Pack your binoculars -- Sunday 19 August is the 2012 NABA Durham Butterfly Count. We routinely see between 50-60 species, vying for the highest species diversity of any count in the Carolinas. The Durham count circle harbors numerous excellent butterflying locations, so we can use all the eyes we can get! Beginners welcome (see below).
We will meet in the NC Museum of Life and Science parking lot on Murray Ave in Durham at 8:45a.m., Sunday 19 August. We'll divide into groups where beginners will be teamed up with experienced leaders, who will already know their coverage areas, and we will try to depart the parking lot by 9am. Butterflying may involve slowly driving/walking down dirt roads, hiking powerlines, searching fields, wetlands, etc. Weather permitting, we'll survey butterflies until late afternoon and then reconvene at 4:30pm at the Museum for a compilation.
Fast food restaurants may or may not be available, depending on your coverage area, so I encourage participants to pack their own snacks, a lunch, and LOTS of beverages as it's usually pretty toasty outside this time of year. And I always recommend hiking boots, long pants, a hat, sunscreen and binoculars. Note that there is a mandatory $3 per person fee to participate (levied by and forwarded to NABA for printing/compiling costs).
If you need directions to the museum, check out their website at http://www.ncmls.org/. Click on "visit the museum". (Heck, the website is worth checking out anyway!)
Please contact me if you plan to participate, so that I can coordinate groups for the count.Looking forward to seeing you there, and good butterflying!
Created on ... July 26, 2008 | jspippen@duke.edu