Related Links
|--Monarch Butterfly
|--Painted Lady
|--Western Tiger Swallowtail
|--Rancho San Antonio Butterflies

Two-tailed Swallowtail - Papilio multicaudata
Mount Diablo State Park

Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta
Joaquin Miller Park

Gorgon Copper - Lycaena gorgon
Mount Diablo State Park

Golden Hairstreak - Habrodais grunus
Long Ridge Open Space Preserve

Butterfly Counts in San Francisco Bay Area and Northern/Central California

Annual butterfly counts are organized by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). Count circles are 15 miles in diameter. Counts for the greater Bay area are listed below. Please contact the compiler for a particular count if you are interested in participating.

For information about Butterflies of the Bay area see the Butterflies page.

NABA (North American Butterfly Association) butterfly count information ...link
More information about Bay area butterflies ...more

Updated for 2026

Greater Bay Area

Location	Date	Compiler (Organizer)	Contact Info	Highlights
Santa Cruz	30 May	Barbara Banfield	banfield(at)rattlebrain.com	33 species in 2025, including Pacific Fritillaries.
Pinnacles National Park	31 May	Paul Johnson	paul_johnson(at)nps.gov	40 species and 2,066 individuals in 2025. National Park information
Mount Diablo	2? June	Rich Kelson	richard.kelson(at)sixflags.com	42 species and 2,998 individuals in 2025. State Park information
Big Creek (Big Sur)	5 June	Mark Readdie	readdie(at)ucsc.edu	Gorgeous UC Nature Reserve
Hastings Reservation	6 June	Chris Tenney, Paul Johnson	tenneyx2(at)mac.com, pjpolliwog(at)yahoo.com	Unsilvered Fritillary, a nationally unique species. 43 species and 2,378 individuals in 2025. Hastings is part of the University of California Natural Reserve System.
Monterey	7 June	Chris Tenney	tenneyx2(at)mac.com	46 species and 975 individuals in 2025
Benicia	11 June	Paul Johnson	paul_johnson(at)nps.gov	Yuma Skipper and 5 Swallowtail species.
Sunol	12 June	Cat Chang	catpchang(at)gmail.com	First year of count! Sunol Regional Wilderness information.
Berkeley	13 June	Paul Johnson	pjpolliwog(at)yahoo.com	Oldest California count; 36 species in 2025
San Francisco	20 June	Liam O'Brien	liammail56(at)icloud.com	31 species in 2025. The Butterflies of San Francisco iNaturalist Guide.
Marin County	21 June	Wendy Dreskin	wendydreskin(at).gmail.com	Area stretches from Audubon Canyon Ranch to Ring Mountain Preserve
Point Reyes	18 July	Ed Nute	pointreyesbutterflycount(at)gmail.com	Located on beautiful National Park lands

Farther afield in Northern and Central California

Location	Date	Compiler (Organizer)	Contact Info	Highlights
Big Chico Creek	6 June	Don Miller	DGMiller(at)csuchico.edu	34 species and 1,226 individuals in 2024. At a CSU Reserve
Warner Mountains North	27 June	Tom Clark	tomoclark3998(at)gmail.com	85 species in 2018 (highest in nation); 20 national highs
Mount Shasta	4 July	Erica Harris	ericaharris(at)siskiyoulandtrust.org	76 species and 2,467 individuals in 2025. Mount Shasta information
Yuba Pass	7 July	Paul Johnson	pjpolliwog(at)yahoo.com	69 species and 2,384 individuals in 2025
Butterfly Valley	9 July	Paul Johnson	pjpolliwog(at)yahoo.com	65 species and 1,792 individuals in 2025. Butterfly Valley Botanical Area information.
South Lake Tahoe	12 July	Will Richardson	will(at)tinsweb.org	Butterflying near beautiful Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe information
Yosemite NP	27 July	Sarah Stock	Sarah_stock(at)nps.gov	75 species in 2023; Yosemite National Park information.
Glass Mountain	28 July	Ruby Montgomery	ruby.montgomery(at)usda.gov	35 species and 668 individuals in 2025. Glass Mountain information.
White Mountains	30 July	Paul Johnson	pjpolliwog(at)yahoo.com	White Mountains information.

Juba Skipper - Hesperia juba
Sonora Pass

Nelson's Hairstreak - Callophrys nelsoni
Lassen National Forest