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Had great weather for hike to Rackensack Canyon and Sears Kay Ruins. 13 people attended. Great group!
20 species were seen: Dainty Sulphur, Red Admiral, Blue (Marine?), Checkered White, Two-tailed Swallowtail (pictured), Tiny Checkerspot, Variable Checkerspot, Common Buckeye, Painted Lady, Acmon Blue, California Patch, White Checkered-Skipper, Duskywing sp., Spring "Echo" Azure, Empress Leila, Metalmark sp., Southern Dogface, Orange Sulphur, Pipevine Swallowtail
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A NABA butterfly count in Verde Valley is scheduled for Friday, August 23rd, time TBA based on the team leader and location.
If it rains that day, we will do the count on Friday, 8/30.
Those interested should contact Denise Gibbs. Her contact information is:
Denise Gibbs
monarchtagger at gmail.com
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Dear SEABA Members and Butterfly Friends, our local summer NABA sponsored butterfly counts will be starting a month from now. Last year because of the late start for the monsoon rains (July 17) and record setting high temperatures in July, many of these counts recorded less than average numbers of species and individuals. This year the monsoon rains have already started in the last few days. Sabino Canyon recorded more than 2.5" of rain in less than 2 hours on June 22! Will this translate to copious butterflies on this year's counts? Join one or more these upcoming counts to find out. The counts are open to all. Please contact the listed compilers for further details. (Tawny Emperor pictured)
Santa Rita Mountains Summer
Friday July 26, 2024
Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)
The Count Circle includes Montosa, Madera, Florida, Box and Gardner Canyons and surrounding areas in the Santa Rita Mountains. Santa Rita Mountains counts are held twice, one in the summer and one in the fall. Last year this count recorded 69 species.
Ramsey Canyon
Sunday July 28, 2024
Compiler: Doug Danforth (dougofbis at gmail.com)
This count circle includes the area from the Huachuca Mountains to the San Pedro River and Ramsey Canyon to the Mexican Border. The Ramsey Canyon count, which has been run for 44 years, is usually in the top 5 for species nationally.
Sabino Canyon Summer
Tuesday July 30, 2024
Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)
The count circle includes Sabino Canyon proper as well as all the areas along the Catalina Highway up to Mount Lemmon itself. There are two Sabino Canyon counts, one in the spring and one in the summer. The spring count which has already been run this year, finds most of its species in the lower parts of the circle, while this summer count does much better in the higher and cooler elevations. A White-striped Longtail was among the better butterflies found last year.
Portal
Friday, August 2, 2024
Compiler: Lori Conrad (lconrad6853 at gmail.com)
The count circle includes the Chiricahua Mountains from Portal to Rustler and Barfoot Parks and the SW Research Station. In 2023 the Portal count recorded 83 species which was the highest count in Arizona and may well be the highest in the nation.
Patagonia
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Compiler: Rich Bailowitz (rbailowitz at gmail.com)
The count circle includes Patagonia, AZ and vicinity with an excellent variety of habitats. This is why the Patagonia count is usually one of the top three species-wise in the nation.
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