Butterfly sightings for July 2023

8:00-9:00 AM. Sunny and near 70 degrees

Wonderful place. The Baraboo Bluffs are ripe with butterflies! Hazy and 84.

Mostly sunny, light wind, hot afternoon. Pioneer Trail hasn't been mowed yet and there are some really nice stands of spreading dogbane attracting large numbers of Fritillaries (mostly Atlantis). They are doing major road work on Memorial rd. and have pushed out a lot of dirt in the swamp where it intersects with Pioneer Trail. There were a lot of commas, two milberts tortoiseshells, a Comptons, some sulphurs and fritillaries puddling at the intersection and along Memorial on both sides of the swamp.

I walked a string of vernal ponds in mature hardwoods hoping to find an Appalachian Brown, which I had yet to document on this property. Also photographed a robber fly with what appeared to be a European skipper.

We kept seeing butterflies as we drove to Hogback so stopped once. Although I still think most were Red Admirals that we kept seeing on County E in the gravel along the road, the stop yielded three Red Admirals, one Eastern Comma and a Skipper while the stop on Pleasant Mound on the way home yielded two Red Admirals and the Mourning Cloak. Only counted those at the stops. Most of the butterflies at Hogback were not terribly cooperative for my camera unless they were feeding. Butterfly Milkweed was definitely the nectar source for the day! Although we spotted the Regals as soon as we got up on the ridge, it wasn't until we were almost ready to leave that I found one willing to allow photos. The brief sunshine also helped. Also spotted the charming Sandhill Crane family.

From 1:45-4:30, mostly cloudy, with no wind and temps between 76-80 F.

The part of the bog we survey is 1/2 mile east of Forest Road 137/Riley Lake Road that goes to the south, and 1/4 mile east of FR 148 that goes to the north. We go here hoping to find Frigga Fritillaries in mid/late spring and Dorcas Coppers in summer. All of the coppers were on the bog, and every other butterfly we saw was on the roadside survey.

Also noted was a dead Virginia Big-Headed Tiger Beetle on the trail.

Partly sunny 84 degree day.

74 degrees, hazy

9 minutes. This is a phenologically fast site compared to most bogs in the vicinity.

Besides the bog, we surveyed two short roadside units by the bog. The Dorcas Coppers were on the bog. We also saw an unidentified Polygonia. Today's was about the 3rd Red-spotted Purple we've seen in this part of Wisconsin during 2021-23.

12:00-4:15. Mid 80s and mostly sunny

Leaving today. Cloudy and 83.

10am-3pm, 80s, overcast, light breeze

Back to see Bog Coppers, 8 miles east of Frederic on Co. W. Walk fifty paces west on the road shoulder from the parking area, then walk out onto the bog (no need for tall boots). Bog coppers are common here.

Surveyed a sedge meadow surrounding a bog. It was mid-afternoon, hot and sunny, and there were hundreds of dragonflies. Believe I saw a bog copper get snatched by one of the dragonflies!

This is the first time we've seen a Baltimore Checkerspot on our property. We've been protecting several areas where we have Turtlehead wildflowers (their host plant) growing hoping to attract them. Sunny, humid, 83 degree afternoon.

80s. mostly sunny

70s and sunny. The Milkweed and oranges were getting most of the action. The kale in the vegetable bed is attracting lots of Cabbage Butterflies.

80s, mostly sunny

One very wet bog north of the road on Bark Bay Slough State Natural Area (3 Bog Fritillaries), and a bigger, drier, bog south of the road (1 Bog Frit). The Bog Coppers on the slough were unusually early for such a cool bog relative to the phenology of much faster bogs we surveyed elsewhere.

Sunny, upper 80s for bulk of the hike until a shower came through. FOY Regal Fritillary, and only my second ever! It was also my first time seeing butterflies on a carcass. I found a group on the carcass of an Eastern Fox Snake. The Fritillaries were abundant.

