Rumney Marsh, Saugus, 11/13/16

[Fred Bouchard]

On bird walk over mainly grasslands at Wheelabrator Landfill, Saugus, MA, 9am-12pm:
 
21 Orange Sulphur
 
2 Clouded Sulphur
 
7 Cabbage White

1 unidentified large butterfly, pale Monarch?

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frederic...@gmail.com
78 farnham st
belmont 02478 ma
617-484-6692
www.fredbouchard.com

'One ought, every day, to hear a little song, read a good poem, sip a tasty wine,
see a fine picture, and if possible, to speak a few reasonable words.'
                                          -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1836)

[donald adams]

Hi Fred;

 

Very interesting report at the ‘landfill’ site. I’d be very curious to know if the likely hostplant, (assuming butterflies were not migrants) was White or Yellow Sweet Clover? Stands of these usually quite tall plants are very un-common in Mass but where they sprout up, can result in large numbers of Sulphurs.

 

Don Adams

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[donald adams]

Hi Again Fred:

 

Thanks for your note.

I brought this up because twice in my lifetime ‘butterfly experience’ (circa 1965 – 1970) I’ve had the opportunity to encounter rare and very large stands of White and Yellow Sweet Clover in Mass because of a very unnatural soil condition (pH approaching alkaline) brought about by a manmade circumstance. One of these was due to fill deposited on the town of Milton landfill, and the second the outflow of a stream contaminated with granite stone-dust from a quarry in Quincy. In both cases, tall-as-me  White and Yellow Sweet Clover, acres in extent, took over completely and to the benefit of both Honey bees and hundreds of Sulphur’s both Yellow and Orange. Sulphur’s were so numerous, they were hybridizing and my small ‘collection’ of these, kept in good shape to this day, contains several fantastic variants.

 

I’m guessing now that the Agway seed mix used at your site must contain some other clovers possibly Alsike or Ladino common for dairy pasture use which should  do well for a few years if the fill soil is not too acid

 

Don Adams

 

From: Fred Bouchard [mailto:frederic...@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 8:04 PM
To: donald adams <banker...@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [MassLep] Rumney Marsh, Saugus, 11/13/16

 

hi don

yes, there was some clover, though not high plants,

mostly dandelions, and mixed grasses in abundance.

they seed the landfill mounds with agway mixes.

there are well over 300 acres, with small woodland borders.

fred