Today in Leesburg (Loudoun County), all in Balls Bluff Regional Park except where noted:

6+ Summer Azures (Celastrina neglecta) spring form, 3 confirmed by net/release. One male had intense, exaggerated black spots beneath, a darkened margin, and checkered margins, looking much like a Northern Azure beneath. Note: upperside forewing has distinct bright white wing veins along the leading edge of the forewing.

1 Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) – Actually, a pleasant surprise, confirmed by net/release but I just wanted to test myself. I was certain it was a Spring Azure by its duller, more violet blue appearance, lower and weaker flight. Ironically, the underside was very white, almost like a summer form Summer Azure! Spring Azure males lack the distinct white veins, they are subdued.

1 Mourning Cloak

1 Question Mark

2 Eastern Commas

1 Orange Sulphur (Balls Bluff Elementary School front lawn)

Should be more stuff flying tomorrow!

Harry Pavulaan

As we started out into the woods, the morning chill (about 55 degrees) kept many of the wildflowers in their closed night time slumber but within about 30 minutes, as soon as the sun started to hit them, the forest floor was carpeted with the tiny white flowers of Spring Beauties and others.

We saw 26 different wildflowers in bloom and many others getting ready to bloom soon.  The ones in bloom yesterday were: Jack-in-the-Pulpit, White troutlily, Yellow troutlily, Toad shade, Wild ginger, Pussytoes, Blue cohosh, Virginia bluebells, Garlic mustard, Smooth rockcress, Cutleaf toothwort, Star chickweed, Redbud, Squirrel-corn, Dutchman’s breeches, Wild geranium, Squaw-root, Spring beauty, Shooting star, Rue anemone, Bluets, Virginia saxifrage, Speedwell, Blue violet, Smooth yellow violet, and Small flower crowfoot.

The bluebells carpeted the floodplain area while Spring beauties carpeted the upland forest area. Troutlilies covered areas of the banks and the bluets were sprinkled in along the trail.  We did our part throughout the walk to pull the invasive garlic mustard but boy is there a lot of it there – choking out bluebells and others.

In addition to the wildflowers, we had great views of a Barred Owl that watched us as we learned the difference between stinging nettle and garlic mustard, Ruby-crowned kinglets that flitted through a scrubby area along the trail, painted turtles that basked in the sun along the river, gray tree frogs calling, a couple of huge centipedes, and mourning cloak butterflies. 

Oh, and did I mention the snakes (heh heh) – yea, it was *really cool* – a few of us went up to an area where black snakes live and saw three wonderful ones coiled around a branch, warming up, and perhaps selecting mates.  It was wonderful. We also saw a few garter snakes slipping through the leaf litter, no doubt in search of tasty earthworms or beetles for lunch.