Home  ¦ Index to Field Studies  ¦ Current Directory  ¦ Tables:  ¦ I a  ¦ II a  ¦ III a  ¦ IV a  ¦ V a  ¦ VI a  ¦ VII a  ¦ VIII a  ¦ IX a  ¦ X a,  X b,  X c,  X d,  X e,  X f,  X g,  X h,  X i,  X j,  X k,  X l,  X m,  X n  ¦ XI a  ¦ XII a  ¦ XIII a ¦

left arrowarrow leftTable X b -  Page 70
Airport in Calhoun, Georgia;  October 7, 1987;    
(Magnetic Declination = 2°W:  Subtract 2° for True Bearing, True Heading and True Wind Direction)
Num.    Species    Time Flight Behavior Weather Field Notes
    I         II     III IV Va Vb Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
 Est.
Alt.
Type
of Flt.
Horiz.
Flt.
Vert.
Flt.
Mag.
Bear.
Mag.
Head.
Wind
Dir.
 Wind 
Vel.
Amb.
Temp
Thrm.
Act.
 Cloud
Types 
330 D. plexippus 9:09 15 m flap,
glide,
flap,
(soar)
straight,
(circle)
descend,
climb
222° 172° 295° 1.8 m/s - yes - Butterfly started at 10 m, descended to 7 m, then climbed to 15 m and continued on.  It quit flapping several times and briefly soared in circles.  Winds were light and variable as thermal puffs began to develop.  All of the D. plexippus that Alton Sparks was observing on floweres in adjacent fields began taking wing.
331 D. plexippus 9:14 20 m flap,
soar
straight,
circle
climb 206° 206° - - - yes - Butterfly started at 10 m, flapped up to a thermal, and began gaining altitude while soaring in circles. When the butterfly was out of range of my binoculars, John Westbrook was able to track it with the theodolite for 2 more minutes.  He reported that the continued to butterfly soar in circles for awhile, then began flapping, and descended.  The vanishing bearing was 177°, indicating that after for most of John's observation, the migrant was flying in a right crosswind.
332 D. plexippus 9:19 1 m flap,
glide
straight climb,
descend
182° - 185° 2.5 m/s 14.5°C - - Butterfly was flying upwind and may have been foraging.