On Sunday, September 28th, fourteen people on a joint field trip of the
Triad Chapters of the Carolina Butterfly Society and the NC Native Plant
Society spent the day exploring the stretch of the Parkway between the Blue
Ridge Music Center around Milepost 213 in Virginia to Milepost 245 at
Doughton Park in North Carolina. Our group included folks from Forsyth,
Guilford (both Greensboro and High Point), Moore, Rockingham, and Stokes
Counties. We saw some excellent butterflies, several great wildflower
species, and even a few nice birds.
The butterfly highlights of the day included a phenomenal count of at least
19 American Copper butterflies seen at three sites, and watching an
Aphrodite ovipositing in a closely mowed lawn. Although the species count
wasnšt high, we found some species that those of us in the Piedmont and
Sandhills donšt often get to see. Herešs the list:
Carroll Co., VA (Blue Ridge Music Center and vicinity):
Orange Sulphur 10
Eastern Tailed Blue 2
Summer Azure 1
Great Spangled Fritillary 8
Pearl Crescent 7
Common Buckeye 6
Monarch 2
Sachem 12
Fiery Skipper 8
Alleghany County, NC (between Cumberland Knob and Doughton Park):
Cabbage White 4
Orange Sulphur 7
Cloudless Sulphur 1
American Copper 19
Eastern Tailed Blue 4
Variegated Fritillary 1
Great Spangled Fritillary 3
Aphrodite Fritillary 1 (ovipositing)
Meadow Fritillary 2
Pearl Crescent 9
Mourning Cloak 1
Common Buckeye 5
Common Wood Nymph 1
Monarch 1
Horacešs Duskywing 1
Common Checkered Skipper 1
Sachem 1
Total species: 21
We found several good plants, including a couple of rare and state-listed
species, thanks particularly to the keen eyes of Ken Bridle and Stan
Gilliam. Field Milkwort and Sweetfern were two of the highlights. Here are
some of the most interesting species:
Colicroot, Aletris farinosa Nodding Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes cernua
Japanese Barberry, Berberis thunbergii (an invasive non-native shrub!)
Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana
Field Milkwort, Polygala sanguinea
Flat-topped White Aster, Aster umbellatus
Ragged Robin, Lychnis flos-cuculi (not listed in USDA database for NC)
Steeplebush (Hardhack), Spirea tomentosa
Sweetfern, Comptonia peregrina
Patrick Shaffner kept a list of birds for us that we saw and/or heard.
Although we werenšt in habitats where we were as likely to see warblers and
other fall migrants, we came across some nice birds. Quite a few folks in
our group donšt often get to see Wild Turkeys and Bald Eagles, for instance.
Carroll Co., VA:
Northern Bobwhite
Carolina Chickadee
American Crow
Bald Eagle
Blue Jay
Belted Kingfisher (h)
Eastern Phoebe
Common Raven
Eastern Towhee (h)
Wild Turkey
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Alleghany County, NC:
Northern Cardinal (h)
Gray Catbird (h)
Carolina Chickadee
American Crow
Mourning Dove
Canada Goose
Killdeer
White-breasted Nuthatch (h)
Eastern Phoebe (h)
Rock Pigeon
Common Raven
Turkey Vulture
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker (h)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (h)
Carolina Wren (h)
Participants: Dennis Burnette, Lynn Burnette, Gregg Morris, Nannette Wilson,
Lois Schneider, Gene Schepker, Wendy Schaitberger, Bill Hearon, Luann
Bridle, Ken Bridle, Cheryl Garrity, David McCloy, Patrick Shaffner, Stan
Gilliam
Submitted by:
Dennis Burnette
Greensboro, NC
deburnette@triad.rr.com
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