What We Saw On The Tennessee Valley Hike (October 14)

Here's Wendy's list of flora and fauna spotted on this hike:

BUTTERFLIES

California tortoiseshells For more info go to:

http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/Nymphalis/californica

California ringlets (tan, fluttery flight)

A few monarchs

About a dozen orange sulfers including two females (yellow for males despite the name, greenish white for females)

About a dozen buckeye butterflies mostly on the road on the way back.

DRAGONFLIES

VARIGATED MEADOWHAWK, GREEN DARNER (male)

OTHER INSECTS European praying mantis

BIRDS

SAY’S PHOEBE (breed as far north as Alaska, usually return first week in October but this was the first I”ve seen), song sparrow, red tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, Western bluebird, ravnes, scrub jays, turkey vultures, and the red-breasted nuthatch that came to hear Silvia sing!

Heard: wrentit, spotted towhee

BERRIES

snowberry (leaves like honeysuckle but a bush, not a vine), honeysuckle, poison oak berries, cottoneaster (garden escapee, red berries)

SPIDER

Labyrinth spider (hides in retreat in web)

FLOWERS

A few poppies, a bit of bush lupine, a few monkeyflowers.

BUTTERFLY BOOKS

Common Butterflies of California by Bob Stewart

Pros: Has large photos which makes it easy to see detail, has good information on host plants and months butterflies fly in our area.

Cons: Spiral binding can’t stand being thrown in a backpack without losing pages over time. Doesn’t have less common butterflies.

Butterflies through Binoculars, The West by Jeffrey Glassberg

Pros: Good photos, often shows both male and female, shows regional variation, lets you know number of broods/year,

Cons: Doesn’t have sizes in book.

Butterflies of Arcadia

Pros: Good information of behavior that other books don’t have

Cons: Not specific to our area, heavy to carry in a pack. A good one for your shelf.

Peterson Field Guide: Western Butterflies by Paul Opler and Amy Bartlett Wright

Pros: Has some pictures of larvae, and some descriptions of larvae. Lists similar species.

Cons: Lots of butterflies per page so illustrations are often quite small.

Peterson First Guides, Caterpillars by Amy Bartlett Wright

Pros: Small, light, shows some moths, well organized

Cons: Doesn’t have all butterflies you might want

Local Butterflies of Marin County (laminated sheet) by localbirds.com

Pros: It’s light

Cons: Color is badly off (e.g. spring azure looks purple instead of blue), it does NOT show how Marin butterflies look when there is regional variation, many butterflies not included, shows butterflies with wings spread when the identifying marks can only be seen with wings folded, many of the host plants listed are garden flowers.

Caterpillars in the Field and Garden by Tomas Allen, Jim Brock, Jeffrey Glassberg

Pros: The best book there is for caterpillars.

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