Tree Fall On The Fenceline

 I was out looking for butterflies today when I noticed what appeared to be a Cherry Laurel tree had fallen onto the fence from adjoining property into the northern fire lane.

I plan to go out in the near future and deal with it.

I also noticed today that the Cogongrass infestation at the southeast corner of the north tract has grown. It has never been treated to my knowledge even though other infestations have.

As I was passing the original Scrub Lupine planting area, I noticed a plant that appeared to be about a year old just west of an area that had been roped off to protect a mature plant from overmanagement  by contractors.

It was not flagged but it is hard to believe it was overlooked in the annual survey.

The number of Scrub Liatris along the north-south path seem to be increasing slightly.

Cleaning Up Cogon Infestation Again

One of the ongoing management challenges here has involved the control of isolated patches of cogon grass that have sprung up in a few locations inside the preserve.
Some have been successfully herbicided by FWC staffers, but some persist despite previous efforts.
One lies along the edge of the fire lane in the south tract.
I have resorted to periodically digging up the plants--it is important to remove the roots--and hauling them away for proper disposal.
Now that the weather has cooled, I have resumed the work.
The other day I filled two garbage cans with plants. I will come back to check on any stragglers I may have overlooked.
 

A new butterfly

Yesterday while I was checking for exotics and looking for new entries for iNaturalist, I saw two Polydamas Swallowtails.
This is the only species of swallowtail that is likely for this part of Florida that I had not recorded here, so I guess I have  the entire set. This brings the butterfly species total for the site to 56.
The northern fire lane is overgrown again, but the rest looks good.
The western  fire lane is once again producing some of the native wildflowers I was encountering shortly after the property opened more than 15 years ago.
I recently saw yellow colic root and yesterday I saw candyroot (Polygala nana), which I had never recorded here. Unofficial plant species total at 210 and growing.
I also finally was able to photograph and Eastern cottontail yesterday. It was sitting in the fire lane  near one of the gates.
It is one of 8 species of wild mammals I have recorded. FWC reported a ninth species--coyote--earlier this year, which is not surprising.
My bird list is up to 60 species, the latest addition being Eastern screech owl, which I added last year while moth watching.
The herp list sits at 23 species.
I haven't tallied the moth species here, but probably should.

New butterfly lands here

While I was making a periodic check of the preserve, I took a break to do some butterflying.

In a area along the  north fire lane that is shaded by Poinciana trees, I saw a flash of brown that I  photographed. It was a Three-Spotted Skipper, a species formerly restricted to south Florida that has been appearing here more regularly.

Brazilian Pepper, Butterflies

I stopped today to dig up a Brazilian Pepper that I had found during a walk-through a couple of weeks ago.
I also collected a little trash and flagged a lupine seedling.
A few butterflies were out after the rain, including Pipevine Swallowtail.
I also noticed that the air potato beetles had made it here, judging by the holes in the leaves of the vines.    

Soldier In The Scrub; Sunset

I was checking the trail for interesting wildlife the other evening when I encountered a Soldier, a relatively uncommon species of butterfly, resting on the branch of a Bumelia bush.
That brings the butterfly species list here to 52, which is impressive in such a small space.
It was late afternoon and dusk was coming as I was leaving.
This place offers a great view of the westering sky.

Fall Color On My Ridge

It takes a month or so into fall before the colors really become brilliant here.
In addition to the colors, the flowering grasses are striking against the sun.

There are colorful insects to match the foliage, like the Scarlet Skimmer dragonfly.

Meanwhile, Garberia is starting to bloom and attracting insects because little else is bloming.

 The violet flowers contrast with a orange Gulf Fritillary. It also attracted Ocola, Fiery and Long-tailed Skippers.

 Enjoy the photos. 

Pigment Of Nature's Imagination

I was looking for butterflies and was checking nectar plants and made an interesting discovery.
The flowers on one Blazing Star plant had no pigment, which was rather striking.
I've seen this occasionally, which are known as "sporting plants" as recounted in Darwin's writings on evolution.
I also checked to see whether the Giant Orchids had emerged this year. They have not. I haven't seen them in a few years. Maybe next year.

The Natal grass continues to be rife and once weather cools down, I'll clear it from the main path.

I've found some new trash piles and will deal with them as I have time.

The Blues Have It

Ceraunus Blue butterflies have always been fairly common here.
After the habitat in the north tract was opened with mechanical clearing and prescribed fire, they became  abundant. for a time, but declined following a couple of severe winters.
They're back.
Today I counted 141.
It will be interesting to see if that number grows by fall.

Blooms and butterflies

Spring may be arriving a bit early at the preserve.
Today I saw the first Scrub Lupine flowers of the year and saw the promise of future blooms in the buds of other plants, including the young volunteer plant

Al.so, I saw a bloom today on Britton's beargrass,which seems a bit early.

Meanwhile, I was curious whether it was an early spring for butterflies, too. Most of the sightings today were Little Yellows and Common Buckeyes,but I did find a couple of Northern Cloudywings.

