I rode out to Eagle Marsh today in phenomenal weather, hoping that the line of storms last night would have dropped some interesting shorebirds into the area. Nope. But there were a lot of butterflies instead. I need to start a butterfly life list, because I have lost count, and I am getting okay at identifying them.
Black Swallowtail
A male Black Swallowtail jockeyed for position with a honey bee. Liferfly!
Fiery Skipper
My other lifer was this male Fiery Skipper. This lep was bright and shiny! I almost thought it was a sulphur for a moment.
Pearl Crescent
Pearl Crescents were puddling everywhere on the mud. They probably numbered in the hundreds. One bounced off of my face while I was riding home.
Common Buckeye
The Common Buckeye is one of my favorites just because of its name alone.
Monarch
And finally, a worn Monarch. Butterflies like this are really interesting to me, just because they have been through so much. You can pretty much bet that this one has been to Mexico and back.
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebes are not butterflies. But this is a bird blog after all.
That monarch has seen some shit for sure.