Sunday, August 19, 2012

Pelee Funereal and More!

Another Sachem!

Well, another good butterfly happened my way again today.  I was not sure if I would go to Pelee today, looking at weather forecasts.  Yesterday they were all over the map with wind direction, and wind is critical for certain activities at Pelee.  Go anyway...weather forecasts are wrong most of the time anymore!
I started at Blenheim Lagoons and Erieau first thing this morning.  A good number of shorebirds at the lagoons, but nothing new.  There was a Red-necked Phalarope ( a normal one!) in pond 5.  That is the fourth one there this month that I know of.
On to Erieau where there was not much to see.  Sky was clearing, so why not try Point Pelee.
I headed straight for west beach parking lot and headed down the edge of the beach.  This has been the best spot recently. Lots of knapweed, etc.
I found a total of 11 Sachems this time.  At one point I found a mating pair!




More Sachems in a month?

A few Fiery Skippers and Common Checkered-skippers were found.  Gray Hairstreaks as well.
At one point I caught sight of a fairly large duskywing.  This one flew around alot and never settled.  I eventually lost sight of it thinking possibly funeralis. It did not strike me as Horace's, and I have never seen one this far down the beach.






Just south of the serengeti tree, there was Steve Pike and Chris Law and another couple.  They had seen a total of 26 Gray Hairstreaks near the solar panel.  When I got there, I only found 5!  Too much traffic ahead of me.  All in the timing as usual.
Common Checkered-Skipper

I headed back the same route not really adding anything new.

Next stop was the old parking lot south of NW Beach parking.  More of the same there.  Just as I was about to step onto the road, a duskywing caught my eye.  Funereal! This one was quite active and I got good looks at it, but not a good photo.  It took off south and I never saw it again even though I looked.

It was almost 2 p.m. so I headed out.  I briefly stopped at the end of conc. E road and looked on the dike.  A good spot for White-M, but no luck.
Gray Hairstreak with Fiery Skipper in background

I stopped at Liddle's fish place for a lunch, then went over the ramp area.  While eating there, I noticed quite a few butterflies in the grass and weeds.  Turned out to be several Wild Indigo Duskywings, a Common Sootywing, Fiery Skippers and a Gray Hairstreak.

A decent day!
I am back to work tomorrow, so there will be a lull in the storm.....

wasp with Orange Sulphur (?) caterpillar 


2 comments:

  1. Boy I'm jealous! Awesome stuff again Blake!

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  2. Blake, you wanted Sachems, and you got them! Congrats on Erynnis funeralis. Easy to identify, but hard to find!

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