Dougan Falls and the Great Spangled Fritillary

       Last Friday Sandra and I made the drive up to Dougan Falls.   The Washougal is not nearly as full as it is earlier in the year, but as we shall see, there is still plenty of water going over Naked Falls.  As is our custom, at Dougan Falls we made the right turn, heading up the Washougal.  We drove the three bumpy miles on gravel and stopped at our best butterfly spot, the weedy car park.  It was still early and although there were lots of wildflowers, which was a pleasant surprise for the last day ii July, there were no butterflies out yet.  

Woodland Skipper, Naked Falls, July 2026

   We made it up to Scout Creek, a couple miles and another three hundred vertical feet higher, and, as the morning warmed up, we watched a few butterflies there.  Scout Creek was now completely dry.  There were a few thistles in the dry river bed that did not attract any insects while I watched.  Right by where we park the car, Sandra captured a Woodland Skipper. 

    This is the common skipper at this time of year, and we saw lots of them. When they lie flat on a thimbleberry leaf, or what counts for flat in this family of skippers, you can easily appreciate the orange and dark chocolate dorsal wing pattern.  The picture I'm showing you, taken back at the ranch is a lateral, showing the ventral wing pattern, which is not very pretty.  Of course, pretty is in short supply in most species of skippers. 

    Before we left, I chased a medium sized butterfly up the road without getting a very good look and we enjoyed some late season Parnassians flopping about as they will.

Great Spangled Frit, Naked Falls, July 2026 

    Back down at the weedy car park, it was now close to 11 AM and things were warming up.  Just sitting in the car, we could see several larger orange butterflies zipping back and forth among the wildflowers.  It was fairly easy for me to catch one of these Great Spangled Fritillaries as it nectared on one of many thistles.  We got a fine look at it in the net...the silver spots on the ventral hind wing were dramatic.  Unfortunately, when we got it home, the silveriness had faded and, as you can see, those spots look white.  Quelle domage!

    I got a pretty nice picture of a great spangled spread out in the weeds.  t

The few times I tried to sneak up on one on a thimbleberry leaf (a much prettier picture), he flew away before I could snap the shutter.

   We are told that most cell phones do not have an actual shutter.  Behind the lens, there is a digital sensor that is continually receiving the image.  When you touch the shutter button, the camera is instructed to start and stop recording the light data.  It records the image really fast in rows of pixels from top to bottom.  I like to program my phone camera to simultaneously emit a shutter-like noise.  As we have seen, this is nothing but an aesthetic sound effect...there is no shutter.

  For scientific purposes the pictures we took back in the laboratory are vastly superior.  Here you see a dorsal picture of this brave fellow stretched out on Schmoopie's lovely hand.  

    We took several pictures of him in the lateral position.  By touching him just so, my lovely assistant was able to induce our friend to rotate his front wing forward and spread them just a bit to create this wonderfully handsome and useful image you see here.  Getting a look at the entire front wing is a bit of a trick.  

    And for completeness sake, I'm including our best photo of him in the lateral position showing off the pattern on the ventral hind wing.  As above, most of the spots that appear white in this photograph were quite silvery when the butterfly was first captured.  There are a select few who are able to squeeze the abdomen just so, impeding the flow of butterfly blood back to the thorax, rendering the butterfly more cooperative for a picture in the field.  My lovely assistant is unwilling to squeeze the butterfly (and who can blame her!).  And we just don't know if, in the process of impeding blood flow one would cause those silvery spots to blanche.  

    Regardless, what you see is what you get.

    The day was moving along.  There were plenty of Woodland Skippers and a few Clodius Parnassians flapping their large white wings.  Sandra had retired to the air conditioned comfort of the faithful Mazda, and I was still out trying for one more butterfly.

    On the far side of the car park, where the thistles were attracting the great spangles to a remarkable effect (there were now five chasing one another to and fro), there were other wildflowers. Fireweed, of course, with its tall violet blooms.  And another wildflower that we hadn't seen before.  This was an herb on long, branching stems.  There were relatively small white, daisy-like blossoms with yellow centers on each stem.  

    As I watched, a larger blue butterfly landed on one of these flowers.  I was pretty close, armed only with my net...no camera.  He was just far enough in, about six feet, that I couldn't reach him.  He flitted to another blossom a few feet away, still out of reach.  All this time I was getting good looks but no bug.  Back at the ranch, I attempted to name the butterfly and this new wildflower.    The butterfly was clearly in the Lupin/Acmon family.  Without the insect in hand, it would be impossible to tell which. 

A Buckwheat Blue on Oxeye Daisy AI

    The flower grew in large groupings.  The stems were about three feet in height and branching.  The flowers were about an inch across, white petals with yellow orange centers.  I originally thought this might be chamomile, which is introduced, and grows wild in the Pacific Northwest.  However, after some research on AI and in Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, by Turner and Gustafson, a field guide that Sandra has recently collected and I may now recommend, I decided that this was Oxeye Daisy.  It's a common herbaceous plant in the late spring and summer in Oregon and Washington and a known source for nectaring butterflies.

   Here I present the image I created of the Epothilones blue butterfly on the Oxeye Daisy.  It's totally AI and so useless for the purposes of identification.  Maybe we should print it and sell it on Etsy. 

    The drive out was an eye opener.  We must have seen thirty cars parked along the Washougal, with countless people prepared to make the hike down the steep bank, many carrying those large inner tubes that are all the rage.  And we met about two dozen more cars driving in.  And this was about noon on a Friday.  The Dougan Falls area is hoppin'.

