Recent sightings
Oct 1 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Mathy Tract
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Oct 1 |
Rory Williams
Location: Oshkosh Larsen Prairie SNA
More American Pipits, but no American Golden Plover, the fields were being hunted by a Sharped Shinned and Coopers Hawk. More butterflies today than yesterday |
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Oct 1 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - flower gardens - yard
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Oct 1 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
Amazingly great weather! |
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Oct 1 |
Pamela Skaar
Location: Yahara Heights Cty Park, Waunakee
sunny, 77 - 83, S wind 8 - 10 mph, 2.65 mi |
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Oct 1 |
Bill and Ginny Nelson
Location: West Madison Ag Research Station
The visit included several unidentified skippers. |
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Sep 30 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Fort McCoy, Cinder Road,several tracks off main road.
12 noon to 4:15 p.m., 68 to 84°. Cloudy at first then full sun and much warmer. I've never seen so many American Coppers, (more than at Oktoberfest!). In some places, there were as many as 10 within several feet, all on white asters, sometimes 2 or 3 next to each other. Walked 2 miles: wherever there were asters, there were American Coppers. First time to see Closed Gentian flowers at this spot |
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Sep 30 |
Karl and Dorothy Legler
Location: Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area
73 to 80 degrees. Mostly sunny. 12 species. Sachem was the first butterfly found --- before we had a camera ready. 21 of the Eastern Tailed-Blues were in a puddling group. |
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Sep 30 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Hogback Prairie SNA
Early on it was pretty quiet but 'butterfly business' picked up when we found the sweet spot with an abundance of Asters and Thistles. Haven't seen a Bronze Copper since last year at Hogback. YEAH! The Mourning Cloak was my first one to photograph this year even if this warrior has seen better days! YEAH! I thought I was going to have to say it was a "no skipper day" but the Fiery came through in the parking area and 'thank you Karl' for sharing some great advice! YEAH! Windy, cloudy early in the day moving to mostly sunny with temps between 75-80 F from 11-2 |
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Sep 30 |
Janet Mueller
Location: Cornell Lake, Town of Cleveland
Sunny, 70s. |
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Sep 30 |
Rory Williams
Location: Oshkosh Larsen Prairie SNA
The butterflies were nothing special but the birds were special at least to me. Hundreds of American pipits, more than I had seen in my whole life all in one field. Then a call I did not know. American Golden Plovers! (according to Merlin). Heading out this morning with the spotting scopes to confirm as it would be a Lifer |
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Sep 30 |
Terry Mortier
Location: Dunnville Barrens SWA
A quick stop. 1:00 PM t0 2:30 PM Mostly sunny, warm, Roads were wet and there was a lot of Eastern commas puddling on them. Other butterflies for the most part were nectaring on asters. |
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Sep 30 |
Fred Dike
Location: Morton Forest County Park
70s, breezy, mostly sunny |
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Sep 30 |
Fred Dike
Location: Avoca Prairie-Hay Ln Road
80s, mostly sunny, breezy |
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Sep 30 |
Fred Dike
Location: Lower WI Riverway east of Muscoda
Mostly sunny, 80s, breezy |
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Sep 30 |
Pam Campbell
Location: Dunnville SWA
From 12 to 3pm. Filtered sun, temps in 70s to 80 by 3pm. Plenty of puddles due to early morning rain. Perhaps the 1st White-lined Sphinx moth of the year. (I don't recall seeing one this summer) Plus, a couple of Tiger Beetles to add interest. A great day to be out. |
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Sep 30 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton Backyard
