0 favorites     0 comments    144 visits

1/200 f/4.0 108.0 mm ISO 100

Panasonic DMC-FZ200

EXIF - See more details

See also...


Keywords

macro
FZ200
annkelliott
Anne Elliott
wings open
W of Millarville
Fritillary sp.
dorsal view
FZ200#3
Darryl Teskey's property
23 July 2015
SW of Calgary
Alberta
Panasonic
nature
insect
plant
butterfly
close-up
outdoor
leaves
summer
foliage
Canada
Darryl and Ailsa


Authorizations, license

Visible by: Everyone
All rights reserved

144 visits


Fritillary sp.

Fritillary sp.
There seem to be about 10 different species of Fritillary butterflies in Alberta. They look rather similar, so I won't attempt to give a more detailed ID. This one was hidden by grasses, so I was unable to get a nice, clear shot.

Six days ago, on 23 July 2015, five of us spent the day botanizing the land belonging to Darryl Teskey, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville (maybe a 40-minute drive from Calgary). This was the first time I had been there and I'm so glad I went - I would have missed all sorts of things, including a family of Ruffed Grouse and several fungi. These Grouse were the rare rufous-morph, and we startled them when we were walking through the forest in their direction. Usually, you don't see Grouse because they are so well-hidden. When you get fairly close (sometimes very close) to them, they suddenly "explode" from the tangle of shrubs and plants of the forest floor, making ones heart beat fast!

Our walk took us over grassland and through forest, everywhere treacherous with so many fallen logs which were often barely visible. I have never, ever seen so many tiny Skipper butterflies - there must have been hundreds or even thousands of these bright orange beauties that were flying or perched on flowers of every colour.

Fortunately, the rain stayed away until we started driving back to Calgary. Quite a lot of black clouds, reminding me of the tornado that passed through Calgary just the day before (22 July 2015).

Our purpose, as always, was to find and list everything that we saw - wildflowers, trees, grasses, birds, insects, fungi, etc.. Our leader then compiles an extensive list of our finds and this is later sent to the landowner, along with any photos that we might take. Always a win/win situation, as the landowner then has a much better idea of just what is on his property, and we have a most enjoyable day. This summer, with quite a few botanizing outings like this, plus two 3-day trips to Waterton Lakes National Park, I am so far behind with the photos that I need to edit and e-mail!

Comments

Sign-in to write a comment.