Wetland Butterflies

What makes for a great day of bug hunting...very few birds to see (it's just that time of the year), even fewer people in the area (not so many people looking at me like I'm crazy for laying/crawling in the dirt), and being sans toddler (3 year olds do not enjoy being still or quiet for long periods). So, my Saturday visit to the wetlands, which happened to be open to foot traffic only (which means significantly less people), while the toddler was spending the day with grandparents made for the perfect day to go exploring with my macro lens...

~Dainty Sulphur~ 

The Dainty Sulphur is a small butterfly that is found year round throughout Florida. I also saw several Cabbage White butterflies (also part of the sulphur family), which are pretty dull compared to the Dainty.

~Ceraunus Blue~

This was the first Ceraunus Blue that I've found. These butterflies are really small (3/4-1 inch) and easy to overlook. They are considered common and found year round in Florida. The species is very similar to the Cassius Blue. The Cassius, however, has 2 spots on the hindwing, where the Ceraunus only has one.

~Gray Hairstreak~

I think hairstreaks are some of the most interesting butterflies. Most (but not all) are identified by a small protruding "hair" at the bottom of its tail. This Gray Hairstreak was feeding on some Shepard's Needles, one of its favorite nectar sources.

~White Peacock~

White Peacocks are common throughout Florida and were the most abundant species I saw.

~Gulf Fritillary~

I observed both species of fritillaries laying eggs.

~Variegated Fritillary~

~Queen~

Queen butterflies are always delightful to see. Queens are cousins of a species they strongly resemble, the Monarchs. Both of these "milkweed butterflies" are part of the same subfamily and are known to lay their eggs on various types of milkweed. The ingestion of milkweed contributes to the defense of these species as it makes them toxic to predators.

~Fiery Skipper~

Most Skippers have large, moth-like bodies, small wings, and hooked antennae.

~Checkered Skipper~

The Common Checkered Skipper is found throughout Florida. These skippers like open areas with bare ground and low growing vegetation. Adults feed from a wide variety of flowers.

~Southern Skipperling~

The Southern Skipperling is the smallest skipper in North America. This little fellow sure was tiny!

Some of the other species that I saw but didn't get any presentable photos of were Zebra Long-wings, Spicebush Swallowtails, Sleepy Oranges, and Cabbage White butterflies. So long for now....  next up the damselflies and dragonflies of the wetlands:)

A Bird Count, the Beach & Happy New Year!

This past weekend I participated in my first Christmas Bird Count with the Space Coast Audubon Society. I had a blast exploring a relatively rural area in the southern end of Brevard County. My group was a lot of fun to work with. We found an average number of species for our area, near 60. American Robins were the most populous species that we saw, noting close to 1,000 of these migrants in the area. 

We saw several different species of raptors, including 2 Bald Eagles, several Red-shouldered Hawks, a Merlin, numerous Kestrel,, Osprey and finally at the end of the day, a Northern Harrier. My favorite sighting of the day was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a bird I rarely see in this area. We also saw 4 different species of doves. The White-winged Dove was a lifer for me. We saw several dozen of them.

As I hiked along some scrub searching for Scrub-Jays, I saw these really cool looking plants. I'm not sure what they are but they very popular with the insects. I  saw this beautiful Gray Hairstreak, along with a Common Buckeye, a few Queens and numerous bees.

We also spent some time at the beach this week. While there has only been one sighting of a Razorbill at Jetty Park, we made a few hopeful trips to the jetty to see what we could find.

No luck on a Razorbill, but we did see this beautiful Sea Turtle. There are 6 species of Sea Turtles that are found along the beaches and I believe this one is a Green Sea Turtle. Sadly, in Florida these beautiful turtles  are listed as Endangered Species.

The beach was packed with Royal Terns mixed with a few Sandwich and Forster's Terns. There were also Herring, Lesser Black-backed, Ring-billed, and Laughing Gulls. There was also a massive group of Skimmers huddled together. A few Sanderlings and Turnstones were meandering through the groups.

Royals Terns

Royal Tern

2013 is coming....enjoy the ride!!! 

"Be Silly. Be Honest. Be kind."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and birdy New Year!!!