Warm and sunny. Also found one large fat Monarch caterpillar on Milkweed in one of the flower gardens. |
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Sep 30 |
Mike Reese
Location: McKee Farms Park
lots of asters in flower but few butterflies, sunny, and 70 degrees, 10:50-11:45. |
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Sep 29 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Private Land on Homer Road near Fennimore
Was hoping to reach 100 Monarchs in the flower field today but didn't quite make it. By 3:00 when I checked back to see what was left in the field Monarch numbers were definitely reduced. It really seemed like the Monarchs had fueled up and wee moved on. The Common Checkered-Skippers were new finds at this location. Pleased to get photos since these little darlings really gave me the run around. Sunny and breezy with temps around 75 F between noon and 3:00. |
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Sep 29 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Butterfly Trail
2:10 to 3:30 p.m., 73°, mostly sunny. The Meadow Fritillary had died on the flower, so I took it off and photographed the ventral side. |
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Sep 29 |
Fred Dike
Location: Jackson Landing
mostly sunny, around 70 degrees |
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Sep 29 |
Holly Bartholmai
Location: Town of Beaver Dam
A Compton Tortoiseshell was seen sunning itself on the side of a window around noon. Later it flew to a TV tower to again sit with wings open to the sun. Today was the first day of sunshine for several days. This was our first sighting of this species after living here since 1980. |
★ = New county photo record |
Sep 29 |
Mike Reese
Location: Olbrich Botanical Gardens
10:30-12:30 mostly sunny, 65-71. My first Sachems of the year, both males. They interacted a lot with the Fiery males so they didn't sit in one place very long. The photo is my best cell phone photo out of 20+ attempts. Also only my second tagged Monarch. Anyone recognize AHWX 770? I am going to submit it. |
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Sep 29 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - Side flower garden
Warm and Sunny. Monarchs sighted brightly colored |
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Sep 29 |
Pam Kindschi
Location: West of Beloit
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Sep 28 |
Mike Reese
Location: Hancock Agricultural Research Station
still cloudy, calm, and mid 60s |
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Sep 28 |
Fern Springs
Location: My yard, Garder Valley
3-4PM 60s, overcast |
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Sep 28 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - Back yard
After rain and some sunshine peaking out after lunch - activity noticed. Clouded up about an hour later and activity stopped. At least 3 Cabbage White feeding. Spending good time on each flower before moving on to the next. More relaxed feeding than usually seen. Slower working the flowers than what I have normally noticed. |
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Sep 28 |
Pam Campbell
Location: Lakeside Park, Menomonie
1pm, cloudy, 65 degrees. |
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Sep 27 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Muscallounge Road near Beetown
Please check out the the Pearl Crescent photo that looks like this butterfly has spikes! Included a photo of the Archytas apicifer which is a species of Tachnid Fly that seemed to be on every Aster I stopped at to look for butterflies. |
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Sep 27 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Swift Creek
3:15 to 4:30 p,m., 68°, mostly cloudy after rain. One anglewing flew by. |
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Sep 27 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
Rainy and chilly. |
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Sep 27 |
Terry Mortier
Location: Willow River State Park. New bike trail
Late afternoon, 72 degrees, mostly cloudy, windy. |
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Sep 26 |
Ethan Brown
Location: Spirit Lake
Mostly cloudy and 70. |
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Sep 26 |
Mary Jo Sundling
Location: My yard in Stoughton.
