Monarchs are on the way!
This week monarchs appeared along the South-central California coast in small numbers, a harbinger of the near Fall season. Monarchs were also seen in Idaho and in expanding numbers in Utah through Arizona and New Mexico as well. Despite raging wildfires and extraordinary hot and cold weather events, monarchs continue to stream towards their winter homes.
Monarch sighting reports were few in number in the West this week but there was an important milestone: the first monarch sighting at Pismo Beach in California. Pismo is one of the larger overwintering sites along the Coast and thanks to a Citizen Scientist report we know they are safely arriving.
Monarchs appeared in the summer breeding grounds across the West but their numbers varied by location. Early reports of tagged monarchs moving south and west from Oregon and Utah are already appearing as the annual Fall migration begins.
These cooler days are great for some exciting birding adventures so get out and try to find the new birds migrating through Madison and the Arboretum. The first two weeks in September should bring several different migrants to the forest and the prairies in the area.
Dear Journey North members,
By now you have probably heard that the forest area occupied by monarch in Mexico was down from last year, to 2.83 hectares (WWF- Mexico and the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)). In summary, the area occupied by monarch butterflies represented a 53% decrease from last year. The 2.83 ha include 11 monarch butterfly colonies measured in late December 2019, three in Michoacan and eight in the State of Mexico. Most of the area occupied (2.46 hectares) was located within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.
Avec une collaboration unique, notre cours cet automne va rassembler des élèves et des scientifiques de toute l’Amérique du Nord pour l’observation du papillon monarque et sa migration au Mexique. La migration dure le mois de septembre au mois de novembre et pendant cette période, les élèves apprendront les mystères de la migration.
How are all of you? I hope you are well and staying safe.
So what birds did I see this past week and what were the birds doing?
