One of 120 common buckeyes Jack Miller recorded on Bay Avenue near East Point (CUM) on 9-28-15.
Following up on his high counts of buckeyes and other butterflies in and near Heislerville WMA on 9-28-15 and 9-29-15, Jack Miller has volunteered to lead a “short-notice” field trip there this coming Wednesday, October 7.
Meeting Place: Intersection of East Point Road and Bay Avenue (just south of the East Point Lighthouse), Maurice River Township, NJ.
Starting Time: 10 am
Date: Wednesday, October 7
Common buckeyes are regularly listed as a migrant species (in NJ and elsewhere), but their movements have been much less studied than monarch, red admiral, and painted lady. The species has clearly been on the move in South Jersey over the last several weeks — counted in double-digits by many of our observers since August 31, especially along the Delaware Bayshore. We thought it would be interesting and fun to see if the phenomenon will continue into October, after the story weather of the last few days.
We will see what other species we can find as well, of course. You can see the log reports below for just two of Jack’s stops last week and you can go to the log for his other stops. (Of course, given the weather, we may have a tough challenge matching his success.)
Our route from the starting point will depend on winds and a scouting trip for good nectar areas that Jack will conduct before Wednesday. We will be moving to other spots by car — and, depending on the size of the group, possibly car-pooling to some of the stops. Our end time will depend on our success and the interests of the group.
Weekends are best for field trips, but the current weather this weekend is unpromising and we did not want to wait a full week until next weekend. So we have decided to go Wednesday — the next day the weather prediction looks especially good.
Numbers will be posted on the log Wednesday night, so those of you who can’t make it on a mid-week field trip can think about following up next Saturday or Sunday.
You can note your interest by leaving a comment below or by emailing Jack or me. My email is nacotejackATgmailDOTcom. (Letting us know you are coming will enable us to reach you if plans change at the last minute.)
We hope some of you can come on this promising expedition!
jc