Thursday, August 2, 2012

Butterfly Watching at Spring Garden




Butterflies have taken center stage over the last week or two. Finding a Checkered Skipper a few weeks back has really re-ignited my interest in butterflies. Over the last week , I've discovered more Checkered Skippers as well as other great butterflies at the Spring Garden area of Ojibway Park.

Ojibway's Spring Garden area in West Windsor has been reputed as an excellent area to go butterfly watching.  It is excellent because it has great habitat mix: Forest, Grassland, Hills, floodplain, and Turkey Creek which runs through it. Its a pleasure to walk the paths and watch butterflies while hearing distant Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmouse, Belted Kingfisher and more. Recent walks have given good views of:

Checkered Skipper 3
Fiery Skipper 10+
Common Sootywing 4+
Dainty Sulphur 3+
Clouded Sulphur many
Orange Sulphur many
Cabage White many
Juvenals /Wild Indigo Duskywing many
Least Skipper many
Pecks Skipper 2
Grey Hairstreak 1
Black Swallowtail 1
Giant Swallowtail 1
Spicebush Swallowtail 1
Common Buckeye 3
Common Ringlet 1
Variegated Fritillary 2
Crossline Skipper 1

Common Sootywing
Grey Hairstreak
Dainty Sulphur

Fiery Skipper on the 'flames' of a tiny yellow wildflower

Common Ringlet
Least Skipper
Male Peck's Skipper

Spicebush Swallowtail

Good Birding!
Dwaynejava

Not butterflies, but pretty cool!

Chickweed Geometer Moth
Ailanthus Webworm Moth

4 comments:

  1. Nice collection of butterfly pictures Dwayne. You seem to see a lot.
    There is a new, small nature "sanctuary" by my place which was recently donated and has been converted into a butterfly area, planted with lots of wild flowers. I stopped there this past Sunday and saw a few. I'm wondering if it will be better in a few weeks - it looked like some different plants are about to flower.

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  2. Brian, sounds like a great place, but butterflies are like birds in many ways... They like particular host plants and habitats. This area will probably be good if its near a forest which acts as a source of butterflies. I'm sure that many of the larger butterflies will be attracted to this garden though. Let me know how good it gets!

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  3. Love the butterfly post, Dwayne. I did some butterflying myself today as the heat of the day made the birding mighty slow. Spent my time around the grassy lanes through Hillman Marsh.

    Had a Common Checkered Skipper, too, and the Dainty Sulphur (4) was a lifer for me. I have to keep working on my skipper ID'ing though!

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  4. Love the butterfly pictures!I see the dainty sulphers everyday down here at Paula's Fish Place!Remember?The BEST Yellow Perch by Pt.Pelee!!!!

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