I’ll wrap up Birds of New England’s first unofficial Butterfly Weekend with some bonus shots of eastern tiger swallowtails. Monarchs may have been more numerous on my recent walks, but swallowtails proved to be more cooperative.
I hope you enjoyed Butterfly Weekend. Thanks for supporting Birds of New England.
I see far more eastern tiger swallowtails than black swallowtails so it’s always a treat to see these handsome fliers around.
Skippers are commonly seen and often cooperative for photographers.
Here’s a looker of a butterfly: the common buckeye. Note the ‘fake eyes’ on the wings to make the delicate creature look fierce.
It’s been a great year for monarchs, at least in the meadows I’ve been walking in. That is particularly good news because of the dire predictions about the monarch population that surfaced a few years ago. From what I’ve read, monarchs are more plentiful this year on both their summer and winter grounds. Let’s hope that trend continues for this iconic species.
Here’s a monarch all covered in pollen.
Here’s the first of many butterfly photos I took this week during walks at Happy Landings in Brookfield, Connecticut. The vast meadows are home to a great number and variety of butterflies.
I’m kicking off the Birds of New England unofficial Butterfly Weekend with this shot because the butterfly’s wings are still perfectly intact. Many butterflies have wings that are damaged due to predators, weather or any other number of factors. These wings are as yet unscathed.
Birds of New England.com 