On Sunday, May 25, the first Karner blue butterflies of the year were observed at Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park, just in time for the Wildlife Festival that is scheduled for Sunday, June 1^st at Camp Saratoga on Scout Road in Gansevoort.  At the festival, there will be hourly butterfly walks starting at 11:15.  At the festival there will also be live raptor programs, pond exploration, nature crafts and other hands-on activities.  The festival runs from 11:00 – 4:00 and is free of charge.The endangered Karner blue butterflies spend the winter as an egg, hatch into their larval stage to feed on the wild blue lupine, and have just now emerged from their chrysalises. This first brood of adult butterflies will mate and lay eggs on the wild blue lupine.  Those eggs will hatch and form the second brood, with those butterflies appearing usually in early July.  There are several trails in the Preserve & Park where you can observe these small blue butterflies. The most accessible are at Camp Saratoga  where the trail leaves from parking lot #1.  The other trails are Old Gick Farm and Fox which are accessed from parking areas off of Route 50, just north of King Road.There be many opportunities for guided nature walks to look for the butterflies.  These walks will take place on Thursdays starting on May 29 and continuing through the month of June.  The walks will be offered twice a day, at 11:00 am and again at 4:00 pm.  The walks leave from the parking area for the Old Gick Farm on Route 50 which is just under 4 miles past Wilton Mall. The walks should last about an hour and cover a mile of gently rolling terrain.  The next few weeks will be ideal for seeing many of the newly emerged butterflies as they search for nectar and mates in the open pine/oak savannah that is their habitat in the Saratoga Sandplains.  The walks will not take place if there is rain.  Please dress appropriately for weather and insects.  For more information about the walk and to pre-register, please contact the Park Office at 450-0321 or visit the website at www.wiltonpreserve.org.  The Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park is a non-profit organization that conserves ecological systems and natural settings while providing opportunities for environmental education and outdoor recreation.