    Lastly, I'm leaving you with a snapshot Sandra took through the car window while doing her crossword puzzle, in air-conditioned comfort:  Demented Lepidopterist Rampant!

Jeff

Black Butte 2026....the Butterflies

         Our first morning at Black Butte we headed out to watch butterflies.  As it turned out (please see the previous blog along with the cartoon that was added the morning after the blog was initially published) the yearling bear was the highlight of the trip. After seeing the bear, we headed to Wizard Falls Fish hatchery, which had been recommended a few years ago and was less than a half hour drive from the Metolius Preserve.  

California Tortoiseshells puddling  7/26

    After talking to the folks in the adjacent SUV, we had a choice...walk upstream or downstream.  We chose to walk on the trail through the Ponderosa Pine forest going upstream.   Being in the forest, we didn't see any butterflies or birds.  Soon, we had a glimpse of the river with a fly fisherman in waders.  I suppose this is what many people who vacation along the Metolius think of as they plan their trip.

   A bit further on, another trail lead down to the river.  There I saw this group of California Tortoiseshells puddling.  There must have been ten or so.  This is far from an uncommon species this year, but as I have never seen them puddling before I'm including this photo.  I don't know if one should keep a separate list for species seen engaged in this activity, puddling, but its food for thought.  

    At this same spot we saw a small blue in the streamside bushes, which evaded my netting, and a Silverspot Skipper, with two bright orange dabs on its front wing.  Our consultant is out of contact, but when she surfaces, she may have something to say about that skipper.

    A gentleman hiker told us that a quarter mile further upstream there was a boggy area at the falls.  We decided that we weren't up to that hike and headed back to the car park.  There we set up camp on a shaded picnic table where Sandra hung out while I explored the trail leading downstream.

The butterfly spot downstream at Wizard Falls

    About a hundred yards downstream I came upon a tail leading to the river. It was a beautiful spot and there were some butterflies.  I netted a larger pale butterfly and took him back. Having seen Great Arctic the previous year, and it being a pretty distinctive butterfly, we were able to identify it.

  Having secured that guy, I went back for a second try.  On the way, I saw a Lorquin's Admiral.    This butterfly is one of the quintessential species of the riparian Pacific Northwest.  The car park before the Wizard Falls bridge was the first place we saw one a few years ago.  

   At the river, I got an excellent look at a Snowberry Checkerspot perched in the grass away from the stream.   I tried to capture it and failed.  Immediately I saw a small blue in the flowering shrubs.  Its much easier to net butterflies when they are teed up like that.  In that situation, my catch rate goes up above 50%!  Which is to say, I'm not very good at this in any circumstance.   Oh well. 

   Before we get further afield, I want to tell you about that checkerspot.  When I had a chance to look at the field guide, I noted that there were two checkerspots that looked, to my novice eye, identical.  Snowberry and Anicia.   In fact, I decided that looking at one from above, so viewing the dorsal surface, almost nobody could tell the difference. There is too much overlapping variation. As it turns out, to make the identification you have to capture the checkerspot, take a picture of the ventral surface and look for the "Edith line" as it meanders through the columns of orange and cream colored spots.  Under the most controlled situation, I have yet to master the art of finding the Edith line.  

Great Arctic, Wizard Falls, July 2026

   Being a good lister, or collector, which is the root of birdwatching and related hobbies, I hoped for an Anicia.  Caitlin's text suggested that the Anicia was found on the east side of the Cascades, where we were now standing, And the snowberry might be found only on the west side.  Sadly, this was incorrect. iNaturalist, to which Ms. LaBar is an expert adjudicator, shows that snowberry has been collected at the nearby Metolius campgrounds. Unfortunately, for me, the lister, the Anicia is not found on the Metolius.  It is further east. Rats! 

   Anyway, I took the one back to Sandra, we got him in the bag and proceeded to have a nice lunch beside the fish hatchery car park.  This is pleasant place, but although we could hear the river, there was no view.  You can't have everything, can you?

   At this point, I'm going to show you our pictures taken back at the laboratory, which the funders of the blog kindly moved from Vancouver all the way up to Sisters.

Lupin or Acmon Blue, Wizard Falls, July 2026

    You will note that the Great Arctic has seen better days.  The previous year we saw this species a month earlier, so in mid-July we may have been near the end of its flying period.

    The second butterfly, as you can see, was either a Lupin or Acmon.  Unless I am mistaken, these two are almost identical.  Possibly entirely identical, which makes you wonder why there are two species.  Anyway, while we wait for Caitlin to resurface, I'm calling it Lupin and we both got this wonderful picture you see here.  

    A lister might hope for a Volcano Blue Butterfly, whose underside is similar and may be found nearby.  This butterfly had light blue dorsal surfaces...the Volcano is slaty blue, much darker, so this is definitely not that.

    Sandra and I took a day off to watch France fall to Spain in what is turning into Donald Trump's World Cup. In case you are wondering just how corrupt FIFA is, which given the nature of this blog may be the furthest thing from your mind, Donald Trump has become good friends, virtually a confidante, with Gianni Infantino, the head of the soccer ruling body. And Trump has made thirty rings for the winners,,,gold encrusted with dozens of diamonds.  I shit you not.

Western Sulfur, Metolius Preserve, July 2026

    Maybe you don't give a whit about soccer, but you'd like one of those rings.  After all, it's your tax dollars at work.  Well, he made a hundred extra rings, and if you're connected, you can buy one for an exorbitant price.  But we don't have enough money for Social Security and Medicare.  Perhaps Trump is going to give a ring to Stephen Miller.  

   Rumor has it that Trump made a ring for himself, only it very plain gold with curious writing on it.  One ring to rule them all...

