Butterfly sightings for October 2023

2:30 to 4:30 p.m.,85°, sunny.

Walked on trail

In parking lot

I wasn't counting, but I'm certain I've never seen this many Fiery Skippers before!

The visit included several unidentified skippers.

Mostly sunny, windy, 80 degree late morning.

sunny, 77 - 83, S wind 8 - 10 mph, 2.65 mi

Amazingly great weather!

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

Still lots of asters here! 11:00-12:30, sunny low 80s when I finished, walked the east trail to the old farmstead and back, all were counted on the way out.

Very windy so hard for butterflies to hold on while nectaring. Lots of bees and moths also enjoying the purple asters in the garden area there. Windy, mostly sunny, 84 degree afternoon.

Sunny, windy, in the 80s. 10:00AM to 4:00PM. Both trails counted on the way in. A lot of Asters in full bloom. A personal record for most common buckeyes seen in one day. All together more nectar sources than I have seen anywhere else this year. A lot of New England Asters on the North/South trail past the parking lot/old farm.

3 to 3:45 p.m., 86°, record heat for the day. Lots of male fiery skippers but very few females seen. One male had almost no marks on the ventral side.

9:30 to 11:30 a.m. 71 to 81°, sunny. Last Dainty Sulphur I saw was 4 years ago, on the same bike trail, near Onalaska.

The flower field delivered! It has been wonderful to see so many Monarchs using the field for nectar. I concentrated on the Monarch count hoping to reach over 100 and was successful. I only kept track of other species seen. The Cabbage White numbers were below the Monarch count for the first time. Many CW's are tattered and torn, but I am certain their numbers will be back up again soon with another hatch.

Sunny, windy, temps between 76-82 F, from 11:15-2:15.

Sunny, mid 80s; 1:45-3:05. The Variegated Fritillary has been added to my over-the-hill collection!

Sunny, near 80. A quick stop to see what might be sampling the asters. The male Monarch was in poor condition.

82 degrees. Sunny. Less than 45 minutes.

Temps up to 89 degrees on my car thermometer with wind gusts to 25 mph made butterflying difficult. Most roadsides are now mowed with not many nectar sources available anymore. The Dainty Sulphur was a first of year sighting for me but the wind blew it away before I could get a photo.

The Clouded Sulphur was the butterfly of the day with numbers defintely up. I looked for butterflies on Thistles and almost missed the first Monarch because it was blowing sideways! Besides many Thistles still looking like a good nectar sources there was also an abundance of Asters and Clover.

Sunny; very windy; temps between 78-82; from 11:45-2:15.

Filtered sun, windy, temps near 80.

While looking for the American Flamingos that were seen there, I saw a Monarch flying south over the Lake. The birds were so far away that I couldn't ID them with 100% certainty and certainly my photos were not conclusive but there is a pink blob or two in them.

Very warm and sunny

Very windy, mostly sunny, 82 degree early afternoon.

80 F, sunny, breezy

Getting enough apples dropping that the brushfoots should start to congregate in the backyard

Incidental while gardening, also had a Lincoln's Sparrow come and find me while picking tomatoes

12 noon to 2:15 p.m., 71°, mostly cloudy, some bright sun. A Jagged Ambush Bug made lunch of an Orange Sulphur.

Went out looking for Checkered Whites or Common Checkered Skippers, either would have been a first for Outagamie county. 90% sure I saw a Common Checkered Skipper but it disappeared before I could get a picture. Also found a covey of ten Bobwhite, a first for me in Wisconsin.

Only saw our resident Compton Tortoiseshell Butterflies today. Windy, cloudy, 69 degree afternoon.

Brief stop.

70s, mostly sunny, breezy

70s, mostly sunny, breezy

70-75 degrees sunny

Sunny, 70 degrees, 11:12:45, 1.75 miles of meandering between patches of flowering white asters. All Monarchs were seen along the western edge flying singly to the south.

1:30-3:00. Sunny, mid 70s, 3 miles meandering route checking out the flowering white asters. Lots of Stiff Gentian throughout.

10:02 - 11:21, 1 mile, 63-66 F, variable direction on 3 - 6 mpj wind, sunny.

Also found a Viceroy caterpillar.

