Butterflies of Vashon-Maury Island
The 28 butterflies seen on Vashon-Maury Island including seasonal abundance for each.
Butterflies list
Annual Butterfly Count
Results of the Annual July Butterfly count with totals from 1996 through 2007.
Butterfly Count list
Butterflies of Washington
Descriptions and photos. View site
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Sunday, July 1, Vashon’s official 4th of July Butterfly Count will start at 9am at the Country Store Park’n’Ride lot. Beginners are welcome and encouraged to participate. Butterfly nets are welcome too, so that the team can catch, identify, and release. Captured butterflies enable us to see field marks more readily, and appreciate some of the beautiful details that are too fine to detect in a fast-moving flyer.
This count, Vashon’s eleventh, is part of NABA’s (the North American Butterfly Association’s) annual count program, now in its 33rd year. Results provide information about distribution and relative population sizes of butterfly species, and reveal effects of weather and habitat changes. Last year there were 438 U.S. counts, 25 Canadian counts, and four Mexican counts.
There are two ways to participate. On the roving team, counters help spot butterflies and extend the team’s range at each count location. The team will rove until dark, though many participants usually drop out at noon or mid-afternoon. To participate officially, you pay a $3 fee that helps NABA cover the costs of administering the national count. You should dress in layers and bring binoculars, water, snacks, lunch, and collecting jars if you have them. On this day of roaming Vashon, we will also look at birds, dragonflies, amphibians, and native plants. Each year has delightful surprises and memorable moments, such as the year we walked to the meadow by Mukai Pond and found Spring Azures, small blue butterflies, fluttering around the pond margin by the dozens. They appeared to be newly emerged and fresh, and by the following day they had already mostly dispersed. Alan Warneke will participate again this year and help us identify dragonflies.
The other way to participate is to count in your own yard or neighborhood. You can make multiple strolls through your yard, or just one, counting every butterfly you see on each trip. At day’s end, you report only the highest count from any one trip for each species. For example; if you make three trips, and on the first you see four Lorquin’s Admirals, on the second two, and on the third, five Lorquin’s, you would report a final count of five Lorquin’s Admirals. Garden watchers pay no fee, and their assistance is extremely helpful for documenting local areas.
If the day is cool and cloudy, we will reschedule the count for the next weekend, July 8 or 9. Please call Rayna Holtz, 463-3153, if you have questions.
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