    Then, on yet another beautiful Central Oregon morning, we drove back to Camp Sherman.  In the interim. some kind soul had sawed through the tree across forest service road and moved part of it, so we were able to get by.  Soon we were at the car park for the Metolius Preserve.  It was impossible not to notice that there were many cars here, so as we got our nets and binoculars out of the car, we got emotionally prepared for company.

     On the trail, saw butterflies right away.  Many of these were large orange fritillaries and soon we had a good look at the male Great Spangled Fritillary.  Between Sandra and myself, we never captured one of these beauties on this day, though we saw many. This is a later butterfly on the Washougal and we had not seen it here at the Metolius Preserve. This trip was a month later than our previous two visits, so there you have it.

Dark wood Nymph, Metolius Preserve, July 2026

    Shortly after that I captured a medium sized dark butterfly that landed in the lower branches of a fir.  I told Sandra that it was a duskywing, which as you will recall is a group of  dark, butterfly-like skippers.  When we got back to the laboratory, we discovered that I was wrong.  Shocking! It was a Wood Nymph, which is in a group of dark, skippper-like butterflies.  

   Our first photo, which you see here, did not completely identify it.  Luckily, it escaped and flew up into a window ten feet above us, where it continued to flutter for a good long while.  This afforded us the opportunity to get a good look at is front wings, the ocelli upon which serve to identify the species.  Although you can't see it in my mediocre picture, on the front wings there were two bulls-eye spots, the front much larger than the one behind.  Hence, it was a Dark Wood Nymph, a species we saw the first time we visited the preserve but not since.

    Soon, beside the trail, we netted a Western Sulfur, a butterfly we had seen here previously in this spot.

     There were lots of familiar butterflies...many California torts and some Lorquin's Admirals.  Under a pine tree, I had a good look at a Painted Lady.  Caaitlin promised us West Coast Lady this year, but it has yet to flop into our hands.

Professor Peabody leads his troop through the Metolius Preserve.  AI

    Above the ferns, which filled most of the space between the pines on this part of the trail, there were several Great Arctics flapping around in their desultory fashion. Though unrelated, they have that same awkward flight displayed by the Clodius Parnassian.  Apparently, it gets the job done, but it lacks a pleasing aesthetic. What was God thinking?

    We got a very good look at several orange frits, smaller that the Great Spangled, but I was unable to get a good look under their wings or get them in the net, so they will go unnamed. 

Western Tailed Blue, Metolius Preserve, 2026

   Finally, we crossed the bridge and made it to the meadow where we had some good luck in years past.  At this point, someone started complaining that it was too hot.  And it wasn't even 10:30 yet.!

    We crossed the meadow and stood in the shade of a couple stunted Lodgepole Pines.  And as in uffish thought we stood, we heard voices tracking us down from the tulgey wood.  Soon a group emerged into the meadow.  Remember those cars in the car park on arrival.?  We had suspected that such a group might exist.  

   The group was led by a smallish man in a safari get up.  He was a chubby old elf with shortish white hair, and a cute little beard that came to a point.  And he held a small pointer, the better to direct the attention of his minions to certain plants or whatever else he might deem important. 

Western Checkered Skipper, Metolius Preserve, 2026

   Following him were a group of young adults, a few men and a few young ladies, mostly wearing ball caps and carrying clip boards.  Despite being turned out for a walk in the woods, a couple of the girls looked borderline dishy. Maybe it was the hot sun playing tricks on the old Jeffer. 

    Noting our nets, one of the fellows asked if we were fishing.  This is one way smart asses annoy us butterfly watchers.  As my own dishy colleague had previously noted, it was getting hot and, commensurately, I was getting cranky.  "No we're catching butterflies, you moron!"  I retorted.  Actually, I left out the moron part, but it was understood.

   With that, Professor Peabody raised his baton and the troop marched off into the preserve. 

  As it was getting hot and someone had had about enough of this nonsense, we headed back to the car.  On the way I netted a small white butterfly.  This was a Western Tailed Blue, so identified by Ms. LaBar last year.  I never saw any blue and neither you nor I see a tail, but the spots are right and who are we mortals to dispute with Cait?  Am I right?

Thompson's Blue Butterfly, Metolius Preserve July 2026

   Being a veritable Chingachgook, I soon had my dishy colleague doing her crossword puzzle in the front seat with the air conditioning going.  And I was off to catch more insects.  Soon I had a small skipper that was nectaring on a thistle.

     Up to this point I haven't mentioned the thistles, but there were lots of them and you would have thought they would be the ideal bait for butterflies.  But this little skipper, who we later identified as Western Banded Skipper, was the only one we saw on one of these tantalizing purple blooms.

    I got one more small, plain blue which I am unable to identify in Cait's absence.  Since it is plain and gray, I'm going to call it Thompson's Blue Butterfly in honor of the illustrator at the Waikiki Aquarium who gat the plainest, grayest fish in Hawaii named for him.  I hope that the next butterfly you see is better looking than that!

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them.
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness
 bind them.

    

     

Should we call him Paddington? Black Butte 2026 Part One

     Sandra and I arrived at Black Butte two days ago.  We took the long route over Mount Hood, hoping to see some birds and butterflies along the way.  We made it to the lodge in time for coffee and caught the couch with the killer view of the mountain.

Mount Hood, July 2026

   Outside, and this was about 9:30 in the morning, we saw a California Tortoiseshell and a large blue, both too far away to identify.  There was a small pond created by glacial run off where we enjoyed some Red Breasted Nuthatches and Pine Siskins dipping into the water for a refreshing slurp on this dry mountain.  

