Kip’s Comments - August 10, 2026

Butterflies, Blossoms, Birds, or All of the Above?

During my exploration today with my Nikon glass I had no defined intent for photo subjects. I was headed toward water where I expected I might find something interesting. However, my travels were interrupted when wildflowers and butterflies caught my attention.

Twice today I was treated to seeing monarch butterflies on swamp milkweed blossoms. As I pressed the shutter release button I acknowledged how pretty the combination of a butterfly and blossom was. That I was seeing many monarchs made the experience even better!

Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed - Image 1132068

Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed - Image 1132160

Not far from the swamp milkweed with monarch butterflies was a large area of cup plants even more monarch butterflies found attractive.

Monarch Butterfly on Cup Plant - Image 1132010

While watching the pollinating activity in the cup plants I wondered if a photo of just a cup plant, without butterflies, would be satisfying. I composed several images of just blossoms. All were acceptable, but the one I am sharing stuck out when I noticed a small hoverfly moving to the blossom. I suppose it would be accurate to say I like insect or butterfly enhanced wildflower pictures.

Cup Plant with Hoverfly - Image 1131879

Now let’s discuss birds vs blossoms and butterflies. For bird photos I was lucky to see a wild turkey hen with her young and red-winged blackbird nestlings. Since the pictures had something not often seen (a young turkey, a turkey head up-close, and a nestling with its mouth open), the bird pics had more to draw your attention than specimen-style shots.

Wild Turkey with Young - Image 1132095

Wild Turkey - Image 1132085

Red-winged Blackbird Nestlings - Image 1132194