Journey North volunteers and readers have been waiting with bated breath for more monarchs to arrive at traditional overwintering sites in Mexico since the first monarchs were reported a few weeks ago.

On Thursday, our first large report from the Monarch Biosphere Reserve came in to Journey North, passed along by the Correo Real program from a volunteer named Diego González Martínez, who reported seeing nearly 2,000 monarchs at Santuario Sierra Chincua.

While it's been a couple of weeks since the first monarchs were spotted near overwintering sites in Mexico, monarchs are not yet arriving in droves.

Journey North writer Estela Romero reports from Angangueo that between last Wednesday and Friday, a few groups of monarchs were seen dispersed in areas surrounding the village, heading south to El Rosario or Cerro Pelón sanctuaries.

Dear Friends,