    Down at Alpine Campground, now ungated with a few registered campers, we saw a few wilting asters, far removed from the purple and gold aster meadows we were hoping for.  Commensurately, there were very few butterflies and we departed without a single catch.  Mount Hood needs some rain and maybe the flowers will come out along with some butterflies. 

   It's a long drive from Timberline down through Madras and Redmond and on to Sisters.  As we left home, Sandra wondered what we would forget.  As we passed Cline Falls, about ten miles north of Sisters, which is unrelated to the nice people who produce delicious Zinfandel down south in Sonoma, we stumbled upon the answer...red wine and ranch dressing.

Ray's...your choice for groceries in Sisters

   So twenty minutes later we found ourselves in Ray's Food Place.  In the last thirty years this old west cow town has been decimated by progress.  The view of the iconic Three Sisters mountains has been obscured by high rise condominiums, The Gallery Restaurant, formerly a diner sporting antique weapons (like a Sharps Model 1874, "Old Reliable") has been turned into a plasticized bar and the Gallimaufry no longer sells liquor.  Progress is harsh.  But Ray's persists.  It still sports its Old West facade, not to mention its high prices.  Despite Sister's burgeoning population, a more competitive purveyor of comestibles remains 45 minutes away in Bend. 
 

    In short order Sandra and I found ourselves in line with our choices.  Just ahead of us were a happy young couple and as we waited in line, we made friends.   I guess these delightful thirty somethings weren't married, because they required separate registers.  The pretty young lady. (nice shorts, nice legs and a terrific smile) had some sort of sodas.  The gent had one of those "hard" drinks, where the manufacturer mixes lemonade and vodka and charges $15 for a four pack.  We settled for Robert Mondavi and Hidden Valley.

Time to turn around and head for Wizard Falls

   The following morning, we hit the road in high anticipation.  What would we find at the Metolius Preserve that had been so prolific in the past?  Leaving the Camp Sherman resorts behind, we made the turn onto the gravel road that leads to the preserve.  About a mile down the road, we encountered a fallen tree across the road.  The sucker must have been 100 feet tall and there was no way we could move it.  We walked on the road for five minutes, with Cali torts whipping by and then we gave up, heading for another known butterfly hang out, the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery

    It was about an eight mile drive from the spot where we turned around, past the Camp Sherman trailer park, making a sharp left turn at the Camp Sherman General Store and then past a number of large campgrounds on the Metolius River.  Fly fishing on the Metolius is very popular and these campgrounds are all booked solid for the summer.  

    About three miles from the fish hatchery, we saw something on the edge of the road.  As we approached, we realized that this bundle of black fuzz was a bear cub. We got within twenty yards and stopped.  He got to his feet, gave us a quick look and ambled into the Ponderosa Pine forest.  We watched him as he strolled down a tree trunk, at one time looking back over his shoulder.  He eventually disappeared into the forest. 

Yearling bear cub on the road

    At no time did we see the mama bear, but she must have been there. Right?  Not only did we not see her, but we didn't hear her, either.  As far as we could tell, neither the cub nor the Mother Bear vocalized.  Sarah Palin, among many others, has characterized herself as a mother bear (or grizzly) but let's face it, the difference between a forty-year-old politician and a real honest to God bear is substantial! 

    And as we watched our Baby Bear disappear into the woods, a large SUV passed us at a respectably slow rate of speed.  

   In my narrative to this point, I may have made this seem a bit nonchalant.  But far from it.  Sandra and I were totally excited and for the next three miles we talked happily about what a wonderful sighting this was.  

   When we got to the fish hatchery, we crossed the old wooden bridge and parked in the shade, next to the SUV that had passed us only moments before.   Sandra bounded from the car and immediately engaged the passengers from the SUV, three attractive forty year old ladies and one guy., presumably the husband who drew the short straw, and ended up as the chauffer.  The ringleader of this group noted that she had bear spray at home but didn't bring it with her on this excursion.  Up to this point, I had thought that seeing this bear, be it cub or adult, was a very rare thing.  Now I had to rethink.  If she had bear spray, she must think it's more than a remote possibility.  But she didn't bring the bear spray, so what does that tell you?

Yearling Bear cub ambling into the forest. 

    Always one to get my two cents worth in, I remarked that we didn't have any have any bear spray, but on the other hand we didn't get out of the car.  Obviously, I had not readjusted my thinking to the point where there were bears teaming in the surrounding forest and that maybe this wasn't a joke.  To be honest, I still don't know where the truth lies.  Should we all carry bear spray when we go hiking near the Metolius?  

    During my childhood, with my father as guide, I saw bears twice, once on a river on Vancouver Island and once at a garbage dump where the guide had a hot tip and so brought the family out for the show. 

     As a teenager I had a much more exciting and intimate experience.  I was a counselor at a Boy Scout Camp on the back side of Mount Hood.  A mother bear was frequenting the garbage cans outside the mess hall, so the councilors decided to camp out in the mess hall and get a look.  Sure enough, the bear showed up.  As we watched through the windows, the camp archery instructor stepped out from who knows where, drew his bow, and as the bear rose on her hind legs, shot an arrow into her chest.  You may wonder what the fuck he was thinking about.  Well, he was the same age as me, 17 or so.  Therefore, we can assume that he was a stupid teenager and he wasn't thinking.  Obviously, he hadn't asked anyone else if they thought this was a good idea.  

    In short order the arrow fell out, the bear wandered off.  The archery instructor called his parents and he was gone before we woke up in the morning.  No one among the hundreds of camping scouts was injured, so it didn't make the evening news. 