Butterflies had a hard time flying and nectaring today with wind and rain. Windy, mostly cloudy, 68 degree mid-afternoon. |
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Sep 26 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 25 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 25 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Spring Green Preserve
Some interesting changes since I last visited the Preserve 16 days ago. The most dramatic were Monarch's went from from 57 to 1 and Silver-spotted Skippers went from 44 to none. I also did not find a Pearl Crescent and last time I found 15. A few of the Monarch and SSS last time were found on Jones Road which had all the Red Clover that the butterflies were visiting mowed off. Two new butterflies this visit were the Sachem and the Azure. I saw 15 species last time and this time 12, so I was very happy about that considering that the weather was pretty uncooperative. Cloudy and breezy with temps around 75 from 1:15-3:00. |
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Sep 25 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - Backyard
Along with butterflies, bumble bees, and many honey bees seen. Honey bees very active. They really like the asters this time of year. Honey bees more numerous than earlier in the year. Before this, bumble bees were dominant species. They were active all summer. It was a good year for Bumble's. |
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Sep 24 |
Ethan Brown
Location: Pike Lake
Again, pretty quiet. I was hoping to find some fritillaries. |
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Sep 24 |
Tim Fenske
Location: City of Middleton yard
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Sep 24 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Private land on Homer Road near Fennimore
Around 4:30 the Monarchs were busy every where in a field of flowers until a light rain ended the count. Although I saw a few Monarchs landing in the trees none seemed to be forming a roost. |
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Sep 24 |
Mike Reese
Location: Navarino Wildlife Area
11:20-1:30, 4.5 miles on trails, cloudy and mid 60s. |
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Sep 24 |
Judith Huf
Location: my House Whitefish Bay
Home sick with a cold, so just a couple of garden butterflies. |
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Sep 24 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 24 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - Backyard
5:45 pm 1 feeding on Butterfly bush in backyard another in the front yard 64 degrees sunny and light breeze notes pertain to Monarchs (Cabbage White seen in the am ) |
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Sep 24 |
Lynn Erickson
Location: Town of Marion near Castle Rock dam
Mostly cloudy, low 70s, breezy, around noon. When the sun peaked out all 3 Giant Swallowtails started working the zinnias at the same time. A Fiery Skipper also came to visit along with numerous bumblebees and honey bees. The bumblebees like the zinnias and sedum. The honey bees seem to favor the sedum. |
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Sep 23 |
Rich Kahl & Laurie Yahr
Location: Mazo Oak Barrens SNA
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Sep 23 |
Ethan Brown
Location: Point Beach SF
Butterflies were almost absent. Completely absent at Rahr Memorial School Forest. I saw 2 neat Great Spreadwing damselflies but my iPhone camera was not focusing. |
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Sep 23 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Swift Creek, behind Hengel Bros parking for large vehicles
3:45 to 5 p.m., 76°, cloudy and humid. Lots of asters and gravel between big machinery! |
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Sep 23 |
Lynn Erickson
Location: Town of Marion near Castle Rock dam
Partly cloudy, mid-70s, breezy, afternoon. While working in my garden, I noticed 3 different Giant Swallowtails visiting the zinnias throughout the afternoon. One individual was well-worn and the other two fairly fresh. |
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Sep 23 |
Rory Williams
Location: Oshkosh Larsen Prairie SNA
Out again looking for bumblebees and checking to see how many of the wildflowers produced seeds for replanting into invasive ridden areas of the SNA. Very poor production of seeds this year with the drought |
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Sep 23 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 22 |
Mike Reese
Location: Antigo
Wild Ones butterfly and pollinator garden. All three were nectaring on the zinnias in the garden. |
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Sep 22 |
Mary Jo Sundling
Location: Prairie area at Admunson Park in Stoughton
Sun quickly disappeared as a strong wind brought in storm clouds cutting our walk short. Saw a pair of Sandhill cranes along the trail. Windy, cloudy, 72 degree late morning. |
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Sep 22 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
Both the newest and oldest American Ladies in one day. |
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Sep 22 |
Rory Williams
Location: Just south of County Z and Country Club Rd
Incidental while gardening |
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Sep 22 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - Back yard
4 pm cool 70 degrees and windy |
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Sep 22 |
Lynn Erickson
Location: Town of Marion near Castle Rock dam
Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, calm, 2 pm. The sun peaked out briefly while I was in the garden. A Giant Swallowtail visited the zinnias for the second day in a row. A Viceroy caught some rays on the raspberries. |
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Sep 22 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Borah Creek Prairie
Thistles seemed to be the nectar choice of the day. Started sunny but turned cloudy about 12:45 so didn't see much after that. Temps 72-73 F, 10:30-1:30 |
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Sep 21 |
Rachel Padour
Location: AriensCo Conservation Land, Brillion
Butterflies observed incidentally throughout the day. |
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Sep 21 |
Mike Reese
Location: Tie Mill Rd.
