Recent sightings

This was my first walk about the prairie and was happy to find a variety of butterflies enjoying the prairie. I even found a half dozen Monarch eggs on young Common milkweed and one adult Monarch flying.

We walked transects in 3 areas: 0.5 miles in a super heavy litter grassland (no butterflies), 0.5 miles each for a total of one mile of roadside ROW (3 Cabbage Whites, 1 Mustard White, 1 Meadow Fritillary, and 2 Mourning Cloaks), and 0.5 miles in a grassland plot 70% mowed in late Summer 2021 (all the other butterflies listed, plus 6 unidentified whites).

Filtered sun. Temps around 68 degrees. Moderate breeze.
I also saw 3 Sulphurs but they did not land so I could not get an ID.

Temps around 68 degrees with moderate breeze. Sunny.

sunny, calm, 70s

Seven long-term monitoring sites for Henry's (5 sites) and Frosted Elfins (5 sites). 4 sites are Wildlife Area property and 3 are along County Hwy X. The last two Frosted Elfins we saw in Wood County were in 2007 and 2010.

We walked 14 miles of barrens transects in most of the best Frosted Elfin sites in our Frosted Elfin long-term monitoring (mostly 28-35 year time series). Today probably ranks as about our 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th highest Frosted Elfin day ever in Jackson, Wood, or Jackson + Wood Counties. Five of the 6 roadside ROW and pipeline ROW units along Stanton Creek Road had their highest Frosted Elfin counts ever. Also record-setting was the pipeline ROW diverging to the northwest parallel to an ATV trail about 0.5 mile north of Stanton Creek Road. We also surveyed 7 more miles of transects west of Hunter Haven Road in addition to the pipeline, and 10 survey units in the Bauer-Brockway Barrens area. We also saw at least one undentified elfin and 36 unidentified duskywings.

Late afternoon. 72 and partly sunny.

Also saw the first tiger swallowtail of the year, but I didn't get a good enough look to be able to say whether it was a Canadian or an eastern.

Most of the butterflies sighted were in flight. Also enjoyed seeing sandhill cranes, turtles, an osprey, a male Baltimore Oriole, and a Great Blue Heron. Breezy, mostly sunny, 70 degree morning.

Very few BFs on this windy day, but it's worth reminding everyone that this is MaxLilacs week at the Arboretum - absolutely worth visiting. Also a sandhill crane is nesting ten feet from the platform at Teal Pond - viewable through a window of the curtain.

Sunny, windy and almost 70 degrees. While I was in the garden, I spotted this small individual flitting about. It landed first in the grass and then favored a sheltered flowerbed along my house. It didn't linger, just long enough for a side and top view. Lucky day, my first Elfin sighting ever.

sunny

As Part of Big Brother/Big Sisters took my mentee out birdwatching and hiking but ended up "elfin watching". Saw seven elfins total, I think the five I could not get a picture of were Henry's. My first Hoary Elfin in my life. Also, four Six-spotted Tiger Beetles, one Oblique-lined Tiger Beetle

A short visit around P.O. Peet Rd. and the north end of James Rd. Warm, very windy, late afternoon, scattered showers. Also saw two bluish spring moths, and several unidentified blues

Warm pleasant sunny day.

Lots of azures flying, some of them nectaring on wild blueberry. The elfins were photographed about a 1/4 mile from each other, both at the edge of forest that has a good deal of blueberry and maple-leaved viburnum in the understory.

Sunny and 73.

Partly sunny and 62-65. Banner year for American ladies?

Warm and sunny

Surveyed primarily along North Brockway service road (44.31749, -90.741182) and forest land north of Bauer Rd starting at the Bauer-Brockway Barrens project area sign (44.298493, -90.748186). Both Hoary Elfins were found in the latter location. Also carefully looked at patches of birdsfoot violet in areas to the west and south of the main parking area with hopes of finding a Cobweb Skipper, but none were found. We did not notice many lupine plants in that area, and none were flowering. Butterfly activity significantly decreased by the afternoon due to winds and overcast conditions. Also observed Northern Barrens and Oblique-lined Tiger Beetles.

