The Lift Station Tour - March 04, 2007

Sunday March 4, 2007 - The Lift Station Tour.

I decided to focus this trip on the Lift Station area specifically to target 3 area/specimens. I wanted to see the activity around the Red Bud Tree, the telephone pole where I saw the Mourning Cloak and the patches of Southern Dewberry along the Lift Station trail. The day was mile high skies and slightly colder than the previous day. I believe the temperature was about 61 degrees Fahrenheit and very breezy at times.

The day started out very slow but very soon I began to notice some very interesting things in the air. The Red Bud was still a hotbed for the small Duskywing Skippers, but I soon noticed a few other butterflies coming in for a peek. These Skippers land in all sorts of interesting angles but almost always land with their wings facing the sun. It makes it real easy to get a picture since they are so well lit.

There was a patch of the Southern Dewberry right next to the tree and I captured an image of a relatively fresh Agraulis vanillae nectaring. This Butterfly, also known as the Gulf Fritillary uses Purple Passion Flower - Passiflora incarnata as it larval food plant and the adult females can be seen ovipositing on the passion flower stems in the summer and fall. This beautiful butterfly has silvery patches on the underside of its wings and looks quite amazing when at rest.

The next surprise came when I saw my first Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta perched on the path. This is a simply stunning little Nymphalid and can be quite a territorial defender. I have watched the males go at each other with great gusto. They will take nectar from a wide variety of sources and are a delightful butterfly, swift on the wing and nearly too fast to net.

Low and behold, after 70 minutes of hanging out by the Red Bud Tree I finally saw what I came here for - An Elfin Butterfly. This little brown beauty was hanging around on the Red Bud, very small and hard to detect. If it hadn't shifted its position I would have missed it entirely. A quick drop of the camera and snatching my new Old Man Net Special I promptly caught and papered this gem. I did not pause for a photo as I was too afraid of losing it. I will post a picture of this beautiful specimen when it comes off pf the spreading boards. There are really only 2 species of Elfin in the Houston area and they are both hard to find, at least for us.

On the way out I encountered some local amphibious species in 2 very distinct life stages. The Tadpoles were unfortunately in a drying up mud puddle and will probably be dead within a day or so as the water vanishes. Next to the Water Lift Station itself, in a large puddle, I got a few shots of what appears to be Rana sphenocephala or the Southern Leopard Frog. This frog was content to lie motionless on the surface and wait for me to leave him in peace, which I gladly did.

I decide to make one last trip down the path and I managed to capture another Elfin butterfly, this time fluttering along the side of the trail. I have no idea which Elfin this one is either, but I suspect it is Callophyrus niphon or the Pine Elfin. More . . . Later.

Species list:

• Vanessa atalanta - Nymphalidae - Red Admiral (S)
  
• Agraulis vanillae - Nymphalidae - Gulf Fritillary (S)
  
• Phyciodes speciosa - Nymphalidae - Crescent Butterfly (V)
• Zerene cesonia - Pieridae - Southern Dogface (V)
• Erynnis speciosa - Hesperiidae - Duskywing (S)
  
• Callophrys sp. - Lycaenidae - Theclinae - Elfin (V)

-
Thanks for reading

Bob

The Lift Station Tour 03-03-2007

Saturday March 3, 2007

The lift Station today was much better than on the previous Saturday, so I stayed out for a long time, hoping to see some new species for 2007. I took a different route today starting nearer to the house and walking to the lift station from the Power Cut. The Power Cut is much changed over the last 2 years. The central trail way area is much more trampled and there are a lot more tire tracks from ATV's and other off road vehicles. Plus the power company is more aggressive about keeping it pruned back. We used to see a lot of Anthocharis midea texana in the early Spring here in Spring, Texas. I can remember the first trip back here in 2003 we must have seen/vouchered 40 specimens over a few weeks. Today I saw only 4 total - all male- all in the area around the Lift Station. This may be due to the dry winter or possibly the destructive changes in the habitat due to abuse by visitors.

There is a new tree in bloom, I think it is Mexican Plum - Prunus mexicana. It is a mass of white flowers, like a cherry tree but no leaves as of yet. It doesn't seem to draw much of anything, but it may just be my imagination or a poorly placed tree. This one is located near the bayou in an area with heavy canopy. There actually was not much flying back under the canopy at all. I saw most of the butterflies flying out in the open areas, near the trails.