Cogon grass advances

During my monthly butterfly survey today I found new infestations of cogon grass.
In addition to the expected advance on the west side near known sites near the railroad, I also found a new site in the southeast part of the north tract near the Clitoria fragrans area.

Also, sandspurs have returned to paths where I had knocked them back a couple of years ago.

On the plus side, blazing star is in full bloom and is really providing some color to the landscape.

Bugs and bug hunters

As I was surveying the butterfly population and checking on things this afternoon, I suddenly caught movement ahead of me.

A pair of American Kestrels were, well, hawking just above the regrowing low tree line, probably in search of large grasshoppers, of which there are some at the moment.

The Ceraunus Blue numbers are gradually recovering from freeze and drought. Today I saw 57. which is the most in three years and far more than I've seen anywhere else in Florida, particularly in so small an area.

Pulled a few Caesar Weed along the western fire lane before they formed seeds. I may control this weed yet.

Ranging all over Florida

I'm afraid my Ridge Ranger impulses don't end when I'm on vacation.

This week I spent a couple of days helping with butterfly surveys in the Homestead/Key Largo area.

We found plenty of butterflies, including the rare and endangered Schaus Swallowtail, but also found some natural areas had been trashed.

When I left Sunday morning, I collected what I could, but on the way home I noticed one of the Sun Ray tracts had been burned and figured it was a good time to patrol for trash. As you can see from the photo, I found a lot of bottles etc. on top of the stuff I had collected in South Florida preserves, which had included a car door.

Actually, there's plenty of trash in preservation areas in Key Largo, some of it brought in by the tide and some dumped there before it was conservation land. That would make a heck of a cleanup; project and would require a vehicle larger than my truck, much larger.

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Blues vs. Buckeyes

I went out Saturday for one of the periodic butterfly counts in the north tract.

Numbers have been down everywhere as the result of the last year's freeze and the current drought, perhaps.

The predominant species in this habitat are Ceraunus Blue and Common Buckeye. The question at the moment is which one will be more numerous.
The Blues won 35 to 32.
Other species were Gulf Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Barred Yellow, Cloudless Sulfur, Zebra Swallowtail and Zarucco.

I also found some trash while I was wandering around.

Butterflies are returning

I crisscrossed the north tract today to see what the butterfly situation was now that summer is nearly herel.

Ceraunus Blue was the most numerous. There were 24. Nevertheless, that's far less than the 103 I had around the same date last year.

Tentatively, I'm attribtuing the decline to the severe winter.

I will monitor this summer and fall and see what the changes are.

Note: Common Buckeyes were more numerous this year. It's a mixed year.

Signs of summer's approach

I walked through the landscape this afternoon.

Ceraunus blue butterflies are finally emerging. A Gulf fritillary was nectaring on the remains of the Nolina blossoms. Yucca is in full bloom, but the recent weather knocked over some of the plants with the tallest flower stalks. I also saw Common buckeye, Barred yellow and possible a Cassius blue.

Asclepias tuberosa and feayi are blooming. Very little Natal grass is blooming except in the fire lanes so far. All of the freeze killed grass is still brown.

The burn piles on the west side are still unburned.

The new hog wire fence has been installed.

A lone moth

Saturday was the only the second day since early January when the temperatures were moderate enough to be enjoyable to be outside.

Yesterday I marked some areas for trail development. Today I picked up a wheelbarrow load of trash from the north fire lane. I also picked up some intelligence. It seems Levi did cut the fence behind his house t get some woods, according to one of the neighbors.

I saw a moth today. That's remarkable because I haven't seen any moths or butterflies anywhere around here since Jan. 2 and I suspect it may be a while before anything emerges. Any adults that were flying a couple of weeks ago are likely dead.

I've got a work day coming in two weeks. Should be able to get a lot of work done.

What lurks on the Liatris?

I stopped by today to finish a roll of film. Liatris tennufolia is about the only thing blooming. Shot Ceraunus Blue on it as well as Bee Fly, which I had never seen alight that I can recall. I'll post photos later.

The Balduinia flowerheads (minus petals) are interesting up close.

I also caught a shot of a pair of walking sticks. I've been seeing a lot of them lately.

Living color in the scrub

As I wrote recently, the Blazing Star is at or

near its peak in the north tract and continues to attract all kinds of pollinators.

Occasionally there's a moth, such as this one, which is more colorful than many I see here.

I'm planning a night survey just to see what's around. I will do it this week, weather permitting.

I also had a Queen caterpillar on Asclepias tuberosa, which I read is not common. I'm sure the butterflies know what they're doing.

Just a general update

I was out over the weekend to check on things, to mow and to look at butterflies. All three were successful.

I've always tried to keep the main entrances looking somewhat presentable. It's partly esthetic, partly practical.

You don't want the place to look neglected. It's a pain to walk in through tall grass and sandspurs.

Ceraunus blue butterflies are still plentiful I had 146 on Saturday in the north tract, down from 318 in early July, but still pretty impressive. I sent my friends at Archbold some info on what's happening. I don't know how significant it is, but it's always good to share information, especially information that they would never capture because they have other work to do.