Sinlahekin in June

This is the first of several upcoming blog posts related to my adventures of the past week. I attended the Washington Butterfly Association (WABA) annual conference May 31-June 2 in Goldendale, and then headed up to the Sinlahekin through June 7.  Over the next few days I will write more about the WABA meeting/field trips and more details about the Sinlahekin trip. For now, here is the summary with a few photos:
39 species total, including TWO new records for the Sinlahekin!
Thorybes pylades - Northern Cloudywing, 1 egg found on Vicia americana
Erynnis icelus - Dreamy Duskywing
Erynnis pacuvius - Pacuvius Duskywing- NEW RECORD! (and a new species for me!)
Erynnis persius- Persius Duskywing
Hesperia juba - Juba Skipper
Hesperia nevada - Nevada Skipper - NEW RECORD! (and a new species for me!)
Amblyscirtes vialis - Common Roadside Skipper
Papilio zelicaon - Anise Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus - Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio multicaudatus- Two-tailed Swallowtail
Papilio eurymedon- Pale Tiger Swallowtail
Pieris rapae - Cabbage White
Euchloe ausonides - Large Marble
Anthocaris sara - Sara's Orangetip
Colias philodice - Clouded Sulphur
(several other whites and sulphurs were seen but not close enough to ID)
Lycaena heteronea - Blue Copper, 1 fresh adult male on Eriogonum heracleoides
Lycaena helloides - Purplish Copper, many males and females, lots of eggs on Polygonum sp.
Lycaena nivalis - Lilac-bordered Copper
Satyrium semiluna - Halfmoon Hairstreak (aka Sooty Hairstreak)
Callophrys spinetorum - Thicket Hairstreak
Callophrys eryphon - Western Pine Elfin
Cupido amyntula - Western Tailed Blue
Celastrina echo - Echo Azure
Euphilotes "on heracleoides" - "Cascadia" Blue
Glaucopsyche piasus - Arrowhead Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus - Silvery Blue
Plebejus melissa - Melissa Blue
Plebejus saepiolus - Greenish Blue
Plebejus icarioides - Boisduval's Blue
Plebejus lupini - Lupine Blue
Phyciodes pulchella - Field Crescent
Phyciodes pallidus - Pale Crescent
Euphydryas anicia - Anicia Checkerspot, several adults and some larvae on Penstemon pruinosus
Polygonia satyrus - Satyr Anglewing
Nymphalis antiopa - Mourning Cloak, several faded adults, no larvae on willow that I could find.
Aglais milberti - Milbert's Tortoiseshell, fresh adults started appearing on June 5
Limenitis lorquini - Lorquin's Admiral, hundreds of adults!
Coenonympha tullia - Ochre Ringlet
Erebia epipsodea - Butler's Alpine

The first two species shown here are the new records.

Nevada Skipper Hesperia nevada

Nevada Skipper Hesperia nevada

Pacuvius Duskywing Erynnis pacuvius

I was impressed by the number of large "puddle parties" I saw last week, where butterflies congregate to feed on the minerals in wet soil and sand. This is not uncommon, but these photos show some of the largest groups I've ever seen, so that was fun!

Swallowtail "puddle party" - 9 Western Tigers, 1 Pale Tiger, 1 Two-tailed Tiger, see if you can figure out which is which!

Lorquin's Admiral (center) and several species of blues

Mostly Boisduval's Blues, 1 Silvery Blue (wings closed, upper right), 1 Lupine Blue (wings closed, far left)

Lupine Blue (center with orange), others are mostly Boisduval's Blues

The most Lorquin's Admirals I've ever seen tolerate each other so close together!  Usually they chase each other off.

Anise Swallowtails

Huge moose feeding on aquatic vegetation in Forde Lake, third moose I've ever seen and the first in the water!

Same moose from a different angle

Bighorn sheep ewes

Yellow and Mountain Lady's Slipper orchids - both species are endangered and very rare in Washington

Possible hybrid between the two species

Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchid Cypripedium parviflorum

Mountain Lady's Slipper orchid Cypripedium montanum

Prescribed burn in progress

View of the Sinlahekin Valley looking northwest from a hill north of the headquarters

Ruffed Grouse hen, she was VERY upset!

The ruffed grouse scared the wits out of me! She was a little ball of fury and came streaking out of the bushes next to the trail hissing and chasing me, I screamed and took off down the trail for a second before I realized it wasn't a snake and she was only as big as our little banty hens I grew up with! I tried shooing her off with the end of my butterfly net, which made her quit trying to attack me and stand still long enough to let me take a few pictures, while still looking very indignant! The black feathers on her neck are also on the males, and is how they got the name "ruffed".