2.8 miles 11:45-1:50; temperature in the mid 80's and sunny

2:00-3:50; mid 80s and sunny

All the pathways were dried out and there weren't as many flowers as usual. 9:32 - 11:07, 1.25 miles

Incidental while removing invasives in the SNA

Incidental while removing invasives

Sunny, humid, 84 degree afternoon.

7:35 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.

Went looking for grass skippers in the driest part of the barrens. But the barrens were really barren and bone dry, many wetland species were flying into the barrens, some pollinating the sparse crop of milkweed

...was primarily looking for dragonflies and damselflies

Sunny, warm, light wind

Hot, sunny, afternoon. Quite a bit of Spreading Dogbane blooming along Duck Pond rd.

sunny, 80s

Resting on deck railing in the shade.

South of Larsen.

Hot, sunny, light wind

75degrees and sunny. I missed a few skippers which wouldn't stop long enough to be looked at. They insisted on fleeing into the places with the densest poison ivy.

I released 2 male Monarchs and a Red Admiral today.

8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. 69° to 83°, sunny. Butterfly weed in full bloom this week. A pleasure to see a Gray hairstreak. Nothing on spreading dogbane here.

Partly sunny, humid, 85 degree afternoon.

Hot, muggy, mostly cloudy The rain other than a very light sprinkle missed Crex. I was trying to follow a possible Karners to get a photo when it seemingly disappeared behind a bush. It seems I wasn't the only one tracking its flight. Robber fly? (Yes! MR) Also saw this new to me Sphinx nectaring on common milkweed, possibly Clemen's (Sphinx luscitiosa)? Large numbers of Acadian hairstreaks.

In cedar woods on the edge of lakeshore

Eleven participants enjoyed a warm but fruitful Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association field trip to the Swamplover's Preserve along the Ice Age Trail near Cross Plains. In addition to the butterflies listed, we also found 11 species of dragonflies and an unexpected Least Sandpiper.

This one flitted about - wasn't sure if I would be able to get a picture. Finally, it landed on a Shasta daisy.

40 minutes

A short survey of the first pond/marsh area, primarily looking for dragonflies. The presumed Dion Skipper appeared quite large and was almost constantly flying through the tall grasses at the marsh's edge, landing only very briefly for poor photos.

I didn't see quite the variety I normally see at Olbrich. The highlight was seeing multiple Nexus Sphinx moths and Hummingbird Clearwing Moths.

3:30 to 5 p.m. 85°, sunny. Surprised to see an Acadian Hairstreak sunning on grapevine near milkweed.

Checking on the Hackberry numbers. Not many left. I had a Hackberry Greeter land on my shoulder, So sweet, but no photo! The good news is it won't be long until the next hatch! Also looking for new species to this location. Although I have seen the American Lady this year, it was new to this location. I had not photographed an Eastern Tailed-blue this year yet either. Nice to see the Clouded Sulphur party at the end of the road, too!

on an oak tree, partly cloudy, temp in mid 70's

84 F, cloudy, breeze.

hot and humid and sunny. About 80 degrees. Butterflies observed while pulling invasive weeds near the lake.

partly sunny, breezy

Between II and Fairview. Cloudy and humid after a quick rain.

Partly sunny, humid, 75 degree morning.

Need verification, but I believe species is correct. Location is degraded oak savannah.

This Male Regal Fritillary was working the milkweed along a roadside ditch.

9 to 10:30 a.m. 72°, mostly sunny

A quick lunch hike with my pups. I didn't expect this to yield a lifer- Gray Comma.

Also saw many Fritillary fly -bys, but I wasn't able to ID species.

6:30-7:30 pm, mostly sunny. Each time I've visited since seeing my first Coral Hairstreaks, I've found one in the exact same spot on the exact same butterfly milkweed.

Found a pair of mating Monarchs.

