Yesterday was a bumper day for butterflies. I went out to do some digiscoping (capturing images through my spotting scope with a point and shoot camera. I have a new camera and it takes practice to overcome the limitations). Along the way I came upon a medium sized bush beside the Kennebunk Bridle Path that was the center of attraction for about 15 Mourning Cloaks, and maybe 10 Question Marks…plus a few small woodland moths. Actually I am totally uncertain as to the numbers since I could never determine if the butterflies were coming back to the bush after leaving…or if they were being replaced by others. I had never seen either butterfly species, so a single specimen would have been a delight…but this was awe inspiring. I spent the better part of an hour observing and photographing…trying, of course, to catch open wing shots of both species. The Mourning Cloaks sit with wings open or fanning, so they were pretty easy, but the Question Marks sit with wings folded, and only occasionally fan, and I spent a lot of time trying to hit the shutter button at just the right second to catch open wings.

It was so much fun!

I plan to stop by that bush today to see if they are still using it as a rest stop (or whatever they were doing).

Nikon Coolpix P500 in Close Up mode (with the default zoom setting overridden). 1) 669mm equivalent field of view, f5.7 @ 1/400th @ ISO 160. 2) 235mm, f5.1 @ 1/200th @ ISO 160.

Processed in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness.