Wildlife: Sandy Swallowtail Butterfly

While visiting Laverne Park here in Coquille, Oregon with my mother and little cousin, I was amazed to see these Swallowtail butterflies fluttering around the river bed right on the sandy shoreline. I was able to army-crawl up behind and beside these guys in order to get closer shots. It looked to me as if they were in the middle of a mating ritual, the brighter butterfly overpowering many of the duller butterflies, not that I believe any butterfly is truly dull.

Swallowtails are quite common here on the Oregon Coast, but I usually see them in the bushes and on grass and flowers out at Laverne Park, which is a very popular camping and day-use area in Coos County.

By Chelle152 from Coquille, OR