Green Ridge Count update and path forward

[Rick Borchelt]

The announced 2026 Green Ridge spring count is 3 weeks away and I have only 2 firm commitments and one tentative to participate.  That means it's nail-biting time again, something I go through for every GRSF count.  And my least favorite part of the spring and summer counts. 

In order to provide relatively comparable (and thus scientifically useful) data, we need at least eight observers in the field for a formal spring count (ten or more for summer, since there are more metalmark locations than there are Olympia Marble locations).  

That's the bad news.

The good news is that, since we no longer run the count through NABA, any individuals can do a count at any time and report it on either eButterfly (now with a considerably more friendly interface, but still not as intuitive as eBird) or iNaturalist (where there is a project portal for Green Ridge State Forest, but you have to specify this as your location in order to be included, i.e., not Allegany Co. or Little Orleans or Flintstone).  

This also gives us flexibility to avoid inclement weather.  

So my plan for 2026 is to abandon the formal group count in favor of encouraging individuals to count anytime -- just be certain not to obscure the date on your observations. The risk of direct duplicate counting is minimal with this approach, and we might also develop a better snapshot of when Olympia Marbles fly during what I expect we will see as an extended flight season.  This avoids the pitfall of missing the peak flight if the marbles emerge early or late, and might give a better picture of their flight period (which we have never successfully nailed down).  

It also doesn't necessarily lose the social aspects of our long-standing count, and my chance to celebrate with you all with a White Russian Milkshake at BuddyLou's. We can still keep in touch and coordinate to the extent we wish to here at MDLepsOdes.  Just drop a note if/when you expect to be counting in Green Ridge during that period and then let us know where you've filed your observation data. The iNat project portal is https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/butterflies-of-green-ridge-state-forest-md

I'll also follow up with all observers from March 20-April 20 to create a narrative season summary. 

This new scheme will let us do a better job of capturing data on early butterflies (the new Northern Azure subspecies, for example) and those which emerge later (Cobweb Skipper, Silvery Blue).  It's always a crap shoot what we might see, depending on how the season progresses. I'm guessing this will be an early season. 

The peak spring butterfly biodiversity in GRSF will still probably be around April 15-20, for what that's worth. My guess is that both azures and marbles are already on the wing. 

And of course drop me a note if you want to know the areas we are most interested in surveying for marbles to ensure we get a good handle on their population dynamics. However, I will be out of pocket myself, butterflying and botanizing in Italy, for much of April.

Let's try it this way for spring 2026 and see if it is workable. And maybe test how it works for the summer count.  If it's a successful experiment we can tweak it; if not, I'm happy to cede planning a formal count in future years to a successor organizer.  

[Tom Feild]

Hi Rick,

Jim Brighton and I will be there, and we will also have a third person in our party, Chris Evans.  We are looking forward to it and hoping for good weather and good leps!

Thanks for you work coordinating the count!

Tom

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MDLepsOdes" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mdlepsodes+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdlepsodes/a6ce4a85-cc58-4041-a00d-51ce14e55880n%40googlegroups.com.

[Judy Gallagher]

I’m in Sri Lanka but will be back in time for the count.

I’m looking forward to it!

Judy

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 15, 2026, at 8:33 PM, Tom Feild <tomf...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdlepsodes/CAEQRxroeK27kyGjvDjV%3DEuM3ox5KiGuYJV0YfuAr1uNCv40vdg%40mail.gmail.com.

[MARION BUNDENS]

Hi Rick - I had previously emailed I will be there on the 4th with potentially one other person, but this opens it up for another count day during the time period with my graduate student son. Will let you know on a date for that and consult on route.

Thanks for organizing!

Marion

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdlepsodes/C5EDC08A-5781-4D8F-9CF8-8AFF2EE3AAD8%40comcast.net.

[Rick Borchelt]

Terrific news.  We have reached the minimum number of required participants so will go with the original plan of April 4/6.  

Only remaining question for you folks is whether Chris will come equipped with his Captain America shield ...

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdlepsodes/CAEQRxroeK27kyGjvDjV%3DEuM3ox5KiGuYJV0YfuAr1uNCv40vdg%40mail.gmail.com.

--

Rick Borchelt
College Park, MD
preferred personal email:  rborchelt |AT| gmail |DOT| com

http://leplog.wordpress.com

[Rick Borchelt]

Judy, safe travels back and look forward to having you in the field with us April 4. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdlepsodes/C5EDC08A-5781-4D8F-9CF8-8AFF2EE3AAD8%40comcast.net.