Eight of us spent 15 minutes scanning an acre of bearberry plants north of a two-track east-west "road" just to the north of Clemens Creek, but no Hoary Elfins were seen. This site has been a sure bet for Hoarys in years past. Two elfins were seen along the road; one was positively identified as a Henry's Elfin. Still early spring up there--buds on red oak scrub shrubs were just starting to swell.

Bog was to the east of Namekagon Trail, about a mile north of the Namekagon River. The Brown Elfins were on the bog, the blues were on the damp road gravel. Leather Leaf just starting to bloom. Ten flighty Blues went undetermined. Photo by Sandra Peterson.

Another Crex to the Barrens butterfly trek, with seven butterfliers joining me.
Temperature in the 70s, but windy. Damp road gravel was not attracting butterflies, but for one Mourning Cloak. Curiously, we saw no coyote scat. Blues were flighty--at least a dozen were seen that could not be positively IDd. Ditto for three more elfins.
Photos by Sandra Peterson. Thanks, Sandy!

Perfect weather. Rather hot but very sunny. One unidentified large black butterfly.

Very windy, warm, afternoon

First Monarch of the season. This is about two weeks earlier than last year. Sunny and 85.

Sunny, low 80s, mid afternoon. All visited the garden or yard. This was my first sighting of a Juvenal's Duskywing; interesting profile view.

My first Eastern Tiger Swallowtail of the year while at the farmer's market

Saw my first Monarchs, there could of been as many a 4 that traveled through my yard mainly going north.

In the sandy oak scrub at this site, saw many Olympia Marbles (at least 20) nectaring on the flowers of what I believe is Arabidopsis lyrata ("Lyre-leaved Rock Cress"). Bird's foot violet also in bloom, and the puccoon is just starting to blossom.

Incidental while removing parsnip

Sunny, 80-85 degrees F. Five patches in the park, and one nearby.

incidental while birding from 10:47 - 11:00

Also saw a Ringed Boghaunter, and some baskettail sp.

Very dry with no puddling butterflies at any of the usual places and with few nectar sources. The surprise was seven Henry's Elfin, the most I have seen in one spot outside of Waushara County. I also saw only one duskywing, large and likely a Juvenal's Duskywing, but he never stopped.

Lots of things flying, but they had a stiff tail wind speeding their flight, so identification was difficult. Glimpsed what was either the first monarch of the year or the first viceroy of the year, but, again, that tail wind. . . .

Windy, warm, late afternoon.

Warm, very windy, early afternoon

Went out early before it got too hot. Lots of ground ivy, dandelions, and wild violets blooming. The Cabbage White butterflies were mostly in flight, few were landing. Also saw two Sandhill Cranes with their young colt feeding along the river's edge. Sunny, breezy, 80 degree morning.

Mostly sunny, 80-97 degrees F. We walked 9 miles in barrens sites, all but one of which has Frosted Elfin records: Dike 17, North Brockway East, several in the Bauer-Brockway area, Stanton Road, west of Hunter Haven Road, and 1 other area. All of the Henry's Elfins were that were 0.05-0.5 miles west of Brockway Road in about 6 different survey units. Butterflies seemed to shut down activity before 1 pm, presumably due to dessication. We saw no butterflies in the last 2.4 miles of surveying, when we were in the best Frosted Elfin sites we tried today.

Hot and dry.

Perfect weather.

89 degrees. Mostly sunny. Black Swallowtails were male and female. 9 butterflies. We quit early and went for ice cream!

86 degrees.

Hot, windy, with few nectar sources.

8:24 - 11:10, 2.04 miles. Primarily birding.

Sunny and breezy. Nice warblers.

Sunny and low 90s. This Blue was enjoying the soil amendments in my sandy garden. I think that it's a Spring Azure, but I'm not 100 percent since this is a first sighting.

My first of the year.

29 Monarch eggs today on 10-12 milkweed spikes, each about 3" tall. Reported to Journey North.

Lots of ramps, like at Ada Lake.

