An abbreviated version (minimal participants due to the virus situation) of the annual butterfly count at the Niobrara Valley Preserve was scheduled to be held July 11 with myself, Jen and Jon and Bennett Nikkila set to participate. Long story short Jen and I were unable to make it and Jon and his son BennettContinue reading “Niobrara Valley Preserve Skipper Hunt”
Author Archives: hpahaska
The Niobrara Valley Preserve’s Hybrid Butterflies
There are three members of the genus Limenitis found in Nebraska. They are Red-spotted Purple (L. arthemis astyanax), Viceroy (L. archippus) and Weidemeyer’s Admiral (L. weiedemeyeri). When we first began surveying butterflies at the Niobrara Valley Preserve in Brown, Keya Paha and Cherry counties back in 1986 we found all three to be present there.Continue reading “The Niobrara Valley Preserve’s Hybrid Butterflies”
Awful Tuesday/Awesome Wednesday
Tuesday we embarked on a road trip to northeast Nebraska in search of marsh skippers and coppers where we were joined by our friends Pat and Dianne Miller. We started our search at Wood Duck SWMA in Stanton County where Jim Reiser had found Broad-winged Skippers (Poanes viator) back in 2007. Getting there from theContinue reading “Awful Tuesday/Awesome Wednesday”
Working for Them – 3 Days, 3 Species
Day 1 – Friday July 3rd I decided it was time to cross Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) off my list before they disappeared for the season. Their normal flight period is mid June to early July so there was not much time to spare. They inhabit open woodlands/woodland margins. My spot of last resortContinue reading “Working for Them – 3 Days, 3 Species”
It Takes a Village – Six New Species
Lest anyone be confused the “Big Year” is not a solo effort. That was never more apparent than yesterday (July 1) when Jonathan Nikkila (hooray – you get pictures), my wife Jen and I went to Fontenelle Forest, Kinter’s Ford SWMA, Four Mile Creek SWMA and Table Rock SWMA. We started at Fontenelle Forest whereContinue reading “It Takes a Village – Six New Species”
Victoria Springs
I decided to make a day trip to the Victoria Springs area in Custer county to try to knock off two or three species – Acadian Hairstreaks, Silver Bordered Fritillaries and Eyed Browns and scratch my wetlands itch. So after getting a bit of a late start I arrived at the State Recreation Area aboutContinue reading “Victoria Springs”
Mile Marker 1- Worth the Wait
On the final day of our three day road trip we decided to revisit an area where the weather had shut us down back in May. So we went west on I-80 to mile marker 1 (one mile from Wyoming) and took the exit and started south. The target destination was a small rock formationContinue reading “Mile Marker 1- Worth the Wait”
Soldier Creek, Gilbert-Baker, Sowbelly Canyon
On day two of our three day western Nebraska field trip Jen and I started out by doing some exploring since the morning skies were cloudy and we had time to be tourists. Neither of us had ever been to Soldier Creek Wilderness (National Forest Service) adjacent to Fort Robinson State Park so we tookContinue reading “Soldier Creek, Gilbert-Baker, Sowbelly Canyon”
Wildcat Hills
Jen and I made our second trip to the panhandle Sunday through Tuesday. Sunday we met Jon Nikkila and his son Bennett at Wildcat Hills SRA about 9:30 am MDT. After some scouting we settled on an area with an abundance of milkweeds and an occasional thistle in bloom. Right off the bat we nettedContinue reading “Wildcat Hills”
Fontenelle Forest, Kinter’s Ford, Prairie Knoll, Four Mile Creek and a Free Truck Wash
Fontenelle Forest – Seeing on “Nebraska and Great Plains Butterflies and Moths” that Hackberry Emperors were being found at Fontenelle Forest and needing them for my Big Year list Thursday morning I headed east for a day of adventures. As always the weather forecast was a factor with late day/evening storms being forecast for southeastContinue reading “Fontenelle Forest, Kinter’s Ford, Prairie Knoll, Four Mile Creek and a Free Truck Wash”