    That is the end of my bear experiences. And it exhausted my knowledge of bear biology up to this point.  Here is a bit of information provided by the internet:  

    Cubs in the woods around Sisters are born in the winter while the mother hibernates.  They are tiny and helpless.  By July, they are the size of a small dog or raccoon.  They stay with their mother until the following June, when the mother enters her breeding cycle and discourages the yearling from following her.  These bears, now in the 50 pound range and the size of a medium sized dog, are on their own, doing their own foraging.  They are frequently mistaken for an abandoned cub.  

    It's pretty clear with this explanation that our bear was a yearling, recently out on his own.  So all of our mama bear philosophizing was off base. Teenagers out on their own for the first time don't always exhibit the best judgement. This holds for us, Homo sapiens, as well as many other mammalian species.  Who among didn't do something stupid while our parents were safely at home watching TV?   So, a teenage bear, like a teenage human, has a brain that is still developing and he may be prone to questionable choices. 

Mount Jefferson and the Bear Shaman

   Adult Black Bears avoid contact with humans.  While Ursus americanus has lived in Oregon for over a million years, it has shared the territory with humans for a mere 15,000 years.  This represents thousands of generations of natural selection during which bears that came near humans were in grave danger.  So, contact with an adult bear near Sisters is very rare and probably related to the careless handling of food and waste.  

    I'm hoping that our bear makes a bunch of good decisions, possibly starting with staying off the road. With any luck he will grow up to be a useful member of the bear community.  Perhaps he'll go to Cal and join the football team.  Go Bears!  Right?

 jeff

To commemorate this amazing experience, I spent an hour or so with my friend Gemini, attempting to recreate what Sandra and I saw.  Multiple prompts yielded the two images you see here.  My son, the AI artist, says they are not very good and he is probably correct.  I hope they at least give you an idea of what Sandra and I saw on our way to Wizard Falls.  

And in the Who Knew? department, bears are way more common in Western Oregon than east of the Cascades.  Hence all the bear sightings in places like Forest Park and other places near Portland.

jh

   

    

Dougan Falls in July...Checkerspots, a Cicada and a Grouse!

    One thing that separates the lepidopterist from others who venture into nature, and here I'm talking about birdwatchers and fishermen, is that they don't need to get up early.  Upon waking up in the morning, birds and fish need to eat.  So, if you want to catch a fish or find a bird, its best to be out there shortly after sunrise.  Butterflies require a nice, warm morning and so if one arrives after 10 AM, even on a warm summer day, things in the insect world are just beginning to hum.  Or flutter, as the case may be.

Edith's Checkerspot, Scout Creek July 26

    Yesterday, Sandra and I arrived at our usual first spot at 10 AM.  The little wooden bridge at Scout Creek spans a seasonal flow, a charming little stream that meanders between moss covered rocks and a variety of lush plants.  This morning we did not have time to watch the stream, for on stepping out of the car we were deluged with butterflies.  There were Clodius Parnassians by the bucketful and a number of Pale Tiger Swallowtails.  As I readied my net, a light-colored blue fluttered in the weeds by the car.

    As soon as we were armed with our nets, I spotted a checkerspot fifteen feet ahead.  I got a good look with binoculars and then started following him up the gravel road.  After about thirty yards he took a Roscoe and headed up the slope into the woods.  As I wandered back to the car, what should I see but Schmoopie holding her net in the familiar "I've got a butterfly!" position.  

    She thought she had a checkerspot and she was right.  We collaborated on transferring her prize into a vegetable bag and popped it onto the back seat.  As I closed the car door, I was standing right where I saw the blue butterfly a few minutes before.  Scanning the nearby weeds, my eye picked out something that looked like a very big fly perched on a thimbleberry leaf.  In general, we don't collect large flies, so I got out my phone, readied the camera and started sneaking up on him.  In my dotage, I am not getting better at taking pictures or sneaking up on things.  As I got close enough, my finger poised above that white spot on the camera, the fly took wing, audibly flapping its way up into the trees.

Mountain Cicada on Thimbleberry, c/o The Bug Guide and AI

   Luckily, I got an excellent look.  the body was big and black, and the wings were broad and long. It took me about an hour to remember where I had seen wings like that before, for this was certainly not a fly.  It was a cicada.  

   As events conspired, it wasn't until this morning that I had a chance to peruse Daniel Rubinoff's book, California Insects.  This particular cicada was not in the book, so I took to the internet and between AI and Google images we identified the critter as a Mountain Cicada, Okanagana bella.   It occurs in the area around the Cascades and Sierras from B.C. to northern California.  That it wasn't in my mentor's book can be explained by the fact that there are literally a gazillion insects.  You'll have to ask George Bush how many a gazillion is, but it's a lot.  More than you can fit in a book. Dr. Rubinoff tells us that there are 65 species of cicadas in California, alone.  

Acmon Blue on a Thimbleberry Leaf AI

    That is a plethora of singing bugs, for noise making is what cicadas are best known for.  The males have strong wings which they rub together to make noise.  Some make a clicking sound.  O. bella makes a shrill buzz lasting up to two minutes.  We heard nothing, but maybe it was too early in the day, and the orchestra was just getting warmed up, as it were.

   The other thing cicadas are known for is their curious life pattern. Many species stay under ground as nymphs, emerge all at the same time and make a hell of a racket.  This species, O. bella, is asynchronous; its nymphs live three to eight years underground and some emerge every year in June and early July.  They create a more solitary buzzing...not nearly so annoying as a multitude might, and therefore, they are easy to ignore.  