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Sep 21 |
Mike Reese
Location: Dunbar Barrens
Few nectar sources here. |
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Sep 21 |
Mike Reese
Location: Goodman
Stopped at a city garden along Hwy 8 that looked promising for a Fiery Skipper. A male, sunny at 72 degrees at 10:00. |
☆ = New county sighting record |
Sep 21 |
Rich Kahl & Laurie Yahr
Location: Shea Prairie - TPE
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Sep 21 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 21 |
Ethan Brown
Location: Waubedonia Park
Found the frit during a cloudy day. It was clinging to a Hackberry tree. |
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Sep 21 |
Ethan Brown
Location: Hawthorne Hills
Both commas are darting around the tree line. |
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Sep 21 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge
12:45 to 2:15 p.m., 80 to 84°, sunny. Clumps of white asters and some butterfly weed. |
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Sep 21 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Merrick State Park
11:30 to 12:15, 74°,sunny. First visit here. Very few flowers, not much flying, so I went down to Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge. |
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Sep 21 |
Rory Williams
Location: Oshkosh Larsen Prairie SNA
Went out looking for bumblebees but did not find target species. Did find some butterflies |
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Sep 21 |
Terry Mortier
Location: Fish Lake SWA
Mid-eighties, sunny, no wind. Grettum Dike Rd., Stolte Rd., Hickerson Rd., SW Dike Rd. A lot of Purplish Coppers and sulphurs (more clouded than orange) |
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Sep 21 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton backyard
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Sep 21 |
Robert Koon
Location: West of Stevens Point
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Sep 20 |
Karl and Dorothy Legler
Location: Sauk Prairie Recreation Area
78 degrees. Sunny. About 2 hours. 9 species. Along a small portion of the Area. |
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Sep 20 |
John Helm
Location: Grafton - backyard
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Sep 20 |
Terry Mortier
Location: Willow River State Park, Westfield Hospital, Oak Ridge Lake WPA
Warm, windy, Sunny afternoon. The Fiery skippers and Viceroy were at the hospital in New Richmond. Two of the Buckeyes were at Oak Ridge lake. |
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Sep 20 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 20 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Mathy Tract
9:30 to 11:30 a.m., cloudy, 65 to 70° |
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Sep 20 |
Rory Williams
Location: Bohn Farms
The flora at this site was plentiful which is odd because down the highway about ten miles at the Oshkosh Larsen Prairie SNA the flora is down to the latest of the latest. This site is part of the Glacial Restoration program and is four years into the program, quite a few species for this time of year for our part of the state |
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Sep 20 |
Mary Jo Sundling
Location: Garden areas at Off Broadway Drafthouse in Madison
Mostly sunny, 76 degree early afternoon. |
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Sep 19 |
Douglas Buege
Location: Farm on Star Lake Rd
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Sep 19 |
Steve Kinyon
Location: Swift Creek, behind Gundersen Lutheran
4 to 4:45 p.m., 78°,sunny. Lots flying in small patches of clover and white aster. |
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Sep 19 |
Donna M Williams-Richter
Location: Muscallounge Road near Beetown
Sunny, around noon spotted some happy butterflies! We had a nice rain last evening, so two measurable much needed rains in the past three days! The Comma and Question Mark look brand spanking new!! |
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Sep 19 |
Ann Thering
Location: My Garden
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Sep 19 |
Mike Reese
Location: Washburn
They mowed or were working on mowing the best nectar sources today. |
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Sep 19 |
Pam Campbell
Location: Dunnville, Larrabee Rd & Barrens
Mid 70s, mostly sunny, breezy. No Monarchs until I saw one on the drive home. Hognose snake is always a great find. |
2:30 to 4:30 p.m.,85°, sunny.