Early in August, my husband and I traveled to the old family homestead, which is located deep in the mountains of western Pennsylvania. It is a lovely getaway, with active trains passing by at different times of the day. We do a lot of birding up there during our stays and have seen some life birds there too. The “Big Deal” every morning/evening while you are there, is to go outside and wave at the passengers of the Amtrak coaches.
One morning, while drinking my cup of espresso on the front porch, we noticed these beautiful butterflies flying/landing on the railing. They were black/blue and marked very prettily. We watched them for over an hour and my husband took their picture. I have guessed that they were Dark Swallowtails. Then during lunchtime we noticed this other odd looking thing on the plants which I have been told was a Butterfly Moth. Again, my husband took its picture. Then during the afternoon, as we exit the stonecutter’s sales shop, my husband spotted this female Killdeer on a nest in his front yard. We did not want to disturb her but she surely made us aware she was not happy with him taking her picture!
Since that day, I now search for large & small butterflies everywhere we go. My new butterflies field guide is always with my birding guide. While outdoors enjoying nature, it is now more fun for us, with or without birds present. Guess I’ve been a little slow to catch on with butterflies, but I have added them to my birding walks. “You are never too old to learn something new and have fun at it”. Oh, Oh! I just saw a dragonfly!!!
Angie DeLozier
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