{"id":730,"date":"2019-09-04T16:16:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T16:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edwardoconnor.ca\/?p=730"},"modified":"2019-09-04T16:23:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T16:23:18","slug":"summer-sightings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edwardoconnor.ca\/summer-sightings\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Sightings or Random Thoughts on the Sacred Quest"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every summer, I stop birding and turn my attention to butterflies and dragonflies. Now, as the season draws to a close, I feel an urge to summarize it somehow, to list its highlights and express its character. Was there anything strange or unique about this particular summer, any surprising development, that set it apart from all the rest?<\/p>\n
I should note that all my outings take place in the city of Toronto. I don\u2019t own a car. When I go to a park or other type of natural area, I usually get there by foot or by bike. There are advantages and drawbacks to searching for insect life in an urban area such as Toronto. The advantages include a rich diversity of habitats\u2014parks, ravines, beaches\u2014many of which either contain or lie adjacent to a water feature. The drawbacks consist of what I refer to as \u201cthe three P\u2019s\u201d: pollution, pesticides, and people (by which I mean crowds of people in their hundreds and thousands), all of which take a terrible toll on insect life.<\/p>\n
In spite of the negative factors, I still see a good number of butterflies and dragonflies every summer and usually a good diversity of species as well. What distinguished this summer from its predecessors? As often, the season was defined by its weather. An unusually frigid and wet spring persisted into the middle of June. Perhaps as a result, the summer was a season of surprises. In the end, we saw some species we don\u2019t usually see at all, and some that usually appear in small numbers turned out to be abundant.<\/p>\n
For purposes of this summary, I\u2019ll simply list my top three sightings in each category and provide a brief account of miscellaneous sightings for both. You might ask: What makes a sighting good, better, or best? In a word, rarity. Finding something rare seems to satisfy a fundamental human need, one with archetypal significance. It answers the desire we all feel to participate in a sacred quest, to discover the Holy Grail or the Pearl of Great Price. For the amateur naturalist, nothing can compare with the satisfaction you feel on finding something unusual. Certain people might call this childish, but I consider it profound. Anything that runs so deep and provides such a pure pleasure must answer to one of our more imperious needs.<\/p>\n
Butterflies<\/strong>
\nHere are my top three butterfly sightings for the summer of 2019.<\/p>\n