to close-focusing binoculars and insect repellent. Bathroom facilities are sparse and cell phone service is spotty. Please contact Virginia Craig at 850-894-0293 or cell 850-445-2226 if you have any questions.
Event Report: Earth Day, Florida Caverns State Park, Saturday, April 23, 2016
A big THANK YOU to Travis MacClendon and Virginia Craig who staffed our booth from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Earth Day celebration in Marianna, FL. Virginia led a half hour butterfly outing for approximately 20 people including a boy scout troop - alas only the Little Wood Satyr showed up.
Field Trip Report - Torreya State Park field trip- Sunday, May 1, 2016
A very lively and congenial group of eleven persons gathered at the Torreya State Park picnic grounds for a 4 hour butterfly outing led by Travis MacClendon. We explored four of the park trails to include a walk up to and around the historical McGregor House that overlooks the Apalachicola River. The day was sunny with a few clouds and a light wind.
There was speculation that perhaps we were in between hatching waves but mysteriously, the number of species and total number of butterflies seemed to be at low ebb. In total we had 12 species and perhaps 36 individuals. A few got away of course, but most of these were probably either Common Buckeyes or Little Wood-Satyrs. The official list is as follows, in order of sighting of the first of the species:
- Little Wood-Satyr -11
- Red-spotted Purple -1
- Common Buckeye -15
- Palamedes Swallowtail -1
- American Snout -1
- Spring Azure -1
- Oak Hairstreak -1
- Cloudless Sulphur -1
- Southern Pearly-eye -1
- Carolina Satyr -2
- Horace's Duskywing -1
Improbable miss seen in some numbers a few days earlier: Gemmed Satyr.
Other sightings of note:
A grand welcome to the new couple, Michael and Barbara Hornik. So nice to have you with us. See you all next trip.
The 13th annual Florida Caverns State Park butterfly count is scheduled for Saturday, June 4th. This will be an all-day count of the butterflies found in a 15-mile diameter circle centered around the park. You do not have to be an expert butterfly watcher in order to participate. We often see Silvery Checkerspots, a species found nowhere else in Florida!
There is a charge if you wish to buy the NABA Butterfly Count publication that summarizes the results for all the butterfly counts nationwide. We usually compile the count results over a relaxing dinner in Marianna.
To car pool meet at 7:45 am EDT at the Florida DEP building parking lot on Commonwealth Boulevard, near the intersection of I-10 and Capital Circle Northwest. Or you can meet in the visitor center parking lot of Florida Caverns State Park at 8:00 am CDT (9:00 AM EDT). NOTE: the Caverns are in the Central Time Zone!!
David Harder will be our leader for the Count. If you have questions OR are meeting us at the Caverns, contact Dave McElveen at 850/841-0899 or d.mcelveen@comcast.net.
For a map and directions to the park, go to: https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Florida-Caverns . The entrance fee has been waived. Just let the office know as you enter that you are participating in the NABA count.
Be sure to bring close-focusing binoculars, insect repellent, water and a lunch.
Field Trip: Big Bend Wildlife Management Area- Spring Creek – Sunday, June 12, 2016
Please join us for an all-day butterfly excursion to the Spring Creek unit of the Big Bend WMA, located southwest of Perry in Taylor County. This will be our chapter’s second field trip to Spring Creek in June. That trip was a resounding success, with 38 species seen. The highlight of that trip was a new county record for the Seminole Texan Crescent and the sighting of a Zebra Heliconian. Some of the butterflies we will look for include Appalachian Brown, Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper, Southern Pearly-eye, Little Metalmark, Little Glassywing, and Byssus Skipper.
To car pool from Tallahassee, meet at 8:00 AM at the Village Square Shopping Center parking lot near Newk’s (intersection of Thomasville Rd. by Village Square Blvd.) north of I-10. Or you can meet at 9:15 AM at Rocky’s gas station. It is on US 98 at C.R. 356, about 4 miles west of US 19. For a map of the Spring Creek unit go to: http://myfwc.com/media/2515733/bigbend-springcreek-map.pdf
Please bring lunch and plenty to drink, in addition to close-focusing binoculars and insect repellent. Bathroom facilities are sparse and cell phone service is spotty. Please contact Virginia Craig at 850-894-0293 or cell 850-445-2226 if you have any questions.
Event Report: Earth Day, Florida Caverns State Park, Saturday, April 23, 2016
A big THANK YOU to Travis MacClendon and Virginia Craig who staffed our booth from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Earth Day celebration in Marianna, FL. Virginia led a half hour butterfly outing for approximately 20 people including a boy scout troop - alas only the Little Wood Satyr showed up.
Field Trip Report - Torreya State Park field trip- Sunday, May 1, 2016
A very lively and congenial group of eleven persons gathered at the Torreya State Park picnic grounds for a 4 hour butterfly outing led by Travis MacClendon. We explored four of the park trails to include a walk up to and around the historical McGregor House that overlooks the Apalachicola River. The day was sunny with a few clouds and a light wind.
There was speculation that perhaps we were in between hatching waves but mysteriously, the number of species and total number of butterflies seemed to be at low ebb. In total we had 12 species and perhaps 36 individuals. A few got away of course, but most of these were probably either Common Buckeyes or Little Wood-Satyrs. The official list is as follows, in order of sighting of the first of the species:
- Little Wood-Satyr -11
- Red-spotted Purple -1
- Common Buckeye -15
- Palamedes Swallowtail -1
- American Snout -1
- Spring Azure -1
- Oak Hairstreak -1
- Cloudless Sulphur -1
- Southern Pearly-eye -1
- Carolina Satyr -2
- Horace's Duskywing -1
Improbable miss seen in some numbers a few days earlier: Gemmed Satyr.
Other sightings of note:
- An Orange-banded Horsefly, Hybomitra cincta that hovered in front of us on the Stone Bridge Trail. Travis identified it later. On bugguide.net it is a first report from Florida... even though the primary range seems to be the New England states it can range to Louisiana and Florida.
- Gray Squirrels, Gray Petaltail, Box Turtle (red eyes, male), Tiger Beetles
A grand welcome to the new couple, Michael and Barbara Hornik. So nice to have you with us. See you all next trip.