butterflies

Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Participant Report

Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Participant Report
By Inga Hinnerichsen Photos by Len Grincevicius The Long Point Butterfly Count is organized by our official “Butterfly Counter” Adam Timpf and is supported by the Norfolk Field Naturalists. It is an all-day event and involves identifying and counting local butterflies. This count is part of a North America wide survey providing valuable information of the butterfly populations and the well-being of the environment in general. Members of our team were Dr. Richard Tanner, Mats van Kleef, Anita and Dick (visiting from Calgary—my old stomping grounds!) and myself. Saturday, July 7, was ideal for the count—sunny, not too hot with only a gentle breeze. Our area consisted of Backus Woods and nearby fields. We began our count at a restored field near East 1/4 Line Road. This is excellent butterfly habitat with many flowering plants at their finest, including Brown-eyed…
continue reading

Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Organizer’s Report

Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Organizer’s Report
By Adam Timpf, NFN Member and Count Coordinator All photos by Len Grincevicius This year the Long Point butterfly count fell on Saturday July 7th, the latest date that the first Saturday in July could possibly fall on. Thirty-five observers were divided into different groups, each group covering a different territory and recording all the butterflies they could find throughout the day. Many thanks go to Peter and Mary for hosting the wrap-up and serving food and drink to the hungry butterfly counters at the end of a long day. Right after I had emailed out the count results to participants, yet another species was identified from photos uploaded to iNaturalist by one of the counters. Thus, a single Gray Comma bumps up our species total to 54, two shy of our all-time high, and well above our 27-year average…
continue reading