Point Reyes Butterfly Count Results in 2026
POINT REYES BUTTERFLY COUNT – July 18, 2026
The 2026 Point Reyes Butterfly Count held on July 18th attracted 52 count volunteers. For the purpose of counting butterflies, the count area is defined by a 15 mile diameter circle. The Point Reyes count circle covers much of the Point Reyes National Seashore but also includes the communities of Inverness and Point Reyes Station.
Volunteers worked in eleven teams and recorded butterfly species and numbers of individuals that they observed. All together the teams spent some 56 hours in the field and hiked over 44 miles. All experience levels of volunteers were welcome.
On count day the weather was in the mid-60s, mostly sunny, but with more fog and windy conditions close to the coast.
The most plentiful butterfly was the Gray Buckeye with 289 individuals, next plentiful were the 182 Cabbage White, 81 California Ringlet, and 74 Mylitta Crescent. Overall count totals for the day were 874 individual butterflies consisting of 27 different species. Postings on iNaturalist showed three additional species for the count week, the Anise Swallowtail, California Tortoiseshell, and Funereal Duskywing bringing the species count to 30. If the butterfly count were held earlier this year it could have recorded the irruption of thousands of the California Tortoiseshell butterflies.
Highlights included several rare butterflies. Liam O’Brien spotted the beautiful, federally endangered, Point Reyes Silverspot butterfly, also known as the Myrtle’s Silverspot, which lays eggs on dried stems and leaves of the Western dog violet. Liam also found the rare Coastal Green Hairstreak with its blue teal iridescence. Both of these butterflies inhabit specialized plant communities on the outer coast and dunes of Point Reyes and are extremely vulnerable to habitat disturbances.
Other interesting butterflies observed include the Boisduval’s Blue and Satyr Comma found by Wendy Dreskin in the Muddy Hollow area. The sometimes difficult to identify skippers found include the Sandhill; 24 spotted by Cat Chang in the Abbot’s Lagoon area, also the Woodland, Fiery and Common Checkered Skipper.
David Wimpfheimer observed a single Monarch in Olema. Monarch butterflies are not usually found on the coast in the summer but return in large numbers to overwinter starting in October. In the 1980’s millions of Monarchs migrated to the California coast. These numbers have dwindled drastically, and in recent years the numbers of overwintering Monarchs are only in the thousands. There is now concern that an extinction vortex may be starting to take shape.
The Point Reyes Butterfly Count was organized by the Marin Monarch Working Group. Results are sent to the North American Butterfly Association which sponsors around 450 butterfly counts across the US, Canada and Mexico. The compiled butterfly observations from this community science effort provides important data about the geographic distribution and relative population of the butterflies observed. This information is used for butterfly conservation including identifying butterflies and habitats that are in trouble.
Look for the 2027 Point Reyes Butterfly Count next July
Compilers: Paul Johnson, Mia Monroe and Ed Nute pointreyesbutterflycount@gmail/.com
Shared with permission from Ed Nute.