Swallowtail in the sky

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Swallowtail in the sky

August 6, 2015 by Mike Powell

Chasing after beautiful butterflies on a sunny summer day—it doesn’t get much better than that. I don’t know plants very well, but this appears to be some kind of thistle. I photographed this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) last Saturday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Papilio glaucus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, thistle | 16 Comments

16 Responses

on August 6, 2015 at 6:27 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Great catch. They do tend to avoid people.
- on August 6, 2015 at 6:29 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Victor. This one was higher than I was and didn’t seem to be aware of my presence initially.
  - on August 6, 2015 at 6:46 am Victor Rakmil
    
    And they fly high. I have had two good opportunities with these and a dozen failures. Great shot.
on August 6, 2015 at 6:28 am | Reply roamingpursuits

Nice capture.
- on August 6, 2015 at 6:28 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks.
on August 6, 2015 at 6:29 am | Reply Ed

Excellent! 🙂
- on August 6, 2015 at 6:30 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ed.
on August 6, 2015 at 7:17 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That’s a spear thistle, also called bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare). It’s a European invasive but a favorite of many of our insects. It’s also the national flower of Scotland.
- on August 6, 2015 at 7:23 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Allen, for the information and identification of the thistle. I was happy to be able to come up with the general category of plant. 🙂
on August 6, 2015 at 7:34 am | Reply Dan Antion

Great picture Mike (as always). If I might impose, I am trying to figure out what kind of bird I managed to capture searching for food in the CT River – Would you mind? http://nofacilities.com/2015/08/06/thursday-doorselm-grove-cemetery-redux
- on August 6, 2015 at 7:43 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  It looks to be a Great Blue Heron, Dan, assuming you’re referring to the final two shots of the posting. I love the lighting in those shots, by the way.
  - on August 6, 2015 at 7:49 am Dan Antion
    
    Thanks Mike! The reflected light was such a small patch on the river. When I saw him heading toward it, I kept hoping I could get to the dock in time to get a picture.
on August 6, 2015 at 9:08 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

That’s an interesting perspective giving an almost half moon shape. It feels like you’re right in there with the shot.
- on August 7, 2015 at 4:39 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Lyle. I really enjoying shooting ordinary subjects and try to capture them doing something unusual or from different angles. This was a case when the subject helped out by positioning itself in a way that let me isolate it from the background.
on August 7, 2015 at 4:39 am | Reply svtakeiteasy

Superb Mike!
- on August 7, 2015 at 4:40 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris.