South Texas - October 27 through November 3, 2009
Barbara Volkle and Steve Moore
Rio Grande Valley area from October 27 through November 3, 2009.
While there we saw:
Pipevine swallowtail
Polydamus Swallowtail - 1
Black Swallowtail - few
Giant Swallowtail - many
Ornythion Swallowtail - 1
Checkered White
Great Southern White
Orange Sulphur
Southern Dogface
White Angled Sulphur - 1
Yellow Angled Sulphur - 1 or 2
Cloudless Sulphur
Large Orange Sulphur
Lyside Sulphurs - many thousands
Boisduval's Yellow - 12 (at Resaca de la Palma in Brownsville at end
of Ebony Trail)
Tailed Orange - 2
Little Yellow
Mimosa Yellow - few
Sleepy Orange
Dainty Sulphur
Great Purple Hairstreak - 1
Silver-banded Hairstreak - 12
Gray Hairstreak
Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak
Dusky-blue Groundstreak - 1
Clytie Ministreak - several
Western Pygmy-Blue
Cassius Blue
Ceranus Blue
Reakirt's Blue
Fatal Metalmark
Rounded Metalmark
Red-bordered Metalmark - many
Blue Metalmark - 6 or more at each of Resaca de la Palma and Laguna
Atascosa)
Red-bordered Pixie - 1
WALKER'S METALMARK - 1 (at Resaca de la Palma)
American Snout - many thousands
Gulf Fritillary - many
Julia Heliconian - 2
Zebra Heliconian - several
Variegated Fritillary
Mexican Fritillary - 1
Theona Checkerspot - many
Bordered Patch
Definite Patch - 1 (probably first Bentsen record)
Crimson Patch
Tiny Checkerspot -1 (NABA Park)
Elada Checkerspot
Texan Crescent - just 2
Vesta Crescent
Phaon Crescent - many
Pearl Crescent - few
American Lady
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Common Buckeye
Tropical Buckeye
White Peacock - many
Banded Peacock - 1 (at NABA Park)
Malachite - 21 (at Estero LLano Grande and Bentsen)
Mexican Bluewing - 20+
Common Mestra
Tropical Leafwing
Hackberry Emperor
Empress Leilia
Tawny Emperor
Hermes Satyr (split from Carolina Satyr)
Monarch
Queen - many thousands
Soldier - 2
White-striped Longtail - 1
Zilpa Longtail - 2
Long-tailed Skipper
Dorantes Longtail
Brown Longtail - many
Mimosa Skipper - a few at Santa Ana and several at Resaca de la Palma
Mazans Scallopwing
Sickle-winged Skipper - many
Brown-banded Skipper - 2
White-patched Skipper - many
Mournful Duskywing
Funereal Duskywing
Common Checkered-Skipper
White Checkered-Skipper
Tropical Checkered-Skipper
Desert Checkered-Skipper
Laviana White Skipper
Turk's-cap White Skipper
Common Sootywing
Saltbush Sootywing - 1
Julia's Skipper
Fawn-spotted Skipper
Clouded Skipper
Orange Skipperling - 1
Southern Skipperling - many
Fiery Skipper
Whirlabout
Southern Broken-Dash
Sachem
Common Mellana - plentiful
Dun Skipper - few
Celia's Roadside Skipper
Eufala Skipper
Brazilian Skipper
Obscure Skipper - several at Laguna Atascosa
Ocala Skipper
Purple-washed Skipper - 1
Also seen: several Bobcats at Santa Ana, 10 foot Indigo snake at
Laguna Atascosa, Texas Tortoise, Red-eared Slider, and many South
Texas bird specialties. Massachusetts birder Larry Therrien
discovered a pair of Masked Ducks at Santa Ana, a Rose-throated
Becard at Bentsen and a probable female Blue Bunting at Bentsen. He
had a great week and provided photo documentation to Mary Gustafson
of the Masked Ducks and the Becard.
We ranged from Falcon State Park to Laguna Atascosa with the most
productive places being Resaca de la Palma and Estero Llano Grande in
Westlaco.
If anyone is headed down there and has any questions you can contact
Steve at 508-393-9251 or at bar...@theworld.com
Total species: 107.
Steve Moore
Barbara Volkle
Tom Gagnon
Bruce Callahan
Frank Model