I shared a backside view of this Western Tiger Swallowtail from the Bird and Butterfly Garden in the Tijuana River Open Reserve a while ago, but today we can enjoy the full frontal view. And isn’t that weird, because, technically speaking, this is the “back’ of the butterfly. It is what is more commonly seen in the field, what is almost always photographed, and what is displayed in collections…so I suppose it is natural that we think of it as the frontal view.

Western Tiger Swallowtails are super common in southern California so no one else at the San Diego Birding Festival got very excited about my pictures, but for an eastern boy it was quite a treat, and fully justified my efforts in locating the Bird and Butterfly Garden, and the good people of San Diego’s efforts in building it. Of course, it was the only butterfly I found there.

Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1800mm equivalent field of view from about 5 feet. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 250. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.