Prelimlinary info from yesterday's Green Ridge Spring Count

[Rick Borchelt]

When I arrived at the Sideling Hill Rest Area at 8 am, it was as depressing as it could get.  Wind gusts were in excess of 40 mph, the temp was 39F, and *it was raining*.  I prepared my best game face to meet the hardy counters who were expect to show up at 9 am at the Oak Barrel Cafe for final instructions. 

Luckily, by 9 am, the rain had stopped but we were still socked in by clouds.  But consulting all three of my weather apps, I had good hopes the clouds would break and temperature would climb by noon or so, and the hardy spring leps at Green Ridge would in fact make a showing. So I told the assembled counters.

And sure enough, by around 11 the clouds were breaking up, and while the ambient temps never made it about about 55F, the temperature at ground level (as measured on the south facing shale slopes below the Point Lookout observation spot) were well into the 70s F. And by noon we started getting good butterflies coming up off the slopes, sufficiently warmed to foray out into the cold wind for nectar and host plants. 

By the end of the day, with a few tally sheets still outstanding, we had a very good 29 species and (conservatively) just north of 900 individual butterflies.  Among the highlights were Harvester; double digit Olympia Marbles (including at one new location, probably a significant undercount since they are hard to differentiate in flight from Falcates, of which there were more than 100); some 30 Silvery Blues (good number for this threatened species); an elfin trifecta of Eastern Pine, Henry's, and Brown; and all the expected Duskywings (Juvenal's, a lone Horace's that I finally sussed out after netting about 50 Juvenal's for inspection, Sleepy (getting ragged), and Dreamy (fresh).  While the gales raged on the ridgetops, the areas down along Sideling Hill Creek and along the lee sides of sunny cliff faces were hopping.