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by Bob Barnes
Sunday, July 7th, 2002, we conducted our 2nd
official NABA North Fork Kern River Valley Butterfly Count. We had
sixty-six species. It was blazing hot here. No one wanted to search
and count down low for long. Can you blame them? The experts we had
on the count said we would have had 75-85 species had the leaders
split themselves up into groups of two each rather than up to six
experts per team ... and had the lowlands been covered all day
around Kernville and the north arm of Isabella Reservoir. They said
lots of easy species were missed that would have been likely found
below the areas concentrated on in the Greenhorn Mountains. We
arrived at the total of 75-85 based on going through the list and
seeing what easy lowland species "known" to be present were not
pursued. With 70-85 species per count, it looks like our count
circle could be in the top ten in the United States annually. Pretty
neat!
At least we have the interest of several
experts in coming back next year to try and cover the count circle
thoroughly. Some were part of a 40-50 person group meeting just over
the hill at a Lepidopterists' Society gathering on the west slope of
the Greenhorns. They came up into the Greenhorn Mountain portion of
the count circle on Sunday to help out.
Last year our first count was 3rd in California
(out of 29 counts) with sixty species (vs. Big Bear: 66; Yuba Pass:
63) and #11 in the United States (Probably no way to ever catch the
Arizona counts and one in Colorado with totals of 95 species or
more). This year's North Fork Kern Count of 66 species would have
tied for #6 in the United States last year.
2001 Results: The placement of 11th was for the
nation.
#1. Gilpin County, CO - 103 species
#2. Ramsey Canyon, AZ - 102 species
#3. Patagonia, AZ - 99 species
#4. Portal, AZ - 85 species
#5. Atacosa Highlands, AZ - 81 species
#6. Big Bear, CA - 66 species
#7. Yuba Pass, CA - 63 species
#7. Texas - 63 species
#9. Texas - 62 species
#9. Texas - 62 species
#11. North Fork Kern River Valley - 60 species
2002
COUNT NAME, COUNTY, STATE: North Fork Kern
Butterfly Count, Kern & Tulare Counties, California: An Official
North American Butterfly Association (NABA) Annual 4th of July
Butterfly Count
COUNT CIRCLE DESCRIPTION: Fifteen mile diameter circle including:
North Fork Kern River (lower twelve miles), Gold Ledge Creek,
Cannell Meadow, Kernville, Cyrus Canyon, Wofford Heights, Shirley
Meadow, Greenhorn Summit, Sunday Peak, Tobias Peak, and Baker Point.
ELEVATION: 2650'-8284'
HABITAT: Southern Sierra Nevada habitats including residential
gardens, riparian, chaparral, live oak woodland, blue oak woodland,
mixed conifer forest, montane meadows, fir forest.
DATE/TIME: Sunday, July 7, 2002, 8am-6pm
AM: clear
PM: clear
TEMPERATURE: 68º - 91º
WIND: Negligible
OBSERVERS: TWENTY observers in 5 parties: Herb
Clarke (Glendale, Los Angeles County), Olga Clarke (Glendale, Los
Angeles County), Ken Davenport (Bakersfield, Kern County), Claude
Edwards (San Diego, San Diego County), Mary Freeman (Glendale, Los
Angeles County), Nick Freeman (Glendale, Los Angeles County), Terri
Gallion (Onyx, Kern County), Fred Heath (Los Angeles County),
Margaret Huffman (Los Angeles County), Paul Johnson (Pinnacles
National Monument, San Benito County), Michael Klein (San Diego, San
Diego County), Jack Levy (Pasadena, Los Angeles County), Rozella
Mattingly (Bakersfield, Kern County), W. D. Patterson (Sacramento,
Sacramento County), Mary Prismon (Los Angeles County), Erin Seidner
(Los Angeles County), Alison Sheehey (Mountain Mesa, Kern County),
Susan Steele (Inyokern, Kern County), Bruce Webb (Granite Bay,
Placer County), Julie Pierce (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).
COMPILER: Bob Barnes, PO Box 953, Weldon, CA 93283. Phone: (760) 378-2531.
