truthseqr's Journal

I purchased three Narrowleaf Milkweed plants this summer to attract Monarch butterflies. I've seen several eggs on the leaves and at least 5 caterpillars. Most of the caterpillars disappeared after one or two days. On large caterpillar that was on a milkweed plant I purchased lasted 10 days and then disappeared.

A friend told me that Eastern Paper Wasps were eating her Monarch caterpillars. I did some research and found that there are other predators that eat Monarch caterpillars. It's so sad to watch them grow and then disappear after becoming a meal for a hungry predator.

References:

• https://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coastal-health/2017/08/monarch-caterpillar-predators-beneficial-insects-arent-always-beneficial/
• https://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coastal-health/2021/09/monarch-predators-revisited-a-beneficial-insect-is-a-beneficial-insect/

Site: Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve (Santa Clara County, CA)
Date: June 12, 2026
Start Time: 7:15 am (Temp 75 degrees)
End Time: 11:15 am (Temp 93 degrees, gentle breeze)

Surveyor: Anne Parsons

Trails Surveyed:

1. Kestrel Trail to Sierra Vista Trail (0.3 mi)
2. Sierra Vista Trail to Calaveras Fault Trail (0.8 + 0.7 = 1.5 mi) Photos
3. Calaveras Fault Trail to Cutoff Trail (0.2 mi) no butterflies
4. Cutoff Trail to Upper Calaveras Fault Trail (0.4 mi) Photos
5. Upper Calaveras Fault Trail to Sierra Vista Trail (0.8 mi) Photos
6. Sierra Vista Trail to Kestrel Trail (0.8 mi)
7. Kestrel Trail to Parking Lot (0.3 mi)

Total Mileage: 4.3 miles
Total Time: 4 hours
Total butterflies observed: 120

Total Butterfly Count by Trail:

Notes about the above chart:

• Joe covered Kestrel Trail, so my count was zero.
• I didn't see any butterflies on the very short section of Lower Calaveras Fault Trail, so Trail #3 count is zero.
• As directed, I didn't count butterflies on the return trip, so Trails #6-7 are zero.

Trail Notes:
The first part of Sierra Vista Trail is narrow and follows the contours of the canyon rim. Then it descends to a flatter area where there’s a bridge over a ravine. Cows were grazing in the field with tall mustard plants, but half of it was mowed. There were lots of butterflies nectaring on the mustard flowers, but none in the mowed area or where the cows were grazing. Tall oats and thistles were growing along the next section of trail. When the butterflies are in amongst this vegetation, it’s very difficult to get a good, focused picture of them. Continuing down the trail, you pass through Gate 25 (with a fenced-off white house off to the right) before reaching a tiny stream. I looked for butterflies near the stream, but there were none to be found.

Sierra Vista Trail meets up with Calaveras Fault Trail for 0.2 miles (where there were no butterflies), and then there’s a branch to the left for Cutoff Trail. Thankfully it’s shady and cool on this steep, winding trail up to Sierra Rd. Very few butterflies were in the wooded areas, but along the sunny ridges there were dozens of Cabbage and Checkered Whites nectaring on Shortpod Mustard flowers. Along this trail I saw three cottontail bunnies, a deer, ground squirrels a hummingbird, and an abundance of Orange Monkeyflower bushes. I looked for Checkerspot caterpillars on many of these bushes, but I couldn’t find any. I didn’t see any Checkerspot butterflies either, surprisingly. Eventually the Cutoff Trail reaches Sierra Rd., where the trail merges into Upper Calaveras Fault Trail.

Taking a left turn onto Upper Calaveras Fault Trail, the terrain changes noticeably from woods to open fields covered in tall grasses, thistles, poison hemlock, and mustard flowers. The type of butterfly changes with the terrain, too. There are more Gray Buckeyes, which are much easier to photograph than the skittery Whites because they graciously land on the trail for a few minutes while you take a picture. There were many Sulphurs, some California Ringlets, and a few Blues in among the tall vegetation. I was fortunately able to photograph two endangered California Dogface butterflies, because I would not have been able to ID them in the field. iNat butterfly experts ID’d them for me.

The return trip was fairly uneventful. A noisy raven kept me entertained for a good distance. It was so hot, even the lizards were taking shelter. Some ground squirrels were out and about, though. As I reached the Kestrel Trail, about eight vultures circled overhead. I did feel half-dead, but I had to remind them – I’m not dead yet, you buzzards!

