July 2021 Butterfly Count
BY STEVE BIASETTI, GROUP FOR THE EAST END DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
American Lady on Common Milkweed, Jay Rand photo
Each summer since 2005, Jay Kuhlman and I conduct the Central Suffolk July Butterfly Count, a sanctioned wildlife survey coordinated throughout our continent by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). For the second year in a row Jay Rand joined us, with his impressive photographic equipment in tow. Jay’s spectacular photos of butterflies and other local invertebrates accompany this post.
Dun Skipper, Jay Rand photo
During this 2021 rendition of the Count, we searched the fields, forests and wetlands of Riverhead and Eastport, tallying roughly 350 individual butterflies of about two-dozen species. The large showy types were represented well (e.g., Monarch, American Lady, Red Admiral, two kinds of Swallowtails), as were the tough-to-identify fast-flying skippers (such as Dun, European, Least, and Broad-Winged). Additionally, we spied a variety of small butterflies with striking patterns (American Copper, Pearl Crescent, Gray Hairstreak, and Eastern Tailed Blue, to name a few). Butterflies of specific habitats were encountered as well, including forest dwellers (Little Wood Satyr, Common Wood Nymph) and wetland specialists (Appalachian Brown, Mulberrywing).
Little Wood Satyr, Jay Rand photo
American Copper, Jay Rand photo
As in previous Butterfly Counts, our focus is often distracted by other wildlife. On this early July day, our paths crossed with White-Tailed Deer, numerous Fowler’s Toads, calling Bullfrogs and Green Frogs, a nest-digging Eastern Painted Turtle, and at least three Eastern Box Turtles (one of which we needed to assist across busy County Road 51). We saw or heard nearly sixty species of birds, including Wood Duck, Cooper’s Hawk, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Common Raven, Prairie Warbler, Field Sparrow, Orchard Oriole, and Scarlet Tanager. Of the invertebrate fauna, eleven varieties of dragonflies and four kinds of damselflies were spotted, a diverse collection of moths was identified by Jay R. (including a Snowberry Clearwing), and an eye-catching Six-Spotted Fishing Spider was observed prowling the lily pads of Cranberry Bog County Park.
Ruby Meadowhawk, Jay Rand photo
Six-Spotted Fishing Spider, Jay Rand photo
When venturing out-of-doors on eastern Long Island, one never knows what collection of creatures will be encountered. But it is reassuring to know that this healthy ecosystem continues to offer up “Animal Planet style” entertainment for those willing to look closely.