Davis Mountains 7/9/13

Earlier this week I jumped at the opportunity to run up to Bosque del Apache NWR to see the first US occurrence of Rufous-necked Wood-Rail.  So on the way back I wandered through the Davis Mountains and managed to find some new (for me) butterflies.  With the recent rains there were lots of wildfloweres and butterflies were easy to find.  These were photographed near or at the Lawence E. Wood picnic area.

Here's a Canyonland Satyr, Cyllopsis pertepida.

This is the white-edged race of the Northern Cloudywing, Thorybes pylades albosuffusa.

Orange Skipperlings Copaeodes aurantiacus are hard to find in the RGV.

I guess this is a Cassus Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes cassus.

South of El Paso at the rest area on I-10, just before the highway ascends towards Sierra Blanca, I found my first Tiny Checkerspot Dymasia dymas.

And here is the purpose of my trip.  The tropical mangrove-loving Rufous-necked Wood-Rail.  What it's doing up at Bosque del Apache is anyone's guess.