E-mail: bbarnes at lightspeed.net
BUTTERFLIES: Anise Swallowtail 4; Indra
Swallowtail 2; Western Tiger Swallowtail 27; Pale Swallowtail 34;
Pine White 1; Checkered White 44; Cabbage White 32; "California"
Pearly Marble 1; Gray Marble 1; Orange Sulphur 31; Sleepy Orange 1;
Tailed Copper 2; Great Copper 10; Golden Hairstreak 25; California
Hairstreak 20; Sylvan Hairstreak 3; Gold-hunter's Hairstreak 4;
Mountain Mahogany Hairstreak 40; Hedgerow Hairstreak 48; Brown Elfin
1; Western Pine Elfin 1; "Nelson's" Juniper Hairstreak 50; Gray
Hairstreak 5; Spring Azure 39; Square-spotted (Comstock's) Blue 1;
'Bernardino' Square-spotted Blue 3; Dotted Blue 22; Melissa Blue 1;
Greenish Blue 210; Boisduval's Blue 46; Acmon Blue 33; Lupine Blue
143; Coronis Fritillary 17; Callippe Fritillary 102; Great Basin
Fritillary 14; Hydaspe Fritillary 20; Speyeria sp. 12; Pacific
Fritillary 50; Northern Checkerspot 3; Field Crescent 24; Mylitta
Crescent 19; 'Zephyr' Hoary Comma 2; California Tortoiseshell 7;
Mourning Cloak 4; Milbert's Tortoiseshell 6; American Lady 1;
Painted Lady 4; West Coast Lady 2; Common Buckeye 8; Lorquin's
Admiral 12; California Sister 82; Common (California) Ringlet 6;
Great Basin Wood-Nymph 5; Monarch 4; Silver-spotted Skipper 2;
Northern Cloudywing 1; Propertius Duskywing 6; Pacuvius Duskywing 6;
Persius Duskywing 1; Northern White-Skipper 3; Fiery Skipper 2; Juba
Skipper 1; Sandhill Skipper 7; Sonora Skipper 82; Sachem 1; Woodland
Skipper 5; Rural Skipper 5
TOTAL ADULT (BUTTERFLY) SPECIES: 66
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS: 1411
2001
COUNT NAME, COUNTY, STATE: North Fork Kern
Butterfly Count, Kern & Tulare
Counties, California: An Official North American Butterfly
Association (NABA)
Annual 4th of July Butterfly Count
COUNT CIRCLE DESCRIPTION: Fifteen mile diameter circle including:
North Fork Kern River (lower twelve miles), Gold Ledge Creek,
Cannell Meadow, Kernville, Cyrus Canyon, Wofford Heights, Shirley
Meadow, Greenhorn Summit, Sunday Peak, Tobias Peak, and Baker Point.
ELEVATION: 2650'-8284'
HABITAT: Southern Sierra Nevada habitats including residential
gardens, riparian, chaparral, live oak woodland, blue oak woodland,
mixed conifer forest, montane meadows, fir forest.
DATE/TIME: Sunday, July 8, 2001, 8:45am-6pm
AM: partly cloudy
PM: partly cloudy
TEMPERATURE: 67-95 degrees Fahrenheit
WIND: Negligible
OBSERVERS: Sixteen observers in 3 to 4 parties:
R. J. Adams (Monterey County), Bob Barnes (Weldon, Kern County),
Bill Bouton (San Luis Obispo County), Herb Clarke (Los Angeles
County), Olga Clarke (Los Angeles County), Wanda Dameron (Los
Angeles County), Ken Davenport (Bakersfield, Kern County), Monica
Davis (Monterey County), Joan Franco (Los Angeles County), Mary
Freeman (Los Angeles County), Nick Freeman (Los Angeles County),
Fred Heath (Los Angeles County), John Lawrenson (New York City, New
York), Rozella Mattingly (Bakersfield, Kern County), Susan Steele
(Inyokern, Kern County), Guy Tudor (New York City, New York)
TOTAL PARTY-HOURS: 23.75 (12.25 on foot, 11.5 by car)
TOTAL PARTY-MILES: 143 (7 on foot, 136 by car)
COMPILER: Bob Barnes, PO Box 953, Weldon, CA 93283. Phone: (760) 378-2531.