Along the banks of the drainage ditch leading to the bayou, on the border between the Power Cut and Lift Station legs of the tour, the Pickly-Sow thistle - Sonchus asper, is in full bloom. It attracts Skipper butterflies later in the year but today there was a lone beetle. It looks a lot like Hippodamia convergens, the convergent lady beetle. This plant already is 2+ feet tall and ready to begin another season of blooming, seedmaking and establishing itself on the hillsides. There are a few other plants blooming but the real draw is either the Southern Dewberry - Rubus trivialis or of course the Red Bud.

As I was making my way towards the Lift Station from the drainage ditch I saw a real marvel - the Mourning Cloak butterfly - Nymphalis antiopa. This is one of the first I have ever seen and it eluded me, but a long time resident (both years that I have been walking the lift station leg) is back and busy at work. At the top of a power pole, busy excavating was a large Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus. This is such a brightly colored and somewhat prehistoric looking bird, I am glad he doesn't eat butterflies or butterfliers. He ignores me as unimportant and I snap a few shots and move on. I will be back in succeeding days to see if the Nymphalis antiopa returns to this spot. I may have to bring back some Apples or Watermelon to bait for him, we will see.

The Red Bud Tree - has quite a few skippers on it. They seem to be Horace's Duskywings - Erynnis horatius, but I vouchered a few to check their identity. I was hoping to find soem of the Elfins that occur in this area, especially Callophrys henrici - Henry's Elfin. It uses Red Bud as a nectar source and this massive Red Bud should be full of them, so I will just have to be patient or try elsewhere. It is a beautiful day and I loved all the time I spent out here.

Here's todays List:

• Anaea andria - Nymphalidae - Leafwing (V)
  
• Polygonia interrogationalis - Nymphalidae - The Question Mark(V)
• Colias eurytheme - Pieridae - The Clouded Sulphur(S)
• Nymphalis antiopa - Nymphalidae - The Mourning Cloak (S)
  
• Libytheana carinenta - Nymphalidae - The Snout Butterfly (S)
  
• Anthocharis midea texana - Pieridae - The Falcate Orangetip (V)
  
• Zerene cessonia - Pieridae - The Southern Dogface (S)
• Erynnis horatius - Hesperiidae - Horace's Duskywing (V)

Enjoy the season.

Bob

The Lift Station Tour 02-25-2007

February 25, 2007
The Lift Station Tour:

I have this walking tour that I take through a combination of Greenbelt/Power Cut and Water Lift Station properties that winds behind my subdivision. I have been doing this for over 2 years now. This season I decided to use Google Earth
( http://earth.google.com ) an unbeliveable free mapping and species management program! I have located my area, mapped our the walking path and I will add species seen and locate their areas for each expedition. Here is today' map.

The area is a primarily hardwood forest remanant with some pretty heavy trail and path cutting activity in the past. Areas have been used ny local kids for Paintball wars, hideouts, treehouses and bike/ATV riding trails. The first walk is down a canopy shaded walk to the lift station. At the Lift station if you take a right you will walk into an open trail area bordered with forest on both sides. A right will take you down a forested path near and skirting the bayou area.

The most productive habitat is to the left. I have found a huge Texas Red Bud Tree (Cercis canadensis var. texensis) that is in full bloom at this time and it is the primary Nectar Source in the area. I hung out by it for an hour or more hoping to see Elfin butterflies. None today, unfortunately. I expect that some will be seen as we saw one last year but were unsuccessful at capturing it.

There are some flowers in bloom. I have identified many of them using my favorite WildFlower Fieldguide -- Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas by John and Gloria Tveten. It is a great guide and I use the web for any flowers that just happen to slip by the Tvetens.

The prime nectar sources today are: Rubus trivialis or the Southern Dewberry. It is a kind of wild blackberry that is well defended with thorns. It grows vinelike on the ground and is quite capable of tearing up unprotected skin! It attracts most of the skippers such as this Erynnis species (most likely Erynnis horatius) and I have seen the Pygus communis hovering or landing on it.

The very biddest draw is the Cercis canadensis var. texensis or as it is commonly called The Red Bud Tree. There is a single specimen right at the lift station and it draws very well as long as it is in bloom.

Species seen(S) or Vouchered (V) today:

• Libytheana carinenta - Nymphalidae - Snout Butterfly (V)
  
• Pyrgus communis - Hesperiidae - Checkered Skipper (S)
  
• Anaea andrea - Nymphalidae - Tropical Leafwing (V)
  
• Eurema lisa - Pieridae - Little Yellow(V)
• Colias eurytheme - Pieridae - Clouded Sulphur (V)
  

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 PM Temperature: Mid 60's - Partly Cloudy - windy

Bob