This was the 35th annual count of this area. The area is under severe drought. The count was postponed a week because of Very Unhealthy air quality rating due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. Seven of us, in 2 parties, spent 13.2 party-hours searching for butterflies. We identified butterflies using close-focusing binoculars and cameras. We found 368 individuals of 35 species. Conducted by Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association. Counting by Audubon at Goose Pond will be added when we receive the results and submit them to NABA.

Between Fairview and Medina Junction.

This is one of our favorite accessible butterflying spots but we did not see as much as we usually do. They apparently did not receive rain as Madison did so even the parking lot where we have had good luck in the past did not have a single butterfly.

Today mostly in the Meadows doing the check of the Bluebird Houses.

Mid-80s, light wind, partly cloudy. Saw some smaller butterflies, too, but they were too fast and active for me to ID them.

Cool, mostly cloudy, roads were not dusty and had a lot of wet spots. Lots of Red admirals and Eastern commas puddling

Pleased to see the Painted Lady, last spotted at Borah Creek on September 30, 2022 and the Silver-bordered Fritillary, last spotted on June 1, 2022.

Sunny, not windy with temps around 73 F from 11:45-1:30.

40% sunshine, 63-77 degrees F. The Northern Pearly-Eye was along a forest edge.

31st summer of monitoring Regal Fritillaries in two areas over a mile apart. Ann or I has found a Regal Fritillary here in 25 of those years, including small numbers every year 2010-2023.

9:30 am to 10:45 am

My hike was mainly on a shady trail where there weren't as many butterflies, but I saw a few on the way in and in sunny spots. Late morning, partly cloudy, mid-70s, light wind. I did see a fritillary, too, but it was too fast for me to photograph or ID it.

Cloudy, light wind, Low seventies. Checking some small red cedar stands for Juniper Hairstreaks.

I walked from my house, to Klode Park and then to the Library Garden.

Cloudy, light wind, low seventies

Incidental while removing invasives

First time for me seeing Bronze Copper! They all liked that one flower.

Absolutely stunned to find a TAWNY EMPEROR!!! Northernmost record in Wisconsin by far and from what I can tell, the second northernmost record anywhere in North America. More pics available if needed.

77 F, mostly cloudy, breeze.

Part of the Riveredge Nature Center annual Dragonfly and Butterfly Count.

This was the 33rd annual, long-term, NABA Madison Butterfly Count, done by the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association (a chapter of NABA.) 15 observers, using eye, binoculars and cameras searched within a 15-mile diameter circle for 15 party-hours, finding 441 butterflies, of 35 species. The count coincided with a field trip to the UW Arboretum Grady Tract led by Donna Williams-Richter and Fred Dike. Other observers were at 9 other wildlife areas around Madison. (Photos: Edward's Hairstreak by Donna, Coral Hairstreak, Delaware Skipper and Buckeye by Fred.) We did pretty well considering Madison is in an "Extreme Drought"!

Incidental while removing invasive plants. A large number of different species for just three hours of incidental observations.

A quick trips to Douglas County landed us at the Empire Swamp Grouse Management Area around 5:45 in the evening. The spot seemed promising so we planned to come back the next day. The European Skippers were everywhere so we stopped counting. Great to see all of these butterflies after a long day of travel.

Calm, sunny spot from 5:45-6:15 p.m. with temps around 73 F.

Bee balm and some other flowers were not fully in bloom, making for a dearth of butterflies. A few species, like Great Spangled Fritillary and Summer/Spring Azure, were plentiful.

It was a warm/hot and fully sunny day.

These are my sightings of the Butterfly count on Saturday. The final numbers will be reported by Riveredge later. (Also a Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillar)

Low water levels in bog

Drought conditions, so fewer nectar sources along the trail. Watched a Goldfinch eating thistle seeds and a Green Heron perched along the shoreline. Sunny, 78 degree late morning.

Linda Johnson Sittlow Garden

Backyards in our neighborhood are rather woodsy and I have several gardens with a mix of native and non-native plants. There are also some volunteer native plants. The ostrich ferns are mixed with meadow anemone and broadleaf enchanter’s nightshade (a volunteer) in a shady, damp area. I have also seen stinging nettle in this part of my yard. I don’t recall ever seeing a Red Admiral butterfly in the 7 years I’ve lived here.

