Activities 2016.09.16
Took Friday off and went to Sourland Mountain Preserve. The pond water level was quite low, confirming we need rain. At the pond I saw my first Least Sandpiper. Also saw a Spicebush Swallowtail and a Cabbage White mud-puddling.
Out in the hiking trails, I was surprised to see as many butterflies as I did. I don't know if they were always there at Sourlands and I just wasn't paying attention, or if circumstances and serendipity brought them to my attention this year. I saw the popular Monarchs, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Cabbage Whites, and Pearl Crescents. I also saw some butterflies that I subsequently identified as Eastern Tailed-Blues, small hairstreak butterflies.
I also spotted a Robberfly. Someone suggested it was a Red-Footed Cannibalfly, which is one of the candidate species I had for Robberflies I had seen elsewhere (maybe Washington Valley Park and Negri Napote Native Grasslands Preserve).
I was also a little surprised to see a raccoon walking in my direction. I'm always a little concerned about rabies when I see a raccoon during the day, and this one concerned me a little because I seemed to spot it before it spotted me. (I usually expect wildlife to be more alert than I am.) Given that it was kind of dark under the tree canopy, and given that it scurried up a tree when I said something, I suspect the raccoon was just doing some extra foraging during daylight.
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