I took pictures of flowers along the trail to understand what is available for the butterflies to feed on, and to show how the habitat changes along this route. These other pictures also show the various critters that share this habitat with the butterflies. All in all, an adventurous day.

Ed Levin County Park
I did a practice butterfly count today (6/2/2026) at Ed Levin County Park in preparation for the real thing next week on June 12th, 2026 at Alum Rock Park. To see the butterflies I found during my practice run, click here. To see a list of the 31 species of butterflies found at Alum Rock Park in June, click here.

Here's a summary of my practice run at Ed Levin County Park:

Gray Buckeye: 29
Common Checkered Skipper: 6
Cabbage White: 5
Mylitta Crescent: 3
Common Ringlet: 3
Umber Skipper: 2
Rural Skipper: 1

Total butterflies: 49
Species: 7
Miles: 4.28
Time: 3.5 hrs

Note: there were many Cabbage Whites that I couldn't photograph because they didn't land and I'm not good at photographing them in flight. A few other species slipped away before I could get a photo. I'm not sure if we count those even if we can't get a photo?

Joseph D. Grant County Park
I found 7 species of butterflies today (6/7/2026) at Joseph Grant Park. All were adults except one Gray Buckeye larva. Click here to see today's observations. I wasn't specifically looking for butterflies, but these are the ones I saw along the way:

Gray Buckeye: 12
Orange Sulphur: 2
California Sister: 2
Checkered White: 1
Mylitta Crescent: 1
California Ringlet: 1
Acmon Blue: 1

Total butterflies: 20
Species: 7
Miles: 4.8
Time: 3 hrs

Photography Tips:

• Timing:
  • Early morning/evening is often the best time of day, since butterflies tend to be at rest and the light is in its golden hour.
  • When it's chilly outside, butterflies tend to be less active and will stay in place longer.
• Staging:
  • Butterflies are where the flowers are. Here are some local plants that are butterfly magnets: California Buckeye, Hollyleaf Cherry, Hairy Vetch, California Sagebrush, Pacific Pea, Blue Elder, mustards, thistles, monkeyflowers, willows, and long grasses (e.g., Harding Grass).
  • Most butterflies have a territory and will often patrol, returning to the same spot again and again.
  • Be mindful of casting a shadow on the butterfly. Changes in light will probably cause it to fly away.
• Camera Settings:
  • When photographing butterflies, depth of field is extremely limited, even with a narrow aperture setting. To keep the entire butterfly sharp, it’s essential to align the camera’s sensor with the butterfly's wings. In other words, strive to photograph the butterfly in profile.
  • To blur a busy background, use a wider aperture setting (smaller f-number) to create a shallow depth of field.
  • Photographing butterflies in flight is tricky. The key for Whites and Sulphurs is to increase the aperture shutterspeed or decrease the f-Stop. A dark background is best when shooting moving Whites or Sulphurs.

References:

• A Guide to Stunning Butterfly Photography (17 Expert Tips) (post by Steve Berardi)
• 5 Tips for Photographing Butterflies (Verity Pixie Hill, Butterfly Conservation, Verity Pixie Hill, 19 August 2022)

I observed female house finches at my bird feeders that had what looks like conjunctivitis. I took photos between Nov 5, 2025 and Dec 8, 2025 of what I think were two individuals with the disease. Follow-up photos were taken on Dec 18, 2025 and Jan 10, 2026 when the disease looked healed.

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=97394&q=conjunctivitis&taxon_id=9079&user_id=truthseqr&verifiable=any

• Avian Mycoplasmosis observations:
  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/truthseqr?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=avian+mycoplasmosis&search_on=&quality_grade=any&reviewed=&identifications=any&captive=&geoprivacy=&taxon_geoprivacy=&place_id=&swlat=&swlng=&nelat=&nelng=&not_in_place=&taxon_name=&taxon_id=&day=&month=&year=&order_by=observations.id&order=desc&rank=&hrank=&lrank=&taxon_ids%5B%5D=&d1=&d2=&created_on=&site=&tdate=&list_id=&filters_open=true&view=map&week=

There has been a population explosion of California voles this year (2024) in Northern California. Folks have noticed and posted a lot more vole observations (both alive and dead) on iNat. I've put together this list of references about voles and vole diseases for those of us who are curious about voles.

California Vole Observations on iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=97394&taxon_id=44326

About Voles (PennState Extension, Jan 5, 2007)
https://extension.psu.edu/voles

• “Voles have short lifespans that generally range from 2 to 16 months.”
• “Large population fluctuations are characteristic of voles. Population levels generally peak every 2 to 5 years; however, these cycles are not predictable. Extremely high vole densities sometimes can occur during population irruptions. Food quality, climate, predation, physiological stress, and genetics have been shown to influence population levels.”

