North Central
Florida Chapter
of the North American
Butterfly Association ___________________________________________________
|
North Central
Florida Chapter of the North American
Butterfly Association ___________________________________________________ |
|
North Central Florida Chapter of the
North American Butterfly Association |
Events-2010 Mark your calendars with the following upcoming events and field trips, but check back frequently! Since butterflies are not as predictable as birds and highly dependent on weather and habitat condition, events must sometimes be re-scheduled or alternate locations chosen. We will post such changes as required! Hi All, please mark your calendars for great meetings and field trips for this winter and spring. For more information, email Kathy Malone, president, North Central FL Chapter, North American Butterfly Association, at zlongwing@aol.com, or call cell 561-312-9978. Evening meetings , except where indicated otherwise, are at the McGuire Center second floor conference room in the Florida Museum of Natural History, UF Campus, Gainesville. All begin at 6 p.m. with potluck dinner and program at 7 p.m. until 8 or 8:30. Bring a friend and dish to share. Enter through the front door of the museum and get a security badge. Important: Please try to RSVP to Kathy at least by noon day of meeting so she can get a list of attendees to the museum, or plan to come a few minutes early to allow time to check in.Museum directions: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/visit/#directions Field trips and NABA counts checklist Lunch, hat, water, bug repellant, sunscreen, close-focusing binoculars, digital camera, field guide, a friend. Field trip level "easy" means the trips are done by car and there is little or no hiking. Beginners are always encouraged and welcomed on NABA counts.Field Trip Saturday, February 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 6th Annual Butterfly Viewing Tea From Tom Wood: This will all take place on Saturday February 20th from 10 AM to 4 PM at my farm near Archer, FL. Either call 352-495-9168 or email gingers@gator.net for directions. If it is cold, gray, and wet on Saturday the tea will be postponed to the next day, Sunday. I hope to see you all there. --Tom Wood Program March 9, Tuesday, "Butterflies of the Panhandle," with special guests from Tallahassee, Dean and Sally Jue. Dean and Sally, avid butterfliers and Florida naturalists, are biologists at the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and have a wealth of knowledge about specialty habitats. They recently received a second three-year state wildlife grant to track rare butterflies. They are avid photographers who have stunning butterfly photos. Please make a special effort to come hear these out-of-towners share their passion for butterfly-watching and get tips on where to see butterflies in the Florida panhandle!Field Trip (easy) March 20, Saturday, Cow Creek Road, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Goethe State Forest This usually is the best time to see Henry's Elfin and tons of blooming thistle chock full of swallowtails! (Well, we cannot guarantee it, but we'll hope for it!) We'll also explore the Goethe Giant boardwalk where we might see Gemmed Satyrs and Texan Crescents.Meet at the Winn Dixie in Williston a little before 9 if you want to carpool. We'll leave there by 9 and meet others at the entrance to Cow Creek Road off Hwy 121 in Levy County. Directions: http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/sf_pdf/goethe_map.pdf Program March 27, Saturday night, "Moths 101," with Dr. Charles Covell, renowned lepidopterist of the McGuire Center of Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. 6 p.m. until late, Austin Carey Memorial Forest. Potluck dinner precedes program, and following the program we will observe moths by black light. Bring a flashlight (important),a dish to share (really important), a camera, a magnifying glass or close-focusing binoculars, and a lawn chair, and a blanket if chilly or you'd rather stargaze instead. Directions: http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Facilities/forest.html Program April 13, Tuesday, "Beginning Butterfly Watching and Project Butterfly WINGS" with Kathy Malone, president, North Central Florida Chapter, North American Butterfly Association. Come play Butterfly ID BINGO and win fabulous door prizes! All are welcome to come learn about the use of close-focusing binoculars and digital cameras to enjoy butterflies; descriptions of key field marks for some of the most common butterflies; and use of field guides. Kathy also will introduce you to Project Butterfly WINGS (Winning Investigative Network for Great Science), a national citizen science butterfly monitoring program for youth, ages nine and up. Please come and meet others who share your interest in butterflies. Field Trip (easy) April 17, Saturday, Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. A variety of habitats can make for a butterfly bonanza! We'll explore the wetter habitats along the marshes and deeper forests at the south end, with a good chance to see owls, then drier pine flatwoods near the north entrance. Meet 9 a.m., south entrance of the loop road, Nature Drive, Gate 9. We'll explore all day, and maybe even catch dinner at Cedar Key! Bring your own car if you want to leave early. Directions: http://www.fws.gov/lowersuwannee/directions.html Field Trip (easy) May 8, Saturday, Micanopy Wildflowers, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Claudia Larsen graciously opens her native wildflower nursery to us once a year. THANKS, Claudia! Bring a few plastic bags for the plants or some towels for the back of your car. You know you’ll get carried away! Some of us might stay for lunch in Micanopy. Directions to Micanopy Wildflowers: (about 20 minutes or 10 miles from Gainesville) South on US 441 to blinking light at Micanopy intersection at CR 234 Turn right and enter antique store area You will pass a gazebo on the right Turn right at Seminary Street (O'Brisky Books on Corner) If you hit a large speed table, then you just missed the turn Take first left at Division St Go around a tight corner and take first left at Whiting (First Street) (Dirt Road) Go past 4 houses on right and look for a large oak tree - there will be a large black mail box with "210" at the chain link gate to my house on the right. Claudia's cell # 281-0805 if you get lost Program May 11, Tuesday, "Monitoring Monarchs and Milkweeds: The spring remigration to north-central Florida, " with Dr. Jim Dunford and Ph.D. candidate, Kelly Dunford. Wonder how Florida fits into the great Monarch migration? Come and see! Monarchs and sandhill milkweeds (Asclepias humistrata) have been monitored for nearly 30 years at a small, private tract in Cross Creek, Florida. Surveys are conducted two to three days a week from mid-February to mid-May. Monarch eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults are counted and the age and size of the milkweeds are recorded. Adult monarchs are tagged with labels indicating location, date, and numbers to identify each individual.Spring remigration brings monarchs back from Mexico to this area typically by late
March, with the next generation of adults taking wing in late April and moving north. In
recent years, milkweed Dr. Lincoln Brower has had several teams monitoring this portion of the monarch's
incredible journey over the past three decades, and recently the BBC filmed both monarchs
and milkweeds at Cross Creek for an episode in the series 'Life', which will air this year
on the Discovery Channel. Field Trip May 22, Saturday, O'Leno State Park and Kathy Malone's Butterfly Garden, High Springs. Joint field trip with Alachua Audubon. Meet 10 a.m. at High Springs Winn-Dixie parking lot to carpool (Winn-Dixie is along 441 about a mile north past the intersection of US27/41 in High Springs.) Tentative plans to go to Kathy's house, given the hard freezes--she needs to see how her garden is doing then. Field Trip June 12, Saturday, Florida Caverns State Park Butterfly Count. Let's join the NABA Hairstreak Chapter, Tallahassee, with their NABA Fourth of July Butterfly Count in Marianna, Florida. Silvery Checkerspot and Zabulon Skipper possible. Details to follow. Field Trip June 26, Saturday Joint field trip with the Tallahassee Hairstreak Chapter of NABA. We'll search for the uncommon Hayhurst's Scallopwing and see numerous butterflies along the way! Details to follow. Field Trip Fourth of July Butterfly Counts, High Springs, Gilchrist County, Goethe State Forest and Devil's Hammock (four separate days in June and July). Details to follow on dates and logistics. Field Trip (easy) September 11, Saturday Big Bend Wildlife Management Area. Details to follow.
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