9:15-11am, sunny, 71 F to 80F. Optimal conditions.

9:15-11am, sunny, 71 F to 80F. Optimal conditions.

Nothing flying on the bog mat that I could see.

Steamy late morning, light wind.

Saw it flying along the creek behind Kromery School.

Walked the trail from the north access off W River Dr.

Hot and Windy.

All seen by 9:30 am when it clouded over. Cool to see azure nectaring.

Large planted prairie habitat, actively managed mesic and dry oak woods.

90 and sunny with very little wind. The American Lady was laying eggs on Pussytoes. Two of the Cabbage Whites were mating.

73 degrees, cloudy, moderate breeze

9:44 - 12:27 mostly on the Turtleville Trail exploring 2 barrens. The Mourning Cloak was displaying in the sandy parking lot.

8:40 - 8:50 This is not the first set of CAWH I have seen in the neighborhood but they were the most abundant so far.

about 70 degrees, mostly sunny, breezy

Three species, one photo.

Only butterflies seen on one-mile big walk were the azures.

All early morning butterflies.

79 degrees F, cloudy. We saw 208 of the Mustard Whites in 1.25 miles of walking in a grazed part of the grassland and (a minority) just outside the fence in 1 mile of walking next to those patches. 14 other Mustard Whites along roads.

Found a patch of blooming forbs with plenty of bumblebees. The elfin was in a swamp with a couple of pine trees, I was rather hoping it would be my first Henry's, turned into a Pine Elfin

Spent the day looking for a Henry's Elfin and with 12 miles of hiking

Three cabbage whites seen in flight. Wild plum is usually in full bloom here on May 7. The flowering buds on wild plum shrubs I checked today (May 10) are barely swollen and not showing any white at all. Plant phenology is at least 8-10 days late this year. Ditto, I would presume, to see elfins and spring blues in full flight.

Saw an orange and brown angle-wing butterfly, but it flew by and I couldn't see if it was a Comma or a Question Mark

The Monarch and Black Swallowtail were both surprises! Neither landed while I watched them fly away. There were few nectar sources at both sections that I visited.

Warm, partly cloudy, late morning. Sightings were incidental while birding.

In my yard

High speed winds and very dry conditions here in the northeast. Amazed I saw any butterflies. Major fire danger.

All butterflue seen before 10 am.0

upper 60s, partly cloudy, breezy

64 degrees, breezy, mostly clear

Saw the Cabbage Whites flying in our yard before the wind picked up with gusts over 35 mph for the rest of the day. Sunny, 70 degree, breezy early morning.

3pm it became slightly sunny and I saw these two species.

Sunny and 64.

Sunny and 73.

First sighting of flowering Sand Cress, and with it, first sighting of Olympia Marbles

Also the first spear of milkweed in our garden - slightly late compared to other years.

also a lady, but not sure if it was cardui or virginiensis as it flew past at quite a high speed

Azure was in Lost City Forest. 6 spotted Tiger Beetle was on the Ice Age Trail near Cross Plains.

Nice to finally see some wildflowers blooming! Had fun when a Mourning Cloak landed on my hat and my husband was able to get a photo. Also saw lots of birds including a catbird, red-tailed hawk and a great blue heron. Sunny, breezy, 70 degree afternoon.

Sunny, around 60 degrees, breezy

Five patches inside the Park and one other nearby. 64-71 degrees F, sunny. We also saw one unidentified duskywing.

This butterfly was sipping the sap from a newly cut birch tree on the shores of Payment Lake.

Sunny, 69 degrees

Dark butterfly with yellow edging around the wings

Incidental while birdwatching. The birds are about ten days behind in migration, feels like the butterflies are about ten days behind too??

71 degrees, sunny, windy

60 degrees, cloudy, windy

Mid-day, sunny, warm, light wind. All were seen puddling at the parking lot or along the access road from the parking lot to where the road exits the property to the southwest.

Surprised to see a West Virginia White! I first saw them here last year. 60 degrees and sunny.