Central Ohio NatureIt’s A Butterfly Time Of Year
Posted on August 16, 2018
Not that they aren’t seen earlier in the spring and summer but August does seem to be the time for butterflies. This year it’s been almost impossible to be out for any length of time without seeing a Monarch. In the late morning or afternoon small but beautiful Pearl Crescents make the shorter grass along the trail their playground. The beauty of some butterflies like the Giant Swallowtail is apparent to even a casual observer but others like the Buckeye reveal their beauty only after a closer look. Others like the hairstreaks are easy to miss altogether unless you know what to look for. The good news is that you don’t have to get up a the crack of dawn to see butterflies.
Sunlight filters through the woods along the Big Derby during a recent butterfly hike.
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So below is a celebration of butterflies that have been seen in the last few weeks. Much of the credit must go to my wife who tirelessly pursues these usually unpredictable creatures until she gets the shot she wants while I often content myself to photographing the more predictable wildflowers.
In late summer Bull Thistle is common in the prairie areas of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park and seems to attract it’s share of Monarchs.
The Giant Swallowtail is Ohio’s largest butterfly and not one we see every day, Griggs Reservoir Park..
A Giant Swallowtail depositing eggs, (Donna).
Great Blue Lobelia enjoying the more shaded areas of Griggs Reservoir Park.
A very small female Eastern-tailed Blue rewards Donna by opening it’s wings.
Prairie sunflowers, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
The beautiful but very small Gray Hairstreak, (Donna).
Hackberry Emperors are fairly common in Griggs reservoir Park and on a warm day enjoy hitching a ride on your arm to take advantage of your perspiration, (Donna).
Cardinal Flower
A small Summer Azure almost seems to blend in, (Donna).
Wingstem, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park prairie.
The not often seen Meadow Fritillary
The fairly common but lovely Orange Sulfur, (Donna).
New England Aster
Usually not seen in central Ohio until late summer or fall the medium size Buckeye is striking, Griggs Reservoir Park, (Donna).
Fringed Loosestrife also enjoys the more shaded areas along the Scioto River.
A small Zabulon Skipper, (Donna).
A small but lovely Common Checkered Skipper, (Donna).
Lazard’s Tail along the Scioto River, Griggs Reservoir Park.
Silver Spotted Skipper, Griggs Reservoir Park.
Tall Blue Lettuce, Griggs Reservoir Park.
Red-spotted Purple, (Donna).
Another look, (Donna).
Gray-headed Coneflowers seem to take flight.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Another look.
A somewhat faded black form of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, (Donna)
Black Swallowtail, (Donna).
Black Swallowtail laying eggs, (Donna).
Ironweed, Griggs Reservoir Park.
The Peck’s Skipper is a very small moth like butterfly, (Donna).
Cup Plant
Monarch, (Donna).
Monarch
Trumpet Flowers, (Donna).
Mating Pearl Crescents
Pearl Cresent
Tall Bellflower
Eastern Comma
The tiny flowers of Virginia Knotweed.
Certainly not the most aesthetic setting, a Zebra Swallowtail lands in our canoe just as we finish a paddle on Paint Creek, (Donna).
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Where there are butterflies and moths there are caterpillars and no one is better at spotting them than my wife.
Brown-hooded Owlet, (Donna).
Monarch caterpillar, (Donna).
Orange Dog (Giant Swallowtail caterpillar), (Donna).
Another look.
Black Swallowtail caterpillar showing horns. Horns extend when head is touched lightly. Donna).
Without horns protruding, (Donna).
Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar, (Donna).
Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars, (Donna).
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We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge some of the birds that continue to charm us as we walk through the woods of central Ohio.
Male Goldfinch, (Donna).
This time of year False Dragonhead can be seen along the shore of Griggs Reservoir.
A Ruby throated Hummingbird checks out the Bull Thistle at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, (Donna).
Woodland Sunflowers offer a splash of color in the woods along the Scioto River.
A Tufted Titmouse checks Donna out as she attempts to take it’s picture.
Indigo Bunting, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
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So what was I doing while my wife was taking so many excellent photographs in central Ohio? Fishing in Michigan of course.
This nice Largemouth Bas went swimming right after posing for this picture.
Fishing at sunset on Devoe Lake, Rifle River Recreation Area.
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If time spent in nature speaks to the essence of your being, your soul, you have riches greater than any material procession can offer. A wealth that grows in health, spirit, and the awareness of being part of the greater mystery. Thanks for stopping by.
