The final results for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's 6th annual North American Butterfly Association
Count have been released. Officially representing the state, sites in
the East Bay were surveyed on June 27, and sites in the West Bay were
surveyed on July 11. Over the two survey dates, 72 participants
recorded a total of 2484 butterflies, down 30% from the 2008 tally. 48
butterfly species were observed, slightly less than 2008's total of 51.
"Audubon Society of Rhode Island is pleased to provide educational,
volunteer, and collaborative resources to provide information for the
national database," said Lawrence Taft, Executive Director of Audubon
Society of Rhode Island.
"Long-term trends in animal populations show the impacts of habitat
management, climate change, and other environmental factors."
"The results likely show the effects of this year's cool, rainy
summer," says Eugenia Marks of Audubon. "Both count days were warm and
sunny, permitting the right conditions for butterfly flight, but the
numbers were down significantly from last year."
Unlike total number of butterflies, the number of species recorded was
only slightly reduced, and many notable finds were recorded on the
count. Click here for complete results.
Audubon's Director of Conservation, Scott Ruhren, found a hotspot for
Bog Coppers, a butterfly on the Rhode Island Natural Heritage List.
"This butterfly is only found in cranberry bogs," said Ruhren. "But it
can be abundant at those sites where it is found. I counted 35 at a
remote, practically inaccessible cranberry bog on one of Audubon's
refuges. It was a reminder of how important it is to preserve these
rare and fragile habitats."
Another interesting find was the Compton Tortoiseshell, a species
marked "exact status unknown" on the Checklist of Rhode Island
Butterflies. The observer, Francis Underwood of Cranston, took a photo
which Harry Pavulaan, an expert on Rhode Island Butterflies and
co-author of the Checklist, was able to identify. According to
Pavulaan, "The count deserves credit as a vehicle for encouraging
people to get out in the field and discover new sites for rare or
potentially-threatened species."
The most butterflies were counted by Audubon's Policy Director Eugenia
Marks and participants Debra and Kurt Stiffel of Warren, and Hugh
Willoughby of Riverside. The group recorded 843 butterflies at
Audubon's Environmental Education Center and a privately owned field in
Bristol. "This particular field always has large numbers of Baltimore
Checkerspots, a striking black butterfly with orange and white spots,"
said Marks. "This year it was more abundant than ever, probably
reflecting peak emergence. We counted 700."
The greatest number of species, 23, were observed at the Cumberland
Monastery grounds by team members Elise Barry of Paxton, MA, Walter
Bosse of Cumberland, Wendy Miller of Boylston, MA, Pat Molloy of East
Providence, and Dolores Price of North Grafton, MA. "The old Cumberland
Monastery property, maintained by the Town of Cumberland, is one of the
best spots to find butterflies in Rhode Island," says Marks. "And
Walter and his teammates are excellent butterfliers."
The Rhode Island Butterfly Count is part of a larger effort,
coordinated by the North American Butterfly Association, to survey
butterflies in North America. The Rhode Island count is open to anyone
with an interest in butterflies, and Audubon Society provides butterfly
identification workshops for beginners in the early summer. Butterflies
are not collected but photographs are made to assist in identification.
Accuracy is assured with training and review.
More information, the results of previous year's counts, and links to
resources such as Ocean State Butterflies online discussion group, can
be found at Butterflying with
Audubon.
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