E-mail: bbarnes at lightspeed.net
BUTTERFLIES: Western Tiger Swallowtail 33; Pale
Swallowtail 9; Becker's White 2; Checkered White 65; Cabbage White
23; Orange Sulphur 111; California Dogface 1; Tailed Copper 4; Great
Copper 1; Gorgon Copper 4; Golden Hairstreak 9; Sylvan Hairstreak
11; Gold-hunter's (Nut Brown) Hairstreak 300; Mountain Mahogany
Hairstreak 324; Hedgerow Hairstreak 333; "Nelson's" Juniper
Hairstreak 11; Gray Hairstreak 13; Western Pygmy-Blue (world's
smallest butterfly) 1; Marine Blue 22; Ceraunus Blue 1; Spring Azure
16; Square-spotted (Comstock's) Blue 71; Dotted Blue 8; Silvery Blue
1; Melissa Blue 2; Greenish Blue 15; Boisduval's Blue 17; Acmon Blue
15; Lupine Blue 8; Coronis Fritillary 3; Callippe Fritillary 16;
Great Basin Fritillary 2; Hydaspe Fritillary 764; Field Crescent 24;
Mylitta Crescent 12; Satyr Comma 1; Hoary Comma 2; Milbert's
Tortoiseshell 1; American Lady 4; Painted Lady 30; West Coast Lady
20; Common Buckeye 1; Lorquin's Admiral 15; California Sister 41;
Common (California) Ringlet 29; Great Basin Wood-Nymph 1; Monarch
20; Queen 6; Silver-spotted Skipper 3; Northern Cloudywing 3;
Propertius Duskywing 3; Funereal Duskywing 1; White-checkered
Skipper 6; Northern White-Skipper 1; Fiery Skipper 15; Sandhill
Skipper 1; Sonora Skipper 10; Sachem 4; Woodland Skipper 11; Rural
Skipper 2
TOTAL ADULT (BUTTERFLY) SPECIES: 60
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS: 2483
NOTE: North American Butterfly Association
Board Members Fred Heath and Guy Tudor participated in the North
Fork Kern Butterfly Count. Due to their experience on the butterfly
count, the beautiful setting provided by the Kern
River Valley, it's variety of accommodations, numerous restaurants,
and the impressive butterfly and bird species diversity, they intend
be strong advocates in recommending to NABA that they headquarter
their national biennial convention in Kernville in late June 2004 or
2006.
INTERESTING BUTTERFLY FACTS FROM BAKERSFIELD'S
KEN DAVENPORT:
137 of 204 (67%) of California's butterfly species within 15 air
miles of Isabella Reservoir.../
147 of 204 (71%) of California's butterfly species are on Kern
County's main checklist.../
see: Butterflies of Kern County, California
153 of 204 (75%) of California's butterfly species are on Tulare
County's main checklist.../
174 of 204 (85.3%) of California's butterfly species are on the Kern
& Tulare Counties main checklist.../
REFERENCES:
Unpublished "Checklist of Butterflies of Kern and Tulare Counties,
California. November 10, 2000" by Ken Davenport, 6601 Eucalyptus
Dr., #325, Bakersfield, CA 93306. Phone: (661) 366-3074. E-mail:
flutterflies at juno.com (Ken Davenport).
Butterflies through Binoculars, The West: A Field Guide to
Butterflies of Western North America" by Jeffrey Glassberg,
President of North American Butterfly Association and editor of
"American Butterflies." Copyright 2001 by Jeffrey Glassberg. Oxford
University Press, Inc., New York, New York. ISBN: 0-19-510669-5.
Organizations concerned with Butterflies:
The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) promotes public
enjoyment, awareness, and conservation of butterflies and all
aspects of recreational, non-consumptive butterflying, including
field identification, butterfly gardening, and photography. NABA
publishes a full-color magazine, 'American Butterflies;' a
newsletter, 'Butterfly Gardening News;' has chapters throughout
North America; and runs the annual NABA Fourth of July Butterfly
Counts. These
one-day counts, held mainly in June and July (centered on the Fourth
of July period), are growing rapidly. Currently almost 400 counts
are conducted each year, at sites across North America. They are a
fun-filled way to help monitor butterfly populations, to learn about
butterfly identification, and to meet other butterfliers.
NABA, 4 Delaware Rd., Morristown, NJ 07960
Web Site: www.naba.org
The Lepidopterists' Society is an international
organization devoted to the scientific study of all lepidoptera. The
Society publishes the 'Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society' as
well as the 'News of the Lepidopterists' Society.'
Lepidopterists' Society, 1608 Presidio Way, Roseville, CA 95661
Web Site: www.furman.edu
The Xerces Society is an international
organization dedicated to the global conservation of habitats for
all invertebrates, including butterflies. The Society publishes
'Wings.'
Xerces Society, 4828 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR
97215
Web Site:
http://www.xerces.org/
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