Partly sunny, 70 degrees, breezy. Spotted while cleaning up my garden for the season, about 12:30 pm.

Quick stop before the sun disappeared. 3:30-3:45

10:15 a.m. 51 °, sunny for a moment.

Question Mark was a surprise.

Incidental while out birdwatching. Surprised to see butterflies on such a cool day. Monarchs and juncos are a strange combinations to see on a walk.

sunny but cold and windy, about 47 degrees

55 and windy. Butterflies may be scarce in the next week or so.

There were a surprising amount of dragonflies including Darners, Saddlebacks, and Meadowhawks.

Sunny and 58. Very windy.

Saw a Fiery Skipper in the zinnias where we have seen them before. Noon, partly sunny, low 50s

2:30 to 3 p.m., 56°,sunny.

3:30 to 4 p.m., 57°, sunny. New spot, a narrow strip between the old Mobil site, now a construction site, and the Black River. Lots of Hoary alyssum and some white aster. My 3rd spotting of Dainty white in the last week or so.

Mostly cloudy, very windy, 52 degree afternoon.

50s, mostly sunny, breezy

The Painted Lady was very cooperative for photos. All other butterflies were definitely not stopping much.

Sunny, very windy, 50 F, two walkabouts after lunch.

sunny, breezy, 56 degrees

Mid-afternoon, sunny, mid-fifties

sunny, light breeze, low 60's

Went outside around noon, but still seemed cold. Only saw one butterfly. Went back out at 2:30 and found several.

Sunny, mostly windy, with temps around 60 F from 2:30-3:30.

53 degrees, cloudy. 1:00-1:45. I was hoping the sun would come out and warm things up a little, but not while I was there. Surprised to see the Monarch flying around. I watched it do some circles around one area for about three minutes before I lost sight of it.

Breezy, mostly sunny, 56 degree mid-afternoon.

1:15 to 3 p.m., 61 to 64°, sunny. First time to visit this place. Also saw one anglewing. The upper area, an open field, may have potential. Lots of trout fishermen!

After walking through the prairie areas at Admunson Park and seeing no butterflies, I continued onto the Yahara River Trail to enjoy the beautiful fall day. Saw one tiny butterfly on the trail, a Little Yellow, the first one I've ever seen. Sunny, calm, 62 degree early afternoon.

The Flower Field was mostly gone from the frost on October 10th. Surprisingly, only one Silver-spotted Skipper has been spotted in the field in the past and no Sachem or Fiery, but one corner where the flowers survived was a 'Skipper Hot Spot.' The Skippers were flying fast and furious so there easily could have been more.

Sunny, breezy, temps 60-63 F, from 1:15-3:45.

58 F, partly cloudy, calm. Activity picked up when the sun came out. New England asters the only remaining nectar source

1:00-1:30. Sunny and 60 degrees. Sachem was a male, while all Fiery Skippers were males except for one fresh female.

11:00-12:05, upper 50s and sunny. I saw the Common Checkered-Skipper and was able to focus on it just before it flew over the fence.

60 degrees sunny

Sunny, 51 degrees. Some asters have been frostbitten but these by the lake still look good.

sunny, 50s, calm

Sunny, 50 degree mid-morning.

53 and mostly sunny. 1:00-1:55. 1.3 miles. I saw the comma right at the start, warming on the paved path and I was hopeful. Despite lots of asters I didn’t see another butterfly.

The Eastern Comma was the first butterfly I saw today. Hoping to get a photo, I called my hubby over. As I was taking the Comma photo hubby spots the Skipper. It was great to see a few butterflies today.

Sunny, windy, temps 55 F, from 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Compton's Tortoiseshell. We had 3-5 around our home on sunny days for a couple of weeks in mid October. I also found 3 dead specimens on the inside of windows of a shed. All specimens seemed attracted to windows. They were out at the same time as the Great Spangled Fritillary and chased each other around flying very fast. We see both of these species at the same time in late summer and early fall every year.

Had high hopes today with some finally decent weather. Just found one late Copper on the Ice Age Trail.
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LOY

2 to 4 p.m., 51 to 54°. sunny. Nothing but Orange Sulphurs

Interesting that yesterday I saw four Orange Sulphur and four Clouded Sulphur and today in same locations five Orange and only one Clouded. The Clouded did look pretty ragged yesterday. Always pleased to see the Sachem. Buckeye was too fast for a photo!

