The
20th Annual Brazos Bend Butterfly Count will be held on Sunday, October
4, 2015. We would love to have you join us. Meet at the 40-acre Lake
parking lot at 9:00 am.
GPS: 29.36989, -95.62798
Click on Green Marker for location of parking lot
Everyone
is invited and no experience is required. Beginners will be paired
with experienced counters. The extra eyes are very helpful and it is a
fun way to learn to identify our local butterflies.
This
citizen science project is one of several annual butterfly counts in
the Houston area (and many more nationwide). Participants divide into
small groups and patrol areas within BBSP and vicinity counting all
species and individual butterflies they see. We gather at the Elm Lake
picnic ground at 12:30 to tally our preliminary results and eat our sack
lunches. Those who wish to count in the afternoon, patrol other areas
inside and outside the park within the official 15-mile count circle and
email their results to us.
Bring
lunch, drinking water, mosquito repellant, sun protection, and (if you
have them) butterfly field guides and close-focusing binoculars.
Cameras are also helpful to assist in identification. There is a
$3.00 per person North American Butterfly Association fee to
participate. The Park entry fee will be waived for participants.
Our
first count in 1995 tallied 392 butterflies of 30 species. The record
count of 2001 found 5340 butterflies of 57 species. Last year, a Julia
Heliconian and a Clouded Sulphur, both uncommon for our count, were
among the 678 individuals of 40 species reported.
For additional information contact count compiler Rich Jespersen at richj@consolidated.net. It is not necessary to register in advance.
A list of the butterflies of Brazos Bend State Park can be found at www.brazosbend.org/florafauna/Butterflychecklist.pdf.
Rich Jespersen
Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer