June 28, 2017

Notes and Changes since last report

• It was 70°F, partly cloudy and breezy at 1:00 PM on June 28, 2017.
• Today I had company on the trails and our route was just a little different.
• This week's trail report covers the Wappinger Creek Trail and some of the Cary Pines Trail.
• There were no new butterflies today, but old favorites entertained us.

The Trails

• We started on the Cary Pines Trail from the Fern Glen end and spotted a male ebony jewelwing from the damselfly side of the dragonflies.
• A small moth was resting in the hay-scented fern.
• For demonstration purposes, a dog tick came out from a walk earlier today.
• The confused eusarca was a good example of a typical inchworm moth.
• One of our largest butterflies, the eastern tiger swallowtail gave us sufficient, if not great, views behind the Carriage House.
• The Stewartia back there had lots of buds just beginning to open.
• It's a fair sized tree with bark very much like sycamore.
• In the front Old Hayfield, a male common whitetail was soaking up some sun.
• Cool air and warm sun was good for viewing both sides of butterflies - a red admiral would close its wings when it was warm enough...
• ... and open them to the sun when it got cool.
• A nice find in the back of the field was a monarch caterpillar feeding on common milkweed.
• The squeek of basket ball sneeker told us a rose-breasted grosbeak was above.
• On the Sedge Meadow Trail, an Appalachian brown gave us views from below....
• ... and from above.
• On the Wappinger Creek Trail, a gypsy moth caterpillar looked mighty big, but it was dead. We would encounter quite a few like that.
• In the back Old Hayfield, a deer let us almost walk right by before it bolted into the woods.
• As the matching bookend to our walk today, another ebony jewelwing paused for us - this time there was a white spot at the apex of the forewing: it was a female.
• Next week: just the Cary Pines Trail side of the trail system.