The
Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains are striking
geographic features in the East, and the monarchs encountered
them in full force this week:
The
Atlantic Coast
Monarchs can be swept toward the Atlantic Ocean by strong
winds. This can be dangerous for monarchs but spectacular
sightings often result:
9/16/07
Fire Island, NY (40.63 N, -73.34 W)
"For about 2 hours while I was on the beach, looking
in any direction there were butterflies visable, all heading
west. I am sure there were hundreds,and possibly a few thousand
butterflies that passed us as we sat at the beach. People
were just standing and staring. It was quite amazing...I
have never seen anything like it, ever!" (More
> >)
You
can follow research this fall at two study sites on the
Atlantic Coast. Both sites are positioned where the land
and ocean funnel the butterflies, and concentrate them in
large numbers. The Cape May Monarch Census reported an average
of 42.95 monarchs/hour during its first week. See:
The
Appalachian Mountains
Monarchs can fly effortlessly along the ridges of the Appalachian
Mountains toward Mexico when the wind is right. The migration
peaked at 40N in Pennsylvania along the Appalachian Mountains
last week when 2,000+ monarchs were seen in a single day
at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch site. Meanwhile, down
the mountain chain at 35N, good numbers of monarchs are
beginning to appear:
9/19/07
Asheville, NC (35.59 N, -82.56 W)
"This evening from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, we counted roughly
300 monarchs sailing through Tunnel Gap on the Blue Ridge
Parkway."
The
Central Region: Down to Latitude 38 North
The leading edge of the migration did not advance far last
week in the Central region. This may be due to the week's
weather-mix of cold, rain and south winds. People are seeing
monarchs in Missouri and Kansas, but they are eagerly waiting
for a big push.
In
Cape Girardeau, MO, Ms. Karnes students are counting monarchs
during their 20 minute recess every day. In Lake Ozark,
MO, school bus driver Adrian White is counting monarchs
as he travels his route. "Another day of few monarchs.
Only 6 from 11am to 4:30," he reported on September
20th. Let's see what they find next week. |