North American Butterfly Association

fieldcrescent

North American Butterfly Association
10th Biennial Members' Meeting

Sierra Vista, Arizona
September 6-9, 2012

Field Trip Selections:

You do not need to fill out this online form if you have sent back the hardcopy form.

If you wish to pick your field trips online please select three (3) from the MEETING FIELD TRIPS below (A-J), one for each day, from the list of multiple field trips that will be run each day (the order of the chosen trips does not select the day the trip will run) and enter the letter of the trip in the blanks.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Lisa Lewis at E-mail: lewis@naba.org or Phone: 973-285-0907).

If you want to travel as a group for a trip, please list the names of others you want to go with below (up to 3 who have registered for the meeting). Each person must still register individually if you are asking to travel in a group and we will try to keep you with your group each day.


Name


E-mail


Physical Condition Limiting Participation in Field Trips (Y/N)?

Trip 1     Trip 2     Trip 3

Carpooling--Number of people that I can take:


Names of people I wish to travel with on these trips (up to 3)






MEETING FIELD TRIPS (FRIDAY-SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6-9) (choose three)

Sky Islands Field Trips will visit the following mountain ranges and waterways. Friday and Saturday Field Trips will return at 3 PM and Sunday field trips return at 1 PM for late checkout at 2PM and meeting wrap-up at 2:30. Field trips go all three days except as noted in trip descriptions below. Note: all field trips are subject to change depending on weather and road conditions.

 Huachuca Mountains: Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Closest to Sierra Vista, vegetation is mixed Chihuahua and Sonoran Desert lowlands through oak/juniper woodland to mixed conifers. Much of this mountain range was burned in 2011, with landscapes altered by fire and debris flows. Very close to the Mexican border, many monsoon influx species are seen here. Probable butterflies on most field trips include Two-tailed Swallowtail, ‘Echo’ Spring Azure, Bordered Patch, ‘Arizona’ California Sister, Red Satyr, Dull Firetip, and Taxiles Skipper with possible Tailed Orange, Ares Metalmark, Nabokov’s and Red-bordered Satyr.

A) Garden Canyon: On Ft. Huachuca Army Base and you MUST be a US citizen and show US ID (driver's license) to be allowed on base. Drive starts in grasslands up into oak/pine woodland with many stops. Picnic tables and restrooms (pit toilets) available. Aside from typical Huachuca Mountain butterflies Rita Blue is possible in the lowlands and Huachuca Giant-Skipper is possible at higher elevations.

B) Huachuca Canyon: On Ft. Huachuca Army Base and you MUST be a US citizen and show US ID (driver's license) to be allowed on base. Easy walking along a canyon stream. Picnic tables and restrooms (pit toilets) available. Huachuca Giant-Skipper is a possibility.

C) Carr Canyon/Comfort Spring: (Friday and Saturday only) Includes drive along winding, mountainous dirt road (with great views) to mixed conifer forests with stops at picnic areas with pit toilets and a moderately steep 1 1/2 mile RT walk to a stream crossing and Comfort Spring. Satyr Comma is strong possibility near Comfort Spring and Huachuca Giant-Skipper is a possibility.

D) Carr Canyon Road: (Sunday only) Similar to Carr Canyon/Comfort Spring (C) without 1 ½ mile walk to Comfort Spring. More time will be spent at lower elevation spots with a brief hilltop stop.

E) Brown Canyon: Grassland to mixed oak/pine woodland. Easy walking to ponds near a ranchhouse with pit toilets, with walk along gravel road bed to stream crossings (2 miles maximum). May be paired with Ramsey, Miller or Ash Canyon if time allows. Possibilities include Canyonland Satyr, Dotted and Nysa Roadside-Skippers.

F) Coronado National Monument: Southern Huachuca Mountains, borders Mexico, visitor's center with restrooms, picnic area and water available. Rocky streambeds, roadside flowers and a walk to the top of Coronado Peak (1mile RT) for a stunning view and search for hilltopping butterflies (Second U.S. record of Cream-banded Dusky Emperor was found here in September 1999). As this spot is on the border, the chances for unusual influx species are the greatest here.

G) San Pedro River: Sierra Vista is located between the Huachuca Mountains and the San Pedro River. The San Pedro River is the last free-flowing river running north from Mexico into the US and is a biological corridor for all types of life. We will visit bridges, San Pedro House, bed & breakfast gardens and other public access areas of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA). Some places have pit toilets, some have no facilities of any kind. Probable butterflies include Painted Crescent, Leda Ministreak, Palmer’s Metalmark, Viceroy, White Checkered-Skipper with possible skippers such as Desert Checkered-Skipper and Saltbush Sootywing.

Further Afield

H) Cienegas (wetlands): A one hour drive (90 mile RT) to Empire Ranch Cienegas for riparian areas and mud puddles surrounded by grasslands. Massive cottonwoods provide shade for lunch. Pit toilets and water available. Leda Ministreak, Western Pygmy-Blue, Palmer’s and Fatal Metalmarks and Dotted Roadside-Skippers are seen here with Tropical Least Skipper a possibility.

I) Parker Canyon Lake/Sunrise Skipper: (Friday & Saturday only). Hour and a quarter drive (110 mile RT) to Parker Canyon Lake, the best place in the U.S. to see Sunrise Skipper, the target butterfly. This is a somewhat difficult walk (though only 1 ½ miles RT) around the lake and down side of a spillway to a unique riparian area. Assume getting wet and muddy feet especially to photograph the Sunrise Skipper. Other possibilities include Mexican Yellow, Red, Canyonland, and Nabokov’s Satyr. Special bonus: one of the very few places in the U.S. where Spot-winged Meadowhawk (dragonfly) flies.

J) Patagonia: An hour drive (110 miles RT) to this unique intersection between oak woodland and mesquite grassland with many springs and riparian areas. The NABA butterfly count around this town has recorded over 100 species and regularly is the number one in the nation. Gardens in town as well as riparian habitats are covered. Restrooms, water and ice cream are found in town. Possibilities include Arizona Metalmark, Elada and Tiny Checkerspot, Texan Crescent, Empress Leilia, Arizona Powdered-Skipper. This is also an excellent spot to find influx yellows and sulphurs (rare strays, the Great Southern Whites were seen regularly last year in the local gardens).