The first field trip of the season, to Schnebley Coulee on March 29th, got off to a dubious start, driving through steady rain up to Snoqualmie Pass and then snow showers on the pass. Once over the crest, however, the east side was dry, as in not actually raining. Our stop in overcast Thorp presented us with hun- dreds, yes hundreds, of elk. Rough-legged hawks lined the powerlines. Lunch stop in sunny Vantage brought our first butterfly, a Becker’s White, hunkering down against the wind in rabbitbrush. Emboldened, we headed up to partly- cloudy Schnebley Coulee for our main quarry – the Sheridan’s Hairstreak. Care- fully we paced up the coulee, scanning lomatium flowers for butterflies and finding their eggs on buckwheat, but no butterflies were to be seen until the sun finally broke free of the clouds pouring over the mountains – and then they were all around us. We were able to see a considerable amount of individual varia- tion in the white line on the ventral hind wings. One person also saw a Gray Hairstreak, for three species of butterflies that day. Meanwhile, back home in Olympia, nearly an inch of rain fell over the course of the day.

A group of 17 butterfliers headed into Cowiche Canyon on May 10. This beautiful canyon has towering rock formations, wildflowers, and birds flying overhead; and fol- lows the rushing Cowiche Creek. Although not wide, the water moves very fast and could sweep away a child. The trail traverses the creek numerous times on sturdy bridges. The canyon is home to a population of Lucia’s Blues, a new species for sever- al of us. We saw many of our old friends, including the Western Tiger and Two-tailed Swallowtail, Orange Sulfur, Gray Hairstreak, Melissa Blue, and Common Sootywing. In the parking lot we met a group of local Native Plant Society members who were also hiking the trail. They shared some milkweed starts with us, and we planted them along the way.

The trip to Elk Heights and Reecer Canyon has long been a favorite of our group, and it didn’t disappoint us this time. On June 7, 12 participants stopped first at Elk Heights and enjoyed 5 species of buckwheat, several in full bloom. An Acmon Blue was detected there for the first time. At the fire pit at Reecer, we saw butterflies puddling, nectaring, and on the wing. We spent time photographing, identifying butterflies, and simply enjoying the scene. After moving up to several higher meadows, our species count totaled 38 for the day, including a Large Marble, a Halfmoon Hairstreak, and a Great Arctic! In addition to the adult butterflies, we saw a Snowberry Checkerspot larva, and a grapefruit-sized puffball that looked like it was dropped from outer space, a Calbovista subsculpta. To reward ourselves for a good day, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

I want to thank all who joined the Inland Northwest Land Trust staff, Brenda and I for our 3rd INLT sponsored butterfly walk to Latah Creek on June 28! Despite threatening weath- er, conditions proved pleasant enough along Latah Creek in south Spokane County at the beautiful acreage of Bryant-Sayre conservation easement, so that twelve species of butter- flies were able to present themselves for a good look before our inquisitive eyes. I espe- cially was grateful for the help of INLT staff in organizing and publicizing the event, and for Chris’ informative explanation of the easement’s history and significance. There were no real rarities here, but it was good to find Edith’s Copper in a new locale in southern Spo- kane County, indicating the butterfly is still expanding its range westward from the Rocky Mtn. zone where it had been “locked up” until the past 10-15 years or so. The day was capped off for Brenda and I by a swallowtail’s visit to our milkweed, always a welcome visitor.

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