Niagra Audubon Society | Winged Beauty Butterflies

Northern Pearly Eye Butterfly, photographed by Jeff Zablow at Allenberg Bog in New York

We hiked to the Allenberg Bog in far western New York State. I wanted to find Bog Copper butterflies (themselves very rare) and Barbara Ann Case looked forward to examining the many specialized plants that can be found in Sphagnum moss (acid) bogs. The Niagra (New York) Audubon Society owns this relic of thousands of years ago, it the size of a small pond, but a very ancient small pond.

This field trip stands out in my mind, for Barbara Ann A”H (Of Blessed Memory) passed away some months ago. She made those hikes despite her worsening health problems. Why did she? She loved the outdoors and an opportunity to see a habitat that is fast disappearing, with its pitcher plants, sundew plants, bog blueberry and a host of plants threatened with extinction.

The happy surprise for me was the appearance of this Northern Pearly Eye butterfly, at the bog’s edge. I’d only seen them on trails, where moving water was nearby. Seeing this beaut at the bog? Exciting. It was fresh, richly colored and it came to rest on a leaf, wings extended. Shooting a Pearly-Eye with its dorsal wing surface revealed? Totally Wow! Those ‘eyes!’ Those ‘eyes!’

Jeff

This sweet image of a rare cranberry bog butterfly, the Bog Copper was a real rush (translation: major joy) for me. It looked like she’d flown for more than one week, yet her black wing spots remained strong and distinct.

Visiting a true bog is a hard to forget experience. The footing is scary, the thought of you sinking down, way down, is well, concerning. They are usually much north of where you live, and the flora and fauna there evoke the feeling that it is actually 1,000 years ago, and nothing has changed, except . . ., that you are there, in that very bog.

I was there with Barbara Ann Case, not too far from her home in Frewsburg, New York. This was Allenberg Bog, owned by the Niagra Audubon Society. Barbara Ann’s passing continues to upset me. She introduced me to this cranberry bog, and that was typical of her desire to share her knowledge.

Jeff