Sightings

How can we keep track of what butterflies are seen in the field or in our yards at different times of the year? How can we easily build a “life list” of butterflies seen? How can we see what other people have seen?

Two online databases are worth consulting and using. The first resembles Tropical Audubon Society’s Bird Board, while the second is comparable to Cornell’s e-bird. The third option, an offline database, caters to those who would rather keep their lists on their own computer. Birders use these resources regularly; butterfly watchers will benefit from doing the same with the following sites:

Butterflies I’ve Seen (NABA)

NABA offers one solution, called “Butterflies I’ve Seen” (BIS), with the reports presented in “Recent Sightings.” Each entry succinctly lists contributor, location, species seen, brief trip notes, and, often, photographs.  Posts are arranged chronologically, from most recent date back to the year 2000. NABA chapter field reports appear in this database.

e-Butterfly

Another online database, eButterfly (e-Butterfly.org) is similar to e-bird in its organization, depth, and scholarly approach. One can search sightings by location, species, date span, and so on. NABA chapter field trip reports, however, are less likely to appear in this database.

Sythebill

Sythebill (sythebill.com) started as a free, easy-to-use database for birders to record, organize, and share their lifelists and sightings. It has recently produced extended taxonomies, including databases for butterflies and moths.