Northern California residents seeing vole infestations (DeNeeka Hill; KCRA-3 News; Jul 19, 2024)
https://www.kcra.com/article/northern-california-vole-infestations/61650922

• "[Voles are] cyclic. Every seven, eight, nine, ten years, they have a population explosion.”

Pest Notes: Voles (Meadow Mice) (R.A. Baldwin, April 2023, UC ANR Publication 7439)
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/voles/pest-notes/?src=302-www&fr=3789#gsc.tab=0

Can Voles Carry Disease? What You Need to Know (Clay Jenkins, Feb 17, 2024)
https://petshun.com/article/do-voles-carry-disease

• “For example, the meadow vole is known to carry a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease, hantavirus, and tularemia.”
• “One factor that can increase the likelihood of voles carrying diseases is high population density. Voles tend to reproduce quickly, and when their population becomes overcrowded, they are more likely to come into contact with each other, increasing the chances of disease transmission.“

Rodent-born Diseases (National Park Service, May 10, 2023)
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/rodent-borne-diseases.htm

Zoonoses Associated with Rodents – Wild (Prepared by Office of the Campus Veterinarian and the Office of Research Assurances January 2021)
https://iacuc.wsu.edu/zoonoses-associated-with-rodents-wild/

I see so many butterflies with damaged wings and I'm amazed that they can still fly. Here are my observations of butterflies with tattered wings. All but two (who were caught in spider's webs) were still able to fly:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&q=tattered&taxon_id=47224&user_id=truthseqr&verifiable=any

I reached out to my friend @biohexx1 to get some insight about this phenomenon that has been puzzling me for years (he's so much better at searching the web than I am!) I'm recording his comments here so they're easy to find and review in future years.

@biohexx1 says:
" I think the biggest contributor to damaged wings are diseases of the pupae. The butterfly will come out with a deformed wing. The next biggest contributor are bird-strikes. Birds will take a nip at butterflies in flight like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1IgsRxikv-o&pp=ygUWRGFtYWdlZCBidXR0ZXJmbHkgd2luZw%3D%3D

Bird-strike wings are probably seen the most since they are mobile, whereas butterflies born with malformed wings probably die soon since they are not able to get nectar. I think the third most common damaged wings are from just age. The wings start to degrade over a season; beautiful things do not last forever.

Having said all of that, I think there is a enough wing to allow #2 and #3 above to fly. They may have to expend more energy since they are not as aerodynamic as normal butterflies, but they persevere. I am always amazed at seeing them fly. For me, having been on hikes, I've witnessed sad events towards mid-to-late summer when flowers are all dried up here in San Diego. I've seen many Behr's Metalmarks on the trail without nectar to feed on and just flitting low to the ground. I knew their time was almost up. But again, beautiful things do not last forever. Appreciate them while they are here! And I do. I love butterflies."

References:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qn18h0S6pVk
• https://m.youtube.com/shorts/j5BuciR2re4
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1IgsRxikv-o&pp=ygUWRGFtYWdlZCBidXR0ZXJmbHkgd2luZw%3D%3D

On May 26, 2024, I noticed several Malva nicaeensis plants of very different sizes. The smallest one was no bigger than the palm of my hand (in breadth and height). The largest one was waist high (approx. 35 inches). Very interesting! Especially in light of the fact that Jepson eFlora states that M. nicaeensis only grows to 2-6 dm (23.6 in) tall.

Sample 1: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218510391
This plant was very tiny - no bigger than the palm of my hand (~3 inches in diameter; ~1.4 in tall). The flowers and fruits were also very tiny. This plant was growing in the hard-packed dirt on the trail under full sunlight.

Sample 2: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218510400
This plant was as tall as my hand (~6 in) and only a few inches wide. It was growing in the shade under sycamore and California bay trees.

Sample 3: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218510444
This plant was twice as wide as Sample 1, but the flowers and fruits were about the same size. It was also growing in hard-packed dirt in the middle of the trail in full sunlight.

Sample 4: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218640472
This one was knee high (~20 inches). It was growing in the shade under some oak trees. The tips of this plant had been nibbled on - perhaps by the nearby herd of cows, so it was probably once taller than the measured height.

Sample 5: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218640481
This one was lying prostrate on the ground, but when I raised the stem, it was waist high (~35 inches). There were three main stems and lots at the leaf axils along the stem. It was growing with milk thistles along the side of the trail in full sun.

Sample 6: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218640479
I also noticed some M. nicaeensis leaves infected with some sort of virus. This is a new observation for me.

On Friday (2023-07-07) my granddaughter and I saw two barn owls in a large pine tree. There were three nests - one was about 2-3 times the size of the others. A juvenile was next to the largest nest staring down at us. We briefly saw an adult flap its wings and then settle down into one of the smaller nests. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera that day, so we went back on Wednesday (2023-07-12). We didn't see the owls, but evidence of their presence was there: bird droppings on the sidewalk, many feathers and we counted 9 owl pellets.

Snapshot Cal Coast Bioblitz (June 17 - July 9, 2023)
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/snapshot-cal-coast-2023

Day 1 (June 17, 2023; 171 observations; 94 species)
I walked the 4.4 miles around the Sunnyvale WPCP Pond in the Baylands near the Sunnyvale Recycling Center.

• I recorded 21 species of birds, but it seems there should be more. There perhaps a hundred or more mallards out on the bay, with some ruddy ducks, an occasional gull, cormorant, and a few pelicans flying overhead. There have been days when I've seen dozens of species in one day. Where are all the birds?
• I saw two mallard families with a total of 16 babies. Always so sweet!
• There were so many lizards and they all look quite different. I couldn't resist photographing all of them.
• The pond turtles were out sunning themselves. Yay!
• The water was so green!
• Predators have been busy. I saw 2 dead ducks, a few gull wings, and jackrabbit remains.
• I recorded 49 species of plants. Unfortunately, only 15 were native and 12 of the 34 non-natives are invasive species.

Day 2 (June 18, 2023; 125 observations; 76 species)
I visited Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge and surveyed the area around the visitor's center because the main trails are still closed due to construction. I also briefly visited the nearby Alviso Marina County Park.

• The coyote brush shrubs and California buckeye trees look so healthy after all the rain this past winter. Last year they looked very shriveled and pathetic after many years of drought.
• I recorded 14 species of birds - many were different from those I saw at Sunnyvale Baylands. Black-necked stilts and cliff swallows were the most common species.
• There were a few lizards, but not nearly so numerous as at Sunnyvale Baylands.
• I recorded 49 species of plants: 27 were native and only 6 of the remaining 22 non-natives are invasive species.

Day 4 (June 20, 2023; 82 observations; 55 species)
I visited Coyote Creek Lagoon at Don Edwards for a couple hours. There were a few species not found at either of the previous locations. I didn't photograph most plant species that were also found at the other two sites. I saw 19 species of birds.

Day 9 (June 25, 2023; 172 observations; 86 species)
I visited two locations in the South Bay: (1) the area where the Guadalupe River flows into the bay, and (2) the perimeter of Salt Pond A4 near the Sunnyvale recycling plant. These are the only areas I know of in the South Bay where you can actually walk along the shore. Alviso Marina & Don Edwards are doing maintenance work, so their shorelines are closed to the public right now.

• The trail was almost completely obscured by 6-7 ft. tall smilo grass, oats, mustards, Cretan mallows, and thistles. It was like walking through a dense prickly jungle. Not pleasant. As soon as I was able to get down to the shore, I walked there instead and found lots of small crabs, a few clams and mussels, and a turtle carapace.
• There's an interest in saline-tolerant Quercus, so I've been documenting every Q. lobata that I run across in the Baylands.
• I've seen very few honey bees this season - quite alarming!
• There are a lot of artichoke thistles (Cynara cardunculus) around Pond A4. I know they're non-native, but they're huge and have beautiful purple flowers, I think they're pretty, and the yellow-faced bumble bees love them.

Day 12 (June 28, 2023; 123 observations; 72 species)
I walked the Adobe Creek Loop Trail at Shoreline Mountain View for a couple of hours. At the northernmost point, the tide was receding, so I climbed over rocks to get to the shore to find some shells. Bad idea! I inadvertently stepped in sinking mud up to mid-thigh and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out by myself. I got a taste of what it must've been like for the animals at La Brea Tar Pits. I eventually pulled myself out, but I was covered in mud from head to foot and had to walk the 2 miles back to my car looking like the creature from the black lagoon. So humiliating! But I got some good pictures and found a few more species not documented at the other sites. My favorite sighting of the day was the big black-tailed jackrabbit resting in the shade.

I somehow screwed up when setting my phone GPS to record. Ugghhhh! I hate when I do that. Had to set all locations for my Joseph Grant observations manually, to the best of my memory.