Field trip report: Rackensack Wash by Janet Witzeman
Fourteen of us enjoyed a beautiful morning. We spent some productive time in the first one-half mile of the upstream portion of the wash where there was water. Farther up the wash and the major side canyon were dry, so we spent the remainder of the morning in the downstream portion of the wash. We finished the morning at Sears Kay Ruin, where we added four species to the list during the hike up to the Ruin.
We recorded a total of 34 species for the morning. Fun was the discovery of Arizona Sister, usually found at a higher elevation, and Mexican Yellow. A large gray skipper sitting in the shade gave us only a short glimpse before disappearing… considering the time of year and habitat, it must have been a Sheep Skipper.
Species recorded: Pipevine Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Checkered White, Sleepy Orange, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Dainty Sulphur, Mexican Yellow, Gray Hairstreak (Sears Kay), Marine Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Spring “Echo” Azure, Acmon Blue, W. Pygmy Blue, Mormon Metalmark (Sears Kay), American Snout, Elada Checkerspot, Variable Checkerspot, Sagebrush Checkerspot, California Patch (Sears Kay), Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Empress Leilia, Arizona Sister, Mourning Cloak, Common Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Monarch, Queen, Funereal Duskywing (Sears Kay), Sheep Skipper, Northern White-Skipper, Common Checkered-Skipper, Orange Skipperling.
Four species were found on the scouting trip the day before that were not seen on the field trip: Giant Swallowtail, Reakirt’s Blue, Variegated Fritillary, and Bordered Patch.
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