     After I failed to take a picture of the cicada, I wandered back up the road.  Near the spot where I lost track of the checkerspot, Sandra was pointing and making "be quiet" gestures. In the depression adjacent to the road, she had a small blue perched in wings up position on a thimbleberry leaf.  Apparently these soft, broad leaves make a fantastic place for excellent insects to hang out.  If one took a step off the road, he was only five feet away.  He had a buffy gray wing, and I could make out the orange band on the trailing edge of his wing.  I extended the net, took my swipe and twisted, trapping our treasure.  Voila!

Ruffed Grouse, SKG July 26

   I had a bag in my pocket, so the two of us were soon engaged in transferring this small animal.  As Sandra removed the bag, we got an excellent look at the brilliant orange on the wing, which goes to show that the insect was not entirely in the bag, both literally and figuratively.  She claims that the net hit her hand, but in an instant the butterfly was loose, flying into the alders that border Scout Creek.  "Oh my Precious!  Gollum, Gollum." I lamented.  for this was certainly an Acmon Blue.  We saw one in the nearby brush just out of reach two or three years ago.  I had desponded of seeing another and here was our chance to photograph this rare beauty, now flown away.  Gollum.

    As we drove back down the hill, we agreed that the escape was a rare occurrence, so we would buck up.  No more remorse.  The gravel road dropped down and turned to the left. At this point things flatten out, with Douglas fir forest on either side of the road.  Scout Creek is much reduced, now barely a trickle with its course marked by a few alders s and shrubs.  The flow is directed through a culvert beneath the road without the need for a bridge.

Ruffed Grouse on Gravel AI

     Just after we made the turn, in the middle of this shaded road, was a rufous bird, much like a small chicken, but with a crest.  I knew immediately that this was a Ruffed Grouse.  I hadn't seen one in years, of course, and this guy was showing us why.  Despite years of the bucolic types, riding around the hills in their pick-ups and running across a grouse, stepping into the road and blasting it with a shotgun (ostensibly for the small amount of meat it might provide) these birds remain relatively unafraid.  One might have thought that a century of experience and natural selection would have created a more furtive bird.  But this guy provided evidence to the contrary.

    We watched the grouse walk back and forth in front of the car for about three minutes.  This was long enough for Sandra to get the shot you see through the windshield and for me to turn the car cattywampus, receive the camera from Sandra and fail to get the grouse in the frame.  Once again, my prowess with a cell phone camera was manifest.  Eventually the grouse tired of our shenanigans and flew off in the direction of the Washougal.  She was just lucky we didn't have a gun rack in the Mazda.

Echo Azure, Dougan Falls, July 26

    A wonderful bird sighting was enough to boost our spirits, and we soon found ourselves at the Weedy Car Park, fifty feet above the Washougal.  There were butterflies aplenty here.   After a bit, I caught a small blue nectaring on a daisy.  And a bit later Sandra caught another checkerspot.  We looked at her new catch and considered letting it go.  But something about it looked ever so slightly different, so it was successfully bagged and put in the back seat.   

    At this point, Sandra retired to the air-conditioned comfort of the front seat to work on her cross-word puzzle.   As the day got warmer, I persisted in my search and captured a very small butterfly, which was cruising at high speed just over the tops of the weeds.  He landed eventually and was captured.  A Mylitta Crescent was added to the day's bag.  Although tinier than the Acmon Blue, he did not escape Sandra's delicate, but purposeful, technique.

    We found a shady spot on Dougan Creek for our lunch and then had an encounter with three larger orange butterflies that circled me in a quick pass and then flew into the woods.  Great Spangled or Hydaspe frits?  WTF knows. 

   Back at the laboratory we took our captives in turn.  The blue, as you can see, was a really nice Echo Azure.  He didn't give us any trouble and was soon taking flight from our door side Rhododendron.

   Next came the tiny Mylitta Crescent.  He was active, so he got a few seconds in the freezer which rendered him cooperative.  He opened his wings and we got a nice photo.  Following this, he awakened and dashed towards the window.  We were unable to find him and suspect that the small butterfly made it to the top of the window, well behind the blinds.  Perhaps we will see him on the windowsill in a day or two. 

  Last came the two crescents, which were cooperative enough.  The first opened his wings and we got a dorsal picture.  The second was more cooperative and provided us the opportunity for both dorsal and ventral shots, which you see here.  

    It was easy to tell from the photographs that they looked a little different, so we sent the pictures to Caitlin, along with the sad story of the Acmon Blue.  She was very excited about the Acmon Blue, redoubling our regret at the escape.  But she also told us that we had pictures of both the Edith and the Snowberry Checkerspot.  

    These butterflies are ridiculously similar.  The Edith has slightly shorter and more rounded wings.  And it has bands across its abdomen.  The Snowberry Checkerspot has dots on the side of the abdomen.  There is something about an "Edith line" on the ventral surface, but like certain proofs in calculus, this eludes me.

    All I have to say is, Thank God for Caitlin LaBar.  And Happy fourth of July!"

jeff

If you can find the Edith Line, you're a better man than me. Snowberry 26

Mount Hood Part Two Birds, Butterflies and Fine Dining

    When we went to Mount Hood in early June, it was in part a scouting trip for when my nephew and his husband would come two weeks later.  Andrew and Shawn live in the Oakland Hills, a pretty good place to look for birds and butterflies.  They make a yearly pilgrimage in the summer to see my brother and his wife on Camano Island ,which is very beautiful, but a terrible place to look for butterflies.  This year they stopped for two nights with us in a condo at Welches, a small resort community about ten miles downhill from Timberline.

Audubon's Warbler, Timberline Lodge   June 2026  AI

   In the middle of last week, Sandra and I made a leisurely drive up to Timberline.  It was a little cloudy, which for us was unusual, as we are usually able to pick our day, so we make it a perfect one.  Despite the clouds, by 10 AM it was warm enough for butterflies. 

   We enjoyed our simple breakfast on the fireplace level of the lodge, which is rustic in a very nice way, with big windows facing the mountain.  Following our snack, we walked up the mountain about 100 vertical feet, not seeing anything special.  As we approached the lodge on our way down we saw a male Audubon's Warbler singing in one of the scraggly White Bark Pines growing by the trail.  He was resplendent in breeding plumage and singing his heart out.  "Ahh," I said, "that was what we were hearing down at Alpine Campground."  I used to be so much better at the spring warbler calls; we have this again.

Blue eye, Brown eye, throw the stick!

    It's interesting that Audubon's warbler, which should be an overwintering bird in Vancouver, where we live, has eluded us.  But we haven't seen one for years.  Must be because we don't get out enough.  Anyway, it was really nice to get this beauty.  And who knew that their range extended up to 6,000 feet in Oregon?

    As we walked out the front of the lodge to our car, we saw a pair of raucous Clark's Nutcrackers in the treetops across the lot.

   Finally, we were down at Alpine Campground.  The road into the campground was still gated, but someone had set up a large blue tent in one of the campsites near the road.  As I got out, I was greeted by a pair of bucolic treasure hunters with their friendly dog.  They said he was a short haired border collie, with one blue eye and one brown.  As we walked into the campground together, these guys with their metal detectors told me that when they shine a light at the dog at night the eyes glow different colors.  Is that spooky or awesome?  As we walked, the dog brought me a stick, so we played fetch a little bit until he was called away, presumably to join in the hunt for lost treasure. 

Clodius Parnassian,  Alpine Campground,  June 26

    Almost immediately I captured a California Tortoiseshell.  There were a million of them and I thought it might be fun for my nephew to get indoctrinated to butterfly photography.  A bit later I caught a Clodius Parnassian, which we kept as it was the first one we had seen at that elevation.

   Like Audubon's Warbler, I had regarded the clodius as a sub-alpine species.  We see it in large numbers on the banks of the Washougal, up to 1000 feet.  And we saw it two weeks earlier on the Withywindle, where we were saved by Tom Bombadil. No one is going to mistake the moist forests of Middle Earth for Timberline on Mount Hood.   

    Not only had we not seen clodius at Alpine before, but unless I am mistaken (and what are the odds of that?) when Ms. LaBar was assisting me in the assemblage of a list for the Butterflies of Mount Hood exhibit, Clodius Parnassian did not make the cut.  So now he is on the record, if anyone is listening.  As we were on the mountain, I hoped it might be a Mountain Parnassian.   This was a vain hope.  We checked the book and the mountains look a lot different...there is a lot more red, not confined to those discrete dots.  And the range is significantly to the north.

The California Tort just wouldn't wake up.

      That was it for the campground and Government Camp yielded nothing, as well.

   Back at the lab, which we had the movers transport from Vancouver to the condo in Welches, we collected our laboratory assistants, renamed them Igor 1 and Igor 2, and set about taking photographs of our victims.  While we were doing this, Igor 2, aka Shawn Barile, was fixing dinner.  He is Italian, having grown up in a transplanted Neapolitan community in San Pedro. So as we took that cracker jack photo of the clodius we were happily sipping a California red suitable for the soon to be presented penne in Bolognesi sauce.  

   The parnassian photography went well and then it was time to get a picture of the California tort, which I believe is what Gavin Newsome is filing against our beloved commander in chief.  May the Dear Good Lord bless his pointed fucked up head.

    As Sandra and I had discovered in a motel room in Bend a year or two before, Clodius Parnassian is cold sensitive.  We put the catch of the day on the birch log we were using as a photographic prop and he promptly fell over.  Sandra breathed the warm breath of life on him and he regained a bit of balance but was still not sufficiently recovered. 

Butterfly Gothic

    At this moment I had a stroke of genius.  We took the butterfly out to our sunny lanai and placed him on the table.  Then I went to the kitchen and found a small glass casserole pan that Shawn didn't need for the penne Bolognesi.  I covered the butterfly with the glass pan, figuring I would come back in a few minutes and he would be basking in the afternoon sun with his wings spread in solar collecting position.  Va molto bene.

   I went back in to finish my delicious vino and returned to find that I had made one small miscalculation.  The table was comprised of slats separated by slits almost a centimeter in width.  As he had warmed, Mr. Tortoiseshell had crept off his slat and escaped through a slit. Che peccato!

   Dinner was delicious and, as you will see, we would live to fight another day.

   The following morning we went up to the lodge and the four of us took a walk up the slope.  On the way we had a wonderful view of the nutcrackers cavorting in the top of a Sub Alpine Fir.  That alone was worth the price of admission.

It's a lucky Mariposa Lily at Alpine Campground

    Back at Alpine Campground, we encountered a lovely wildflower that I had photographed the day before.  I showed my guests how to use Google Photos Lens to identify it and, lo and behold, it was a Mariposa Lily.  Is that a good omen or what?

   The bunch of us strolled past the blue tent and I soon netted another California Tortoiseshell, all the while muttering in my best Wicked Witch of the West voice, "You won't escape this time , my pretty."

   We had seen deeper colored blues the day before and there were several blues around.  I netted one and shortly after that I netted another.  Snadra had transferred the first to the next to the last bag in my pocket,  In an act of skill previously unknown in the western world, she got the second tiny blue butterfly into the same bag.  That's why they call her Sandra Gray!

