I was a bit shocked and absolutely thrilled this past week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to spot my first butterfly of the year, which appears to be the appropriately named Spring Azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon). We have had some slightly warmer and sunny days recently, but the temperatures continue to be below freezing most nights.
When I encountered the tiny butterfly, I had my trusty Tamron 150-600mm lens on my camera, which is not exactly the optimal lens for this kind of subject. Life is often about making do with what you have, so I extended the lens to its full length, steadied myself as well as I could, and focused manually on the butterfly as it perched on some vegetation, a few inches above the ground.
It won’t be long before I see some bigger and more colorful butterflies, but this one is really special to me as the first butterfly of the spring.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Hooray for butterflies!!
Well done Mike I’ve yet to see one in my part of the UK this year. This time last year I’d had four species in the garden.
Benjamin was very pleased to see this “pretty baby butterfly”, especially after I enlarged the photo. He could see the tiny details much better and was quite interested in the antenna. Thank-you, Mr.Mike!
You are managing to turn this into quite an educational process for the little guy. This is a wonderful way for him to learn, unencumbered by requirements and textbooks. I hope I can continue to keep his interest–I actually think of him sometimes when deciding what I want to post.
Nice Mike! Spring is finally here!
I’m jealous! Can’t wait to see my first one this year as well!