More Than Birds - There Are Butterflies, Too!

On Monday Ron came down with some sort of a bug. We don't know if it was something he ate at the restaurant the day before (sea food), or something he picked up somewhere. We had been invited to go over the border with our neighbors, but had to cancel that.

Queen butterflies on tropical milkweed

So, I decided to do something on my own. I really had a hankering to see something different. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day of sunshine, so I settled on going to the North American Butterfly Association's nearby National Butterfly Center.

 

Reakirt's blue - a little frayed around the edges

We have had many days of cloudiness, fog throughout the morning, and some rain. The polar vortex that has affected the entire eastern half of the country also brings colder weather all the way down here in the southernmost tip of Texas. In addition to the weather, this is not really blooming season for many local plants. So, I did not have high expectations for seeing lots of butterflies. But I figured at least my chances would be greater on a warm, sunny day than a cloudy one.

White peacock butterfly on tropical milkweed

For admission, I was given the "Winter Texan" rate, which was only $5 instead of the usual $10. I took my Olympus camera with the new 70-150mm zoom lens and decided to see if I could get any good photos of butterflies with that. 

Two sulphurs on glossy red flowers provide a nice contrast in color

 I think I did pretty well! Then, for a bonus, after walking around for about an hour, this wonderful bird flew into the scene and sat on this fence for quite a long while. I took photos from further away, but slowly worked my way toward him to try to get something close-up. At the same time, I didn't want to spook him. Finally, I got a nice shot, and confirmed that this was a species I had not seen before - the loggerhead shrike.

Loggerhead shrike sits on barbed wire

It turned out to have been a wonderful morning, and by late afternoon, Ron was over his bug.

Hopefully we'll be crossing the border sometime soon. We've heard many wonderful things from others who have been. When we do, you can be sure, there'll be some interesting photos posted here!

---Mari