Oh, hi there!
Yesterday we took a drive to Allegany State Park and went for the always-essential creek walk. (It wouldn't be a nature day if you didn't walk in the creek. At least my family seems to think so.)
As Dan was hunting for crayfish with Liam, I wandered ahead to find a dry place to sit for a minute. No, I'm not out of shape....I just wanted to meditate on nature, okay?
Suddenly something bright yellow caught my eye. I looked down to see a swarm (gaggle? pack? herd?) of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. Now, I'm not sure if they're Eastern Tiger Swallowtails or Western Tiger Swallowtails. I tried to look it up and it seems that according to the markings, they're Westerns but also PA is out of range for the Westerns. I'm hoping my internet friend and naturalist extraordinare Monarch (http://monarchbfly.com/) will stop by and educate us!
The butterflies apparently get moisture and minerals from the mud and they were pretty much unconcerned with me. A couple of them would fly up from time to time and then settle back down to the task at hand within a minute or two. 
Photography note: this shot is pretty similar to the first one above, but I used my fill flash and backed up a little to get more of it in the frame. Which do you think is better?
I could have sat and watched these guys for an hour but soon the crayfish hunt was done and it was time to venture on.
Photography note: this shot is pretty similar to the first one above, but I used my fill flash and backed up a little to get more of it in the frame. Which do you think is better?
I could have sat and watched these guys for an hour but soon the crayfish hunt was done and it was time to venture on.
18 comments:
These are just beautiful! I love all the different shots you got. Nice pp to!
Beautiful! How neat that you got too see that many butterflies!!
Wow that is neat! I love that last one a lot!!!
Cari
oh those are gorgeous..i've been wanting to get a butterfly picture for so long but they're always too fast for me.
Butterflies are my fav. Love it!
Oh man, Amy--these are awesome! I have never seen a bouquet of butterflies before (I don't know if that's the right term, but it seems to fit). What a cool thing to see--I would've hated to leave!!
Beautiful! Wish we had something like that around here.
i always love butterfly pics!!! :)
Stunningly beautiful for their naturalness, their color, their patterns, and that there are so many. How lucky to get to see these!
Those are so beautiful. Love the colors. I would have hated to get up and leave them, too!
Wow - very cool! Nice detail.
This is eastern, although, a new species was discribed in 2001 and with sending some photos to the guy he thought it could be that species or another variation. With that said call it an eastern
These are so amazing. There are so many of them...love the colors and all of the details.
These are so cool, you see the most awesome stuff when you are out in the woods. I never see stuff like that, of course that could be due to the frequency with which I am in the woods. :P
Great shots! The detail is awesome.
Those are some great close-ups of those butterflies, wow!
These are all awesome! I've never seen so many butterflies all at once! Beautiful! :)
Very cool! Beautiful butterfiles:)
Shawna (shawkrem)
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