    On we walked, made our turn and on the way back I saw a small orange butterfly on the edge of the rod.  Using Sandra's flop the net on him technique I trapped it, and the four of us coaxed him up into the net.    We could tell right away that this was a checkerspot and we were hoping that it would be a Hoffman's for the second year in the row.

   We stopped at Government Camp on the way down the mountain so I could show Shawn and Andrew a stand of Bear Grass way up the ski slope.  There were no butterflies to speak of so they used the binoculars to look at the tall white flowers 150 yards uphill.

Next thing you know you have Salade Niçoise!

    Back at the condo we had guinea grinders for lunch.  This is an old Hill family recipe.  I know it's only sandwiches, but you have to do it right or it just doesn't cut the mustard...which is not one of the ingredients.  You start with a nice long roll, or a section of a baguette, apply olive oil to the bread and then layers of salami, provolone cheese, tomatoes, dill pickles, green peppers and onion.  Our off-recipe addition is a slice of ham.  Serve with an ice cold beer.  Castle Foulis Ablaze!  That's our clan motto and the family toast.  Not very Italian, but then you can't have everything, can you?

    As an aside, I didn't know until I was going to school in Boston that Guinea is a racial slur against Italians.  Shawn is a consummate good sport and finds the name amusing.  I think.

   After lunch, Shawn started working on dinner while the rest of us started taking pictures of our new batch of butterflies.  "What's for dinner?" you ask.  Well, its Salade Niçoise.  I had never had this tres French dish.  Earlier that morning I was explaining it over the phone to my son, Charles in Scottsdale.   Modern telecommunications being what they are, I sent him a picture of the ingredients artfully arranged in a basket.  Now I'm sending it to you.  Assuming that you haven't had Salade Niçoise, take a look at the picture and see if you can guess what Shawn is up to.

Boisduval's Blue, Alpine Campground, June 26

    Well, we started out with the blues, In as much as they were refrigerated, they were easy for Savvy Sandra to remove them individually.  The first was a silvery, with dark spots of equal size on the ventral surface of both the front and back wings.  We saw that one last week and so we knew it right away.  This butterfly is ostensibly paired with Sara's Orangetip...they emerge at the same time and in the same location.  The orangetip is still a life butterfly for me and I've seen a fair run of silveries, so I think this bit of lore de mariposas may be caca de toro. 

   You saw the silvery last week, but look at a picture of the second butterfly Sandra pulled out of her bag of tricks.  Note that the spots on the hind wing are basically white...there may be a tiny black speck in the middle.  This is Boiduval's Blue.  Not a terribly uncommon butterfly and one that made Caitlin's list, but its new for this year's list, so Castail Foulis na Thena.   That, supposedly is how you say our clan motto in Gaelic, Raise the clan and let them start identifying butterflies!  That will teach the damn English a lesson they shan't forget!  It is a little known fact that Robbie the Bruce bore a butterfly on his shield when he defeated Edward the Second at Bannockburn.  Ach aye, laddie.  It was a bonnie day with a host of wee butterflies overwhelming the bloody English.  

Hoffman's Checkerspot, Alpine Campground June 26

      Next out of the refrigerator was the checkerspot.  As you can see, this was a natty checkerspot...perhaps he injured that wing fighting against the bag.  At any rate, enough of this beautiful male remains to identify him as Hoffman's. ID confirmed by the Wizard of Longview herself.  Those of us at the blog are humble, but very proud. 

     In the last year I have learned how to us iNaturalist, but probably not as well as Peter Krottje or Bob Hillis.  For sure not as well as Cait.   Nevertheless, I can tell you that multiple contributors have posted this butterfly on Mount Hood, but none of these are in the Alpine Campground.  This is curious because the campground is easily accessible and if you can believe the posts, those other guys went to dramatically more trouble in the way of hiking and such, than Schmoopie and I would ever engage in.  More power to 'em, I say.  But the Schmoops and I should get credit for doing it the American way...by car.

Hoffman's Checkerspot male Alpine Canpground June 26

     This left the Tortoiseshell.  Knowing that he was cold sensitive, we had not refrigerated him, and he was fluttering about in his bag.  Sandra and I decided to refrigerate him just a little bit.  Fifteen seconds in the ice box did render him still, but in the wings up position. As he warmed he took flight, but we weren't so stupid, this time, to let him out of doors. 

    Despite many suggestions from the peanut gallery we were unable to get him to open his wings indoors without taking off and ending up against the glass slider.  We took multiple pictures of him on the floor or against the window, but none were very good.

    Finally, all the sand had run out of the giant hourglass, Andrew threw some water on me and I melted.  So much for all my wonderful wickedness. 

    In actuality, Sandra suggested that we put a glass over the butterfly and take his picture through the tumbler, which our Airbnb hostess generously provided So we did this and took several pictures of him looking forlornly out into the world that he knew and loved.  Or in this case our condo which he could not wait to be rid of.  So what I'm presenting is Cali Tort under glass.  It's the best we could do and words don't begin to express our regret.  I guess we'll score this a tie and be satisfied with the result.

California Tortoiseshell under glass.

    Dinner was a triumph, with ahi tuna, boiled new potatoes, red pepper and cauliflower all on a bed of lettuce in Italian dressing...Salade Niçoise.  And we had carrot cake for dessert, so there was a sweet ending to this overly long butterfly tale.

   Sandra and I hope you are enjoying the World Cup and somehow finding time to search for butterflies which pose cooperatively in a sunlit meadow. 

jeff

Skirl your pipes and beat your drums, the best butterflies are yet to come!