Sunny, upper 80s, 1:00 pm-6:30 pm. American Coppers almost exclusively nectaring on or near vervain, including the vervain growing in the middle of the trail.

Sadly, once I reached the wooded area, the lower filled with filled with hundreds if not thousands of spongy moths. They became less dense once I reached the first bluff overlook. I noticed very few other moth/butterfly species in the areas filled with spongy moths.

9:15 - 10:45, sunny, 5 mph wind, 72 - 76 F, 1 mile. Red Admirals were on the boardwalk.

Zebra Swallowtail went zipping past me, only about 50'. I got a real good look at it and went running after it. Of course it never stopped and I couldn't get photos. 2 awesome butterfly species today!

The day began very quiet with little butterfly movement. About 10 a.m. the sun came out to stay and temperatures rose and we saw butterflies almost continuously after that. The European Skippers were every where. We quit counting Frits because it was taking to much time. Very pleased to see the White Admirals. The Hairstreaks were all found on Bird Road.

The day began cloudy and windy with temps ranging from 61-76 F between 9:30-12:00.

I've been visiting this spot regularly since early June hoping to find my first Juniper Hairstreak. So far, I hadn't had any luck. While I was distracted looking at what appeared to be a very small Clouded Sulphur, a Red-Spotted Purple flew by.

Then, all of a sudden, a hairstreak-sized butterfly flew down from the trees, zipped around me, landing quickly on my jeans and arm, before zipping back up and disappearing into a red cedar. Did I find my first-ever Juniper Hairstreak? I hope so! But it was so speedy I couldn't get a good enough look. I stared at that red cedar for several more minutes, but didn't have any activity after that one encounter.

During July 3 to today we completed surveys of all 25 of our long-term monitoring plots for Regal Fritillaries (most plots are also for Gray Copper monitoring). We have a 24-27 year time series on each plot. Today we saw 2 female and 39 male Regal Fritillaries. Most years our best July list here has 28-32 species. We have 19 and 20 species here the past two visits, which is an indicator of how generally low a butterfly year this is. The White Admiral was on a road with grassland on both sides.

about 80 degrees, mostly sunny

about 80. Mostly sunny

Sunny 78 degree afternoon.

mild and sunny

6:30-8:30 pm. Almost all were spotted after the bulk of the Pasque flower prairie, which is covered in white and purple prairie clovers. The butterflies preferred being near the pollen sources towards the end of the prairie- mostly leadplants and common and butterfly milkweed.

Also spotted additional hairstreaks that zipped off before I could ID.

Noon. Sunny and windy

Mid morning. Sunny

We often see butterflies of various species on the sand and near the beaches along the river at this park. High 80s, partly cloudy, breezy day.

The Red Admiral's wings were really in bad shape and it could hardly fly. It did finally make it to a coneflower to enjoy some nectar. Sunny 84 degree morning.

Very sunny and hot.

Most of the butterflies were near the Lake where I was working today. Two were feeding on the beach, another on a piece of fruit on the compost bin, and a fourth tasting the leather on the seat of our work vehicle.

Mixed Clouds & Sun, although windy, tree lines on forest roads gave us protection. Hot & humid high 70's, as we approached noon we experienced several short shower bursts, but the discovery of more butterflies continued! 9.30 Am - 1Pm

Still mixed clouds and sun, some shower bursts, temperature has dropped to low 70's. 2 Pm - 3:30 Pm.

Jay Watson finally joined us for the 9th year of this count, with Nick Gremban at all counts with me. Nicole Shutt, Dave Hogg, Al Shikany, Rosa Sanchez all returned from past counts and several Forest Service folks joined us. Rotten weather ar 8am morphed into one of the best butterfly days I've seen. 43 species is our best!