Giant Swallowtail seen making flybys through the park
The largest butterfly in North America, the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), can now be seen making flybys through Heritage Park on a daily basis. Rarely stopping for a picture, I was able to snap a grainy shot of one from a distance along the Leonard Weaver Blvd canal a few weeks ago, and observed them flying through the Heritage Park Garden Circle today. We have Herculus Club in the Rue (citrus) family that makes a suitable host plant, and there are numerous citrus trees across the Booker Heights neighborhood. Learn more: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50072-Papilio-cresphontes.
In other news, residents also report seeing the Barred Owl out and about in the evening, and pointed out tracks from the Racoons that come out late at night. Two residents believe they have also heard Coyotes howling, and one reported seeing a "wolf-like dog" out in the field in the pre-dawn hours. Will have to see if a Coyote observation can be confirmed in the area.
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