The majestic of the northern Sierra Nevada of California provides the backdrop for this exciting Sunstreak tour.  Lofty peaks, lush mountain meadows and streams, accessible mountain passes and sagebrush covered hillsides provide some of the most outstanding butterflying in the western United States. The tour destinations includes habitats for many unique populations of butterflies that cannot be found elsewhere. Some of the most exciting endemics are Sierra Sulphur, Sierra Skipper and ‘Sierra Nevada’ Phoebus Parnassian.  In addition, we’ll see a tremendous array of fritillaries, coppers, blues, checkerspots, whites and skippers.
            The trip begins at 7pm on Friday at the airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday morning we may briefly stop in the nearby Spring Mountains, or head northward to the White Mountains of California, butterflying along the way. With stops, this scenic drive will take most of the day and we will arrive in Bridgeport, California in time for dinner. This high elevation (7000 ft.) scenic town nestled in the eastern foothills of the Sierras, will be our base for exploration.
            From Bridgeport we will make daily excursions to nearby hot spots where we expect to find not only fantastic butterflies but great scenery as well.  We will remain flexible as to the exact order we visit localities, being guided by local weather conditions and the status of the snow pack at some of the higher passes – allowing us to work with weather conditions, not against them. Butterflies are more unpredictable than birds.  Exactly where and when populations will appear is highly dependent upon local environmental and climatic conditions.  These conditions are often the result of weather factors that occur six months earlier, or more!
We intend to visit most, if not all, of the areas described below.  There are many other productive sites that we may visit, since a large portion of the tour area is public land.

Niagara Creek
Though we will be based on the east side of the Sierras, a trip to the upper west slope is a must. This area was the subject of a Definitive Destination article in the summer 1996 issue of American Butterflies. At Niagara Creek, a beautiful area with blooming California lilacs amidst open meadows and woodland, and other nearby spots, we’ll have our best shot at Clodius Parnassian, Hoffmann’s Checkerspot, an interesting local population of Northern Blue, Pacific Fritillary, and Johnson’s Hairstreak. Atlantis, Hydaspe and Great Basin Fritillaries may be zipping about with Northern Checkerspots, Dotted Blues, and two or three species of coppers.  Blue and Lilac-bordered Coppers may be common on roadside flowers.  There may still be a ‘Stella’ Sara Orangetip or two flying, along with Sonora and Sandhill Skippers.

Sonora Pass
Sonora Pass is a famous butterflying location and is one of the focal points of the NABA Fourth of July Dardanelles Butterfly Count.  This is high altitude butterflying at its best!  Depending upon whether it’s an even or odd year, one may find Riding’s Satyr or Chryxus Arctics right at the pass. Both flew together in a recent “odd” year. Many types of blues are found here including Boisduval’s and Arrowhead Blues. Glance around and you may see a small grayish butterfly darting about. This will be a Sooty Hairstreak, an odd, tailless species associated with the myriad lupines found at the pass. Wind-blown ‘Alpine’ Sheridan’s Hairstreaks sometimes can be found on the hilltops. If time and energy allow, we will scale the peaks to the south to look for Rockslide Checkerspot and a rare variety of American Copper found only in the Sierras.

Ebbet’s Pass
Our best opportunity see ‘California’ Phoebus Parnassian will be at this site. Here, too, fly Chryxus Arctics and two unusual checkerspots – a miniature form of Edith’s and a nearly pure orange version of Variable Checkerspot. The Variable Checkerspot here is interesting in that just a few thousand feet below, on the western slope, one finds an essentially black form.

Tioga Pass
In a meadow near the entrance to Yosemite National Park, we will search for one of California’s endemic species – Sierra Sulphur. These high-altitude beauties are a lovely shade of green, very distinct from the sulphurs that we normally see.  At least six species of coppers can be found at and above Tioga Pass, and we will have an excellent chance of seeing many of them, including Mariposa Copper. The Sierra Nevada version of Mormon Fritillary may be common in these meadows.  We may scale the slopes above the meadow to look for Square-spotted Blue and for the recently described Heather Blue, a butterfly as yet seen by very few butterfliers!  These scree-slope inhabiting, heather-feeding blues are a close relatives of Arctic Blues, which are also found here – at slightly lower elevations – in moist meadows.

Devil’s Gate Pass
Just a short distance from Bridgeport is an area of extensive wet meadows that harbor a very different set of butterflies than those found in higher and more xeric habitats.  In one small area, both Nokomis Fritillary and the lovely western Great Spangled Fritillary both occur. We may be a tad early for Nokomis, but, in the same area, we’re likely to see Ruddy Copper, Lilac-bordered Copper, Weidemeyer’s Admiral and, if we are lucky, Hedgerow Hairstreak.

White Mountains
Returning to Las Vegas on Friday, we’ll drive into the White Mountains, home of the ancient bristlecone pines.  Butterflies are more unpredictable here, since this large mountain range sits in a rain shadow of the nearby Sierra Nevada.  Nonetheless, with time and energy, we may attempt to hike up to see one of North America’s rarest skippers, Sierra Skipper. This relative of the Common Branded Skipper frequent the tops of the highest mountains. Butterflying into its domain, we may well see Shasta Blues,  Greenish Blues, Arrowhead Blues or even a Riding’s Satyr.  No matter what we see, both the bristlecones and the view are worth the ride.

The trip ends at 9 AM on Saturday, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Leader will be Jim Brock, co-author, of Houghton-Mifflin’s Butterflies of North America.

Cost of the trip is $1995/person from Las Vegas.  Cost includes double-based accommodations, continental breakfasts, lunches and soft drinks, ground transportation, airport transfers, tour leader fees and entrance fees.  Not included are dinners, alcoholic beverages, laundry services, and other items of a personal nature.  Single supplement is $350.

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