July 26, 2017

Notes and Changes since last report

• It was 75°F, cloudy, breezy, and fairly humid at 2:00 PM on July 26, 2017.
• This week's trail report covers the Wappinger Creek Trail side of the trail system.
• Although it was a gray day, it was a warm day and butterflies were out, if a little slow.
• Special guest appearances were made by a juniper hairstreak and a visitor for whom this was a happy addition to their life list.

The Trails

• Right at Gifford trail head things were happening.
• Here common milkweed was done blooming and was forming seed pods.
• Taking over the role as most favored nectar source was wild bergamot.
• Next to it, pokeweed was flowering and wasting no time making berries.
• It's never a real popular nectar source, but what yarrow does attract is often very intersting, such as the juniper hairstreak. Our area's subspecies is the 'olive' juniper hairstreak.
• Great spangled fritillaries like the bergamot.
• A pearl crescent was on invasive spotted knapweed.
• This one displayed the little mark on the hindwing margin below that gives it its name.
• Many moths were flitting and hiding in the grasses including a Large Lace-border.
• Along the Sedge Meadow Trail, a red admiral was perched to check out passersby.
• In the Sedge Meadow proper, blue vervain was standing in the distance.
• Spotted touch-me-not, or jewelweed was within reach.
• In the back Old Hayfield, snowberry clearwing, a dayflying sphinx moth, was on the bergamot. Note the black stripe through the eye going back and down to the legs.
• Several times the Appalachian brown had eluded me this day.
• A very well worn northern broken-dash seemed to not have a scale left on it.
• A grape leaf was being chewed up by a pack of Japanese beetles.
• Along the back edge of the field, ironwood or hophornbeam was forming its hop-like fruit.
• Next to it, musclewood or American hornbeam was forming its peculiar fruit.
• A fresh looking female dun skipper was warming up. Spots are much smaller than those of the broken-dash.
• Then a hummingbird clearwing came through. Compare with the snowberry and note the red vs. black appointments and lack of eye stripe.
• Goldenrod bunch galls were obvious once they were noticed.
• The meadow fritillary is like a miniature great spangled fritillary - at least from above.
• On another yarrow, an ambush bug may have been waiting for that little bee to get closer.
• A fresher female northern broken-dash posed perfectly.
• In the Old Pasture, meadowsweet was blooming.
• Many small beetles were in there.
• The Wappinger creek trail was pretty dark today, but a red mushroom was hard to miss.
• So was a noisy young ovenbird.
• Next week: the Cary Pines Trail side of the trail system.