A First Sighting
Posted on June 27, 2018
Each year it’s a happy time when we again realize that while increased leaf cover and more secretive nesting behavior may make birds harder to observe other beautiful and fascinating things have taken their place. The other things that enchant, as we explore area parks, are the butterflies and dragonflies.
These creatures are a lot like small birds in the sense that you must get close up and personal in order to really appreciate them. At a distance they look like just another LBFI. For starters an essential tool is a pair of close focus binoculars, minimum focus distance of 6 – 7 ft. If you are like me that may soon give way to the desire to photograph them either as an aid to identification or for the record. That’s when you really start to notice how fascinating and beautiful they are. The next thing you may notice is their behavior like the pond surface tapping of a female dragonfly depositing eggs or the unique flight patterns of various butterflies. The more you observe and learn the more enchanting it all becomes.
Dragonfly heaven, Prairie Oaks Metro Park.
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That’s not to say that we’ve given up on the birds. During recent insect outing I was hoping for a good shot of an Indigo Bunting but the one seen was just a little too far away.
Again too far away for a good picture but it is an Indigo Bunting.
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A few other birds were a little closer.
A Brown Thrasher plays hide and seek in the leaf cover.
Certainly not trying to hide, this singing Protonotary Warbler was amazing hard to find but once spotted hard to ignore. It’s cavity nest wasn’t far from this perch.
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Gradually as we work our way through June the bulk of nature’s activity increasingly revolves around the insects. A major menu item for many of the now stealthier birds, it’s impossible to ignore them while exploring areas such as Darby Bend Lakes in Prairie Oaks Metro Park. On a recent outing dragonflies and damselflies seemed to be everywhere and was made all the more exciting when a dragonfly that my wife spotted turned out to be the first recorded sighting in central Ohio!
Double-striped Bluet, (Donna).
Smaller than a Halloween Pennant a beautiful Calico Pennant poses for the camera.
Damselflies often are seen flying among the leaves of low lying bushes making them easy prey for the orb weaver spider.
Female Blue-ringed Dancer
Damselflies can be friendly.
Powdered Dancer
Blue-fronted Dancer.
Male Ebony Jewelwing, (Donna).
Halloween Pennant
Mating Halloween Pennants.
Female Widow Skimmer
A male Widow Skimmer dining on what appears to be a damselfly.
Male Eastern Pondhawk
One of the larger, but very common, dragonflies this female Eastern Pondhawk dines on a small insect, (Donna).
Fawn Darner
The Swift Setwing is one of the larger dragonflies and this sighting was the first recorded in central Ohio. Over the past few years it has slowly been working it’s way north perhaps due to such factors as global warming, (Donna)
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Butterfly Weed
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And as if the dragonflies weren’t enough during the past few weeks we’ve been treated to sightings of an amazing variety of other insects. So much so, that at times it was a bit overwhelming!
The medium size Eastern Comma Butterfly.
Eastern Comma another view, (Donna).
The medium size Great Spangled Fritillary, (Donna).
Another view of the Great Spangled Fritillary.
Virginia Ctenucha Moth
Red Admiral.
On a warm day the medium size Hackberry Emperor often lands on exposed skin to take advantage of the goodies in ones perspiration.
The beautiful marking on the underside of the Hackberry Emperor’s wings.
Monarch Butterfly.
A Monarch Butterfly shows the underside of it’s wings.
As far as we can remember this is the first time we’ve seen a Delaware Skipper, (Donna).
A very rare view of the top side of the very small female Eastern-tailed Blue Butterflies wings, (Donna).
A very common medium sized Orange Sulfur Butterfly.
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Sometimes it’s hard to believe your eyes, such was the case a number of years ago when we saw our first hummingbird moth. We continue to be amazed.
Snowberry Clearwing Moth, Donna
Another view, (Donna).
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Pearl Crescent, a common, beautiful, but smaller butterfly, (Donna).
Duskywing, a fast flying smaller butterfly.
The Silver Spotted Skipper butterfly is one of the larger skippers that we’ve observed to have an rather fearless attitude toward other flying insects. (Donna).
A Hoverfly pollenates on a Black-eyed Susan.
A very small long legged fly taxes the closeup capability of a Tamron 18-400 mm zoom.
Recently not far from our house we were thrilled to see Michigan Lilies in bloom
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It’s always hard to know when to stop as there are always more pictures that could be part of the post based on their merit. However, realizing that the photographer is usually more excited about pictures taken than those looking at them I’ve decided to show some compassion and stop here. At the very least I hope this post inspire nature lovers to get out and take a closer look and find that which enchants.
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Thanks for stopping by.
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Hey wait, what about me!
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