Still shots hardly do justice to the zip, dart, and dive of red admirals in motion along Little Crum Creek.
And lately several have been fluttering rapidly over shoulders of local admirers.
Fortunately, on Friday, a few paused long enough for this brief appreciation.
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News clips from New Jersey, New York, and Ohio are reporting remarkable amounts of red admirals currently traveling north from southern states.
Some suggest that the annual migration is bolstered by locally emerging butterflies and a mild winter that helped more red admirals than usual survive the year.
Whatever the cause, several have suddenly filled the air here too.
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For an hour at sundown Friday, amid a creekside celebration with family, nearly two dozen red admirals swirled in fluttering clouds of three to eight, each giving tireless chase to the others above our marveling gaze.
What a way to mark a day!
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May 16, 2012 at 4:35 am
[…] are still blooming too, and this bumblebee seems very happy that they are. Scott over at the Little Crum Creek blog did a post on the red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) migration. Just as I finished telling […]
May 14, 2012 at 1:17 pm
The Red Admirals are indeed plentiful in Ohio this year- they’re enjoying spring for sure!
May 15, 2012 at 10:43 am
Thanks for confirming the irruption there in central Ohio, Tracy!
May 14, 2012 at 11:09 am
Absolutely love these shots! Butterflies can be so difficult to shoot, just as soon as you get focused and ready to press the shutter button, they flit off and you’re back to chasing them to frame a good shot… LOL
May 14, 2012 at 11:17 am
So true. In fact, yesterday I was swiveling around for far too long trying to frame a little butterfly and then just gave up after weighing the prospect of identifying it. A while later, it just landed beside me for a second … ‘click’!
By the way, this red admiral might be the zipping orange butterfly that I mentioned to you a few weeks ago.
May 14, 2012 at 11:21 am
I soooo know what you’re saying! I took a picture of one that landed on the bench next to me… it was teeny tiny, I tried not to disturb it by holding the camera in my left hand and hoping it was focused, snapping quickly. Maybe what they are trying to tell us is we’re working way too hard at this!!!! LOL :)
May 14, 2012 at 11:36 am
Maybe! I guess the world will remind us to let go if we forget…
May 9, 2012 at 6:28 am
Man, I was so excited when I saw a few of them— I had no idea they were here in droves! That’s amazing!
May 9, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Totally! I was awestruck by nearly two dozen. I’d be bowled over by a great migrating cloud of them. They inspire the same impulse of driving to Cape May when the monarchs are passing through.
May 9, 2012 at 3:37 am
Great photos of this lovely butterfly. Dont see so many of them here these days but it is the first butterfly I learned to identify as a child. Fantastic!
May 9, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Thanks, Debs. May the butterfly of childhood once again alight upon you!
May 8, 2012 at 4:30 pm
[…] A related post by Scott, a fellow writer/blogger. Please share this:MoreLike this:Like2 bloggers like this post. Comments (7) […]
May 9, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Nice. Follow link for some red admiral pics from Paula B. in Minnesota:
http://wp.me/pB9PW-EL
May 8, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Hi, so you are also blogging about the red admiral, I guess you do if there is a lot of them as you told. And it is a very beautiful butterfly. I see you also have a lot of other interesting posts!
May 9, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Thanks, Bente. I really enjoyed the vibrant composition of your red admiral shots.
http://wp.me/p1i7M5-6e
The sudden number of butterflies really caught my attention and put the red admiral right to the front of the queue.
May 7, 2012 at 6:44 pm
I saw a half dozen of these – I think these – on my lilac bush this afternoon. I’ll have to take a closer look tomorrow now for sure!
May 8, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Well, did you have a look, Jen? Were they red admirals? (I bet they were!)
May 7, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Telling you Scott, I’m coming across as the all knowing OZ in my nephews and niece’s eyes. Thank you for reminding me of (past post’s creeping Charlie comes to mind) or sharing the names of nature.
I’m East coast CT and we share many of the same species with PA. Actually my husband is from PA… such a big state compared to CT. Our house here is on a wooded lot and we have always had the Red Admirals but I never knew what their names were. Glad it’s an easy one to remember cause the kids will pick up on it and start to look for them in their wooded yard as well.
May 8, 2012 at 9:30 pm
That’s so cool, Blue.
It’s funny. Getting on intimate terms with the natural world can make the whole world seem smaller (because we share so many species of things, as between CT & PA) and yet it can make a little yard seem infinite.
In fact, the more I learn out here, the more I find I don’t know. And that kind of wonder, by way of knowledge, beginning with the names of things, seems like a great gift for kids.
At least, that’s one hope for my own nieces and nephews. In the meantime, how great that they want to report all their critter & insect encounters to me! It’s rewarding, isn’t it?
May 7, 2012 at 11:43 am
So far I’ve only seen one every now and then. Hope their numbers increase soon. Great picts. They can be a challenge to capture with camera.
May 7, 2012 at 8:05 pm
Yes, they’re so fast it can be tough to get an ID or a picture until they land, which isn’t for long. It’s funny … on May 3, I couldn’t believe my luck in getting some close shots of one at nearby Ridley Creek State Park. “Pity,” I thought, “these would look great on slcc.” But, just the next day here on lcc, we had all the admirals featured above. Never know, you might suddenly see a bunch!
May 7, 2012 at 10:09 pm
My fingers are crossed!
May 7, 2012 at 11:33 am
Hi, Scott
I kept wondering why I saw several Red Admiral on Sunday. Even at my end of Philly, they are more numerous than usual.
May 7, 2012 at 7:54 pm
Hey Donna, thanks for the report. I wonder if we’re seeing a bumper of locally hatched ones or if we have a bit of migration, too. Hope to hear again what kind of numbers you’re seeing!
May 7, 2012 at 11:04 am
Amazing-after just telling you they weren’t in NH I went outside and saw one. Of course, I was on the phone and didn’t have a camera!
May 7, 2012 at 11:11 am
Awesome — thanks for letting me know. I see some of the best stuff when on the phone. It can be agonizing!
May 7, 2012 at 9:06 am
They have been in west Texas and added touches of color to blooming plants. Thanks for sharing your photos and, as always, the poetic words!
May 7, 2012 at 9:38 am
Thanks for your report Elizabeth (and your encouragement!). I’ve read that they winter in south Texas from October to March.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta
Of course Texas is a big place, but I’m wondering if you get to see some red admirals throughout much of the year?
May 7, 2012 at 11:34 pm
Scott, the large numbers have left our area and only a few are around now. I will keep an eye out these next months and let you know.
May 7, 2012 at 8:21 am
I hope they come through NH. I haven’t seen any yet, but I’ve heard a lot about them.
May 7, 2012 at 9:43 am
I hope so too, and soon. Stand still watching and they’ll maneuver some pretty close fly-bys.
May 7, 2012 at 8:19 am
They are everywhere here! There are so many of them at any one moment of looking you can see one to three of them, no matter where you are looking. I feel awkward driving and hitting them!
May 7, 2012 at 9:22 am
Cool! I haven’t found that kind of consistency here on LCC. There have been more than usual for a few days, but nothing like the news reports & what you’re experiencing. In what part of PA are you seeing them?
May 7, 2012 at 10:05 am
Williamsport, and other parts of Lycoming County are pretty much the same concentrations of the butterflies.
May 7, 2012 at 11:13 am
Must be beautiful country up there.