American Lady Butterfly on Northern Blazing Star: Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2024 — Both the Monarchs and American Lady butterflies are coming through southern Maine in big numbers the past two weeks. It is not a coincidence that it is also the height of the season for blooming Blazing Star which attracts both of them. As long distance migrants both need all the energy they can get. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 321mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Insect recognition auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Question Mark Butterfly: Kennebunk Maine, USA, August 2024 — When I parked my trike to take a walk on the Bridle Path here in Kennebunk, there was a butterfly fluttering around the parking area, settling on the gravel and bushes and trees for seconds at a time. It took me fifteen minutes of concentrated effort to get these two shots. 🙂 I knew it was a Question Mark or a Comma but it was a while before I managed to see the underside of the wing well enough to be sure. This is the first Question Mark butterfly I have seen in Maine in about 10 years, and I have only seen two other in the past. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Insect subject recognition auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
The Monarch Butterflies are coming back through, down the coast, on their way to Mexico. They come around Great Head point and across the Mousam River mouth, over the beach and the marsh, and continue on south, 20 or so of them in the short time I am looking. They rarely light for more than a few seconds, and most don’t light at all while I am looking. This one settled a moment on the ripening Beach Rose hips (Rosa Rugosa). Sony a6700 with my action and flight modifications (just in case it did not sit for me). Insect recognition auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2024 — I have been seeing Tiger Swallowtails in the forest and fields of Southern Maine for a couple of weeks now, generally on the wing, gliding close to foliage or grass. This is not the first to pass through our yard, but it is the first that has settled while I was watching and had my camera ready. It visited the daisies twice…I missed it the first time, but it came back, and then flew right up to the deck where I was standing and settled on the geraniums just long enough for a few frames before it was off up over the roof of the house and away. OM System OM-1Mkii with the M.Zuiko 150-500IS zoom at 1200mm and 678mm equivalent. Hand-held at 1/320th. Program mode with my bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Another gift from yesterday’s visit to Emmon’s Preserve (Kennebunkport Land Trust) in search of Trout Lily. Lit in front of me, flew off, and then returned even closer…and then sat with its wings open as long as I stood there. 🙂 Warming up in the thin April sun. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Common Eastern Bumblebee: Kennebunk Plains, York County, Maine, USA, August 2023 — before Northern Blazing Star season slips completely away, one last shot. Of course the Blazing Star bloom is a magnet to every pollen collecting bug in southern Maine. There were bees of every sort found here, including this common Bumblebee. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1250 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth: Kennebunk Plains Conservation Area, York County, Maine, USA, August 2023 — Last week when I went out to check for insects in the Northern Blazing Star bloom on the Kennebunk Plains, I found this Hummingbird Clearwing Moth working the Blazing Star…with a Monarch Butterfly right behind it. What are chances? Clearly better than you might think…as here you have it. There are two Clearwing Moths in Southern Maine, the Hummingbird (this one) and the Snowberry (which has a dark stripe down the side) and I have seen them both on the Plains different years. This is, on the other hand, only my 5th life Clearwing, though I only have photos from 3 of the previous…but I do remember each encounter vividly. This one will be the “one with the Monarch” 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/800th.
Robber Flies: Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, York County, Maine, USA, August 2023 — There are 54 species of Robber Flies living in Maine, comprising 20 different Genera…and there are over 1000 species world-wide. I have no idea which of the 54 these two are, but I found lots of individuals and many mating pairs when I visited the Kennebunk Plains last week to photograph the Northern Blazing Start bloom. This is a hand held in-camera focus stack from the OM Systems OM-1 and the ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent and about 4 feet. The stack is 8 exposures deep. Being able to do this hand held with an 800mm equivalent lens and from a comfortable working distance is pretty amazing. 🙂 Program mode. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. Nominal exposure ISO 400 @ f6.3 @ 1/1250th.
Calico Pennant: Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, August 2023 — There were several Calico Pennant mating wheels at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains this week. This one posed against a interesting backdrop. And this is the season when I always try for a shot of a Calico on a Northern Blazing Star bud. Northern Blazing Star is an endangered plant that, along with the Black Racer Snake and the Upland Sandpiper, the Plains are managed for. The flowers are too broad for them to perch on but the buds are likely perches, especially the shorter plants just back from the shore of the pond. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Western Tiger Swallowtail: Camino Real Hiking Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 2023 — There is water flowing in the Santa Fe River, still, after a wet spring in New Mexico, which means an unusual amount of birds and insects along the water course where it flows down through a series of parks on the west side of the city and along the bike and hike trail of Camino Real. True it is more of a creek than a river at that point, but along with quite a few birds, I found a couple of nice fresh Western Tiger Swallowtail butterflies sipping minerals from the wet sands at the edge of the river. They would fly over the water and dip for drink, and them, if I was patient enough, eventually settle on the shore. OM Systems OM-1 at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/800th.