Sunday, April 16, 2023

A Perfect Shot--Missed



I was taking Bailey out for a potty break when I was delighted by the sight of a beautiful, fresh-hatched Swallowtail perched on a bluebell. The color contrast was stunning, and I reached for my phone to capture the moment. Alas, a dog on a leash is no help to photography, and my only shots were blurred.

So I took the pup back inside and grabbed my camera, hoping for some luck. 


The butterfly was still there but now was deeply involved wth a patch of bare dirt.


I kept hoping but the obstinate insect merely found another piece of good dirt--the bare patches where the dogs pee.

In the past, I've seen clouds of butterflies on cow poop. Apparently, they are attracted to the nitrogen and sodium, not only in urine, but in other yucky things. See HERE

Oh, well...



 

4 comments:

Sandra Parshall said...

Beautiful pictures -- and sooner or later you'll get the one you want.
Butterflies draw nutrients from many natural sources. Make a little butterfly puddle and they'll come to it for water.

Barbara Rogers said...

That's a nice swallowtail, even if he was uncooperative.

Anvilcloud said...

Uncooperative creature, but the flowers look good without it.

cory said...

Ah, the trials of a wildlife photographer... that said, we are duty bound to try and fetch the "right" camera/rig hoping without hope that the critter stays put. I suppose the few times that they do are worth the *many* that they run (fly, crawl, swim) off.