Planning a trip?

Oregon's South Coast is your destination. Check out these wonderful Bay Area activities.

31 Taste some Oregon wine Taste some Oregon wine

Visit Coos County's first commercial winery. Follow Highway 42 ea ...

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32 Visit site of 1856 massacre Visit site of 1856 massacre

The Geisel Monument, seven miles north of Gold Beach off U.S. Hig ...

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30 Observe some butterflies

Observe some butterflies Numerous kinds of insects make their home on the South Coast and some of the more spectacular ” or pretty, if you will ” are butterflies and moths.
The North American Butterfly Association sponsors a butterfly count in the weeks before and after the Fourth of July, an insect equivalent to the Christmas bird count.

The NABA Butterfly Count attempts to census the butterfly populations across North America. Volunteers select a count area with a 15-mile diameter and conduct a one-day census of all butterflies sighted within that circle. NABA (http://www.naba.org) organizes the counts and publishes the annual reports. Comparisons of the results over the years monitor changes in butterfly populations and reveal effects of weather and habitat change on the different species.

The large butterflies such as the swallowtails are often seen, but there are a number of small ones, also very pretty, such as skippers and blues.
Several nearby parks, such as Shore Acres State Park near Charleston or Choshi Gardens up in Coos Bay's Mingus Park, have flowers and plants that attract butterflies as well. At least five kinds of lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) have been sighted at the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve in Charleston.

Another option ” and an almost guaranteed success at seeing butterflies in all stages of their life cycles at the peak of summer ” is the Oregon Butterfly Pavilion in Elkton. The pavilion is the only one of its kind in Douglas County and has enclosed garden areas for viewing and a courtyard area. It is open to the public from from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Memorial Day to Labor Day.
29 Catch a watercolor workshop 31 Taste some Oregon wine
 

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