Dorothy Hoard Memorial Butterfly Count

New Mexico butterfly guru Steve Cary will identify butterflies and discuss their habits and life histories. No experience necessary. Three habitats will be counted - mesa top,  streamside, and high altitude Camp May. 

Meet at Burnt Mesa in Bandelier on State Road 4 at 9:00 AM. We arrive at Canon de Valle on State Road 501 (West Jemez Road) about 10:30.   We go up to Camp May about noon and have lunch there and count until 3:30 or so.  People are welcome to come and go as they please within that schedule.

Things to bring: Bring binoculars (close focusing), cameras, nets (if you have one), and sturdy walking shoes, lunch and water. Some nets will be provided.

$5 registration fee per adult. Children (under 18) are free. Please register in advance.

Born and raised in the Upper Midwest, Steve earned his B.S. and M.S. from the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.  He arrived in New Mexico in 1980 and began a 30-year career in environmental protection and natural resource management.  Butterflies have always been Steve’s passion and he has published scientific and popular articles on these amazing creatures.  Through countless walks and talks around the state, he has become New Mexico's unofficial Butterfly Guy.  New Mexico Magazine published his wonderful book, Butterfly Landscapes of New Mexico, in 2009.  After concluding his career in New Mexico State government in 2010, Steve is now the Operations and Resource Manager at the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe.

Please also see the corresponding talk, "Butterflies You Might See in Los Alamos, and Some Fun Facts About Butterflies" to be held on Tuesday, August 5.

This year marks the 22nd Annual Butterfly Count in Los Alamos County, but this year the count carries a special meaning. This is the first such count since the passing of Living Treasure Dorothy Hoard, who initiated the Los Alamos County annual butterfly counts more than twenty years ago. As such, the annual butterfly count will from now on be known as the “Dorothy Hoard Memorial Butterfly Count”. 

Photo by Selvi Viswanathan.