CAzBA fieldtrip report Rackensack, April 10, 2010
Eleven of us enjoyed a beautiful morning in the main canyon and the picturesque side canyon, which had more water than usual, resulting in many pretty small waterfalls. Although the number and diversity of butterflies was not as large as in some previous years, 26 species were identified, including the specialty of the side canyon – the Yucca Giant-Skipper. An interesting sight was that of the groups of caterpillars of the Mourning Cloak that had just hatched and were beginning to eat the leaves of the willow tree they were on.
The 2 species of sulphurs, that had not been seen in Rackensack, were observed at the Sears Kay Ruin picnic area. Three species were added to our Rackensack/Sears Kay Ruin Checklist: Mylitta Crescent, Common Sootywing, and Funereal Duskywing. As usual there were good numbers of Variable Checkerspots using the colorful patches of verbena.
We were fortunate to have some knowledgeable botanists on the trip, so were able to identify more than 45 plant species and add some new ones to the basic Rackensack plantlist.
Total list: Pipevine Swallowtail 3, Two-tailed Swallowtail 6, Sara Orangetip 8, “Pima” Desert Orangetip 1, Sleepy Orange 1, Orange Sulphur 1, “Martin’s” Square-spotted Blue 1, Acmon Blue 2, Elada Checkerspot 3, Variable Checkerspot 12, California Patch 2, Red Admiral 1, Painted Lady 1, West-coast Lady 2, Sagebrush Checkerspot 1, Mylitta Checkerspot 1, Mourning Cloak 3, Northern White-Skipper 1, Common Streaky-Skipper 2, Golden-headed Scallopwing 1, Common Sootywing 1, Funereal Duskywing 3, Common/White Checkered Skipper 8, Orange Skipperling 1, Giant Skipper sp. 1, Yucca Giant-Skipper 2.
-- Janet Witzeman (tripleader)
|