Tailed Aguna at Estero and Yturria Brush, 11/8/14

This past week I led field trips for the Texas Butterfly Festival and the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. The butterfly festival had some good stuff like the Blue-studded Skipper at Yturria Brush and the Starred Skipper at the McAllen Botanical Gardens but I didn't get to see either one.  And other than Erichson's White Skipper and East-Mexican White-Skipper at Las Sombrillas Ranch near Rio Grande City I didn't see anything interesting.  But after leading a birding field trip with Jon Dunn at Estero Llano Grande State Park, I found my first Tailed Aguna in the parking lot so all was not lost.

Today after a couple of cool rainy days I spent the afternoon at Yturria Brush west of La Joya and saw quite a bit of stuff, nothing fantastic.  Here's another of the many Two-barred Flashers that have showed up this fall.

Another butterfly that's showing up most places after being absent for years is Erichson's White-Skipper.

The chomonque is blooming but the best things I could find on them were three Great Purple Hairstreaks.

I like White-patched Skippers.  I think I've said that before.

The Vesta Crescents enjoyed these animal droppings.

And so this this happy Tumblebug.

Just as I was finishing this afternoon, I got word of a Common Bluevent at Estero Llano Grande State Park. I raced over but it was not to be.  I'll try again tomorrow.  Here's today's list.

• Giant Swallowtail 1
• Southern Dogface 20
• Cloudless Sulphur 10
• Large Orange Sulphur 1
• Lyside Sulphur 3
• Little Yellow 6
• Sleepy Orange 3
• Dainty Sulphur 4
• Great Purple Hairstreak 3
• Gray Hairstreak 4
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 15
• Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
• Clytie Ministreak 1
• Western Pygmy-Blue 10
• Ceraunus Blue 4
• Reakirt's Blue 3
• Red-bordered Pixie 2
• American Snout 100
• Gulf Fritillary 8
• Variegated Fritillary 1
• Elada Crescent 1
• Texan Crescent 2
• Vesta Crescent 75
• American Lady 1
• Common Mestra 3
• Tropical Leafwing 3
• Empress Leilia 50
• Monarch 3
• Queen 25
• Two-barred Flasher 1
• Texas Powdered-Skipper 1
• Sickle-winged Skipper 6
• White-patched Skipper 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 2
• Desert Checkered-Skipper 2
• Erichson's White-Skipper 1
• Laviana White-Skipper 3
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 2
• Clouded Skipper 3
• Fiery Skipper 1
• Sachem 2
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 1