"About 4:15 pm a cold front was making its way through our area. By chance we were out in the garden when it became filled with monarchs. We looked up and observed dozens riding the front. They were at all altitudes and many stopped to nectar in our garden. They continued to fly over for about 45 minutes (that I could see) and tapered off by 5 pm. We also saw dragonflies and hawks being pushed on......It was all so amazing to see!"
— Rosa McHenry, Wichita, Kansas, Sept. 18, 2015

First Pulse Along Atlantic
Blown to the coast by northwest winds, monarchs travel along the Atantic Ocean shorelines. Migration ebbs and flows for 2-3 weeks in response to wind and weather. The first peak migration event took place this week.

"Cool northwesterly winds arrived into Cape May Point, New Jersey, on the 14th and monarch numbers built steadily to the season's first peak on the 16th, when hundreds of monarchs were seen all over the Point. Cape May typically sees 4 to 6 peaks during each migration season, so we expect greater numbers in the weeks ahead."
— Mark Garland, Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project

Observers across North America are telling the story of monarch migration. What details can careful observations reveal?