Friday, June 19, 2015

Butterfly Magic

I was aAt Victory Bog in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom last week in the mid to late afternoon. The birds were generally quiet, but the butterflies were magnificent.

Tiger Swallowtails are so common that they almost ignored as just an expected part of the landscape. But on this day, the Tiger Swallowtails (probably Canadian) were flying in profuse numbers, and congregating around damp spots in roads and along roadsides. The fluttering presence, the sudden burst of dozens into flight, and the resettling on the ground again, was breathtaking ... beautiful, magical, inducing wonder.

(Canadian) Tiger Swallowtail

(Canadian) Tiger Swallowtail

A similar phenomenon occurred with Northern Crescents. They are much smaller than the swallowtails. They could almost have been overlooked, until we stood still. Then we saw them gathering, like so many sprites ...

Northern Crescent

Northern Crescent

Northern Crescent

Yet another tiny piece of imagination are the Spring Azures, tiny pieces of blue sky sprinkled here and there ...

Spring Azure

From previous meanderings in the last couple weeks is the Green Comma (Somerset Town, Green Mountain NF) and Mourning Cloak (Rutland Marsh) ...

Green Comma

Mourning Cloak

... and in my own backyard, Clouded Sulphur ...

Clouded Sulphur

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