July 2023 Sightings

4:30 to 6 PM. Overcast/hazy from wildfire smoke. Mid-70s and breezy. Power line cut from Van Orden Rd. north toward Union Valley Rd. (hiking permit required).

80 degrees and humid. Butterfly was in the woody/weedy area at BCAS Eagle Lookout. Observation and photo by Dee DeSantis. ID by Don Torino.

3:30 - 6:00. Low 80s. Hazy sun, becoming increasingly overcast with light breeze. Visited boat launch, The Big Dive, the dirt road south of the lake, and the Wildlife Conservation Area.T he flower fields this year are a study in yellow. Partridge Peas are in the mix so here's hoping for Little Yellows later this year. For some reason, a small field on the dirt road south of the lake near the boat launch, which had had a pretty good stand of Common Milkweed, has been mowed to bare soil. Another Common Milkweed stand, still extant on the path up to the aircraft beacon near the Conservation Center, produced no Monarchs. Also had three dark swallowtail flybys.

12:15 to 2:45. Mostly hazy sun with temps about 80. Willowwood only; did not enter Bamboo Brook. All 6 Coral Hairstreaks were found nectaring on Orange Milkweed.

Partly sunny, warm, 70s. Monarch nectaring on buttonbush. ID, photo, observation by Don Torino.

Incidental sightings [Moderators: This is only the 13th report of Black Swallowtail this year in north Jersey. All sightings were of single individuals but sexes not reported. All observers are asked to report the sex of the species when such distinction is easily discernible. The observer in this case reported that the Black Swallowtail was a female.]

humid 80s; Horned Least skipper? fighting banded hairstreaks and wind, orange milkweed peaking. I am sure there were Variegated Frits?

3 PM to 4:20 PM. Intermittent sun with lots of wildfire haze. Mid-70s with light breeze. Power line cut south from Van Orden Rd toward Clinton Rd. (hiking permit required). Banner day for GS Fritillaries. [Moderators: As we mentioned earlier, Great Spangled Fritillaries have rebounded nicely from several consecutive poor years. Many observers have reported good numbers of this beautiful butterfly but Steve's report of 100+ tops them all, so far.]

Temps in the 80's, cloudy and very humid. Monarch was a male.

2:38-4:30 PM. Senna not blooming yet. New boardwalk has been installed. Highlight was a young male Scarlet Tanager that came down in front of us to dismember and devour an unlucky moth.

Short exercise walk around 2PM, low 80s, mixed clouds and sun.

Common Wood-Nymphs were crazy here today. 1x1 count for them, including one pair starting the next generation.

2:00-3:00. Sun and clouds with extremely high humidity, breezy. Gratifying to see that the robust colony of Coral Hairstreaks on this site continues.

1:40-2:00 PM, high humidity. Dickcissel still singing.

11:30-12:30. Clouds giving way to sun. All but the Mourning Cloak were on a power line cut near the Edison bog.

85, humid, calm. Nectaring on Buttonbush. Observation, ID, & photo by Don Torino.

12:15-1:15. Mostly hazy sun; temp mid-80s.

10:00-12:15. Sunny, high 80s. Explored parking lot, Bucky Lane, and Canal Rd.

Mostly too cloudy for good activity. Swamp and Common Milkweed, Indianhemp, and Canada Thistle blooming. Wood-Nymph was pristine, hairstreak was heavily worn.

Short stop, clouded up soon after arrival and butterflies disappeared. Mountainmint and Canada Thistle blooming.

10AM-6PM. 80s, sunny, cloudy, some showers. Host plants: Milkweeds, Snapdragon, Viburnum, Violets, Pearly Everlasting, False Nettle, Turtlehead, Fennel, Parsley, Rue, Aster. Nectar plants in bloom: Swamp Milkweed, Butterflyweed, Shasta Daisies, Purple Cone Flower, Virginia Mountainmint, Beebalm, Penstemon, Penta, Heliotrope, Coreopsis, Yarrow, Fuschia, Zinnia, Helianthus, Verbena, Veronica, Humelo, Dwarf Butterfly Bush, Spiderflower.

9:45-2:00. Partly sunny to cloudy; brief hard rain; temps upper 70s to mid-80s. Photos by Mike Tracy.

2PM…rained out! Will need to return on another day.

Too cloudy at first for any activity, partly cleared by around 11 AM. Warm and humid. River Rd., Chatham Twp; and powerline cut.

Warm and very humid. Random observations throughout the day while preparing for the wrap up party following the Springdale 4JC on July 8.

12:00 to 1:20 PM. 80 degrees, mostly cloudy. From pond area south along the cliff. The Painted Lady was very beat up.

10:00 - 11:00. Sunny, high 80s. A newly opened nature preserve with floating boardwalks through wetlands and extensive plantings for pollinators.

4-5PM, sunny, 93, degrees. Probably same individuals as yesterday. New visitors were Tiger Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail. First Monarch sighting of 2023 on property was 6/25, in 2022 it was 6/13.

Sunny, hot, and humid. Frits and Hairstreak all nectaring on Orange Milkweed. No attention paid to abundant Indian Hemp. Spicebush Swt very faded, missing half a hindwing. E Tiger Swt very fresh but with a crumpled wing. Notable absence of Grass-Skippers. Goldenrod just getting started, Knapweed and Joe Pye Weed have a ways to go yet. [Moderators: Get Mike out of the Great Swamp and he sees stuff.]