Sunny, gentle breeze, around 50 F from 12:30-2:30.

12:50-2:00. Sunny and 56 degrees when I started and when I ended. I was surprised to see no skippers and three male Bronze Copper. The late date for this species is October 18 in three different years.

2:45-3:15. 56 degrees and sunny. I walked to the barn and back along the road. No skippers!

4:15 to 4:45 p.m., 66°, sunny. Warmth brought out some skippers.

Only one Common Buckeye spotted along the path so moved closer to bluff and found the Asters hosting a few butterflies. Steps count was very good today! Didn't realize I had the Fiery and Honey Bee photo until I downloaded the photos. Very pleased to see the Copper and Varigated. Also pleased to find the Pearl Crescent in the Parking Area! 😊

Sunny and fairly calm, initially, then windy, temps from 53-63 F between 11:30-2:30.

11:45 to 3:30, sunny, cool (53 degrees to 61) degrees and light wind. Both trails. Butterflies and Asian beetles markedly more active after 2:00 PM. One unidentified skipper.

56 F, sunny, calm

12:40-1:45. Sunny, 56 degrees at start and 58 at end.

Sunny 60 degrees

Sunny, low 60s. 2:40-3:15. My latest Great Spreadwings. I saw five including a pair.

1:45 to 2:15 p.m., 61°, cloudy. Perhaps this was the same butterfly I saw here last week. It was very sluggish. I could pick it up as it nestled in the grass.

Only one butterfly seen on an extended walk on a pleasant day.

Started out by spotting the Common Checkered Skipper within five minutes of getting out of the car, but the constant clouds and wind meant I only saw two more butterflies before 2:30. The sun and less wind seemed to spark a bit of butterfly movement then. The Eastern Tailed-Blue, Bronze Copper and Sachem were after 2:30 sightings.

Temps ranging from 59-65 between 12:30-3:15 with the clouds and breeze keeping it chilly enough to limit Butterfly activity.

1:45 to 3:30 p.m., 61°, partly cloudy to full sun. Asters are just about finished.

After 2-3 days of rain we finally got a sunny day in the 50s. Surprised to see a Painted Lady up here while I was riding a bike.

Very scenic views of the fall foliage can be seen from the bluff. Only a couple nectar sources available, so surprised to see any butterflies. The Cabbage Whites were flying through the grassy areas. Very windy, sunny, 58 degree afternoon.

Late afternoon, sunny, light wind, low sixties. Incidental while birding

50 degrees and sunny briefly at about noon

1:40 to 2:20 p.m., 56°, sunny.

The Zinnias and Mexican Sunflowers have not froze yet. Asters are not looking very good but noticed Dandelions are popping up, Quickweed has surrounded the garden, Red Clover is scarce but still looking good in some spots and I found six Wood Violets blooming so there defintiely is a butterfly food source. Rain, rain go away and warm temps please, please stay!

Sunny with temps around 53F from 1:30 to 2:00 and no wind.

53 degrees and sunny. wind about 5 mph or less. Incidental to Fall color-watching.

For the last 3 months, I always see many Cabbages and Sulphurs flying around near the I 43.

Ironically, two years ago today I also spotted a Pearl Crescent in the same location. The last time I saw a Pearl Crescent this year in this location was September 27th. Thanks for showing up today!
Location was sunny, no wind and 67F at 5:15 p.m. so had to at least check! Bingo--PC Butterfly !!!

Flitting around the property on a very warm day (70s) in October.

Black Swallowtail in my yard on phlox!

Sunny and 81!

2:30-3:00. mostly sunny but windy, 78 degrees. I just walked the road to the barn and back.

11:30-2:00, mostly cloudy, but some sun, 69-76 degrees.

Got here late at 4:40. It was windy with 20+ mph winds. Around 82 degrees and still sunny. Most butterflies where in rather good shape. Many just quick flybys in the wind.

Unusually warm - near 80 degrees

70s

Upper 60s. Butterflies observed in early afternoon when sun came out

I just got about 10 minutes of butterfly action before an awful rain storm with high winds. I saw one Monarch flying high after the rain broke.