Santa Ana NWR, 5/30/23

With all the recent rain I thought a trip to Santa Ana NWR was in order.  Trails were muddy so I walked the tour road to the cemetery.  Things are pretty lush but not a lot was blooming except at the cemetery where I found this Potrillo Skipper.  I had seen them there in the past but a check of my records found my last one was 5/31/15.  Almost the same date eight years ago.

Nearby was this Texas Powdered Skipper.  I found my lifer at Santa ana years ago.

A group of 25 Laviana White-Skippers were sucking at the moist soil.

Along with a Mimosa Yellow.

Checking the piles of animal scat can always be productive.  Here's a Sickle-winged Skipper and a Texan Crescent.

Here's today's list of 31 species.  Gotta get back over there in a couple of weeks.

• Giant Swallowtail 6
• Great Southern White 1
• Southern Dogface 1
• Large Orange Sulphur 2
• Lyside Sulphur 40
• Little Yellow 3
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
• Clytie Ministreak 1
• Reakirt's Blue 2
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• American Snout 3
• Gulf Fritillary 2
• Variegated Fritillary 1
• Bordered Patch 2
• Texan Crescent 12
• Vesta Crescent 15
• White Peacock 3
• Common Mestra 25
• Queen 1
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 2
• Potrillo Skipper 1
• Texas Powdered-Skipper 1
• Sickle-winged Skipper 6
• White Checkered-Skipper 1
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 1
• Laviana White-Skipper 30
• Clouded Skipper 2
• Whirlabout 1
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 3

Gold-spotted Aguna at Progreso Lakes, 5/25/23

Spring bird migration is nearing an end so it's getting time to start keeping an eye on the butterflies.  This spring has been reasonably wet so far and temperatures aren't getting much above 90F so my yard is looking pretty good with lots of flowers.  Butterflies have been a little slow but today they really picked up.  After a nap this afternoon, I went to the back porch and checked the blooming duranta through my binocs.  There semed to be a tailess White-striped Longtail working the flowers but the white stripe didn't look quite right.  I grabbed my camera and ran after it.  Turned out to be a Gold-spotted Aguna.  We have had several through the years.

Earlier in the day we did have a White-striped Longtail.

Absent for a few weeks, it was nice to see our Double-dotted Skippers back in the yard.

Our other yard specialty is also doing better lately.  Boisduval's Yellows seem to finally come back after the big freeze of 2021.

This Whirlabout is coiled up to strike.

Lots of wild dill ahs produced plenty of Black Swallowtails this spring.

Here's today's list of 33 species.  As long as out temps stay mild I'm expecting some good stuff in the coming weeks.

Black Swallowtail 1

Giant Swallowtail 4

• Great Southern White 2
• Cloudless Sulphur 4
• Large Orange Sulphur 1
• Lyside Sulphur 6
• Boisduval's Yellow 3
• Little Yellow 2
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Sleepy Orange 1
• Gray Hairstreak 1
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 3
• Gulf Fritillary 6
• Bordered Patch 2
• Texan Crescent 6
• Vesta Crescent 3
• White Peacock 3
• Carolina Satyr 3
• Queen 5
• Guava Skipper 1
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Gold-spotted Aguna 1
• Brown Longtail 4
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 8
• Laviana White-Skipper 3
• Clouded Skipper 4
• Double-dotted Skipper 1
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper 1
• Whirlabout 6
• Southern Broken-Dash 2
• Common Mellana 3
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 3
• Eufala Skipper 2