Monarchs Still Clustering at Sierra Chincua!

Monday, March 27, 2017

Dear Friends,
Spring has now started , for us, this intense, bright and rather burning sun, causing very warm temperatures is rather unusual. However, last Saturday and Sunday, grey clouds covered the sky and we had rather intense rain over the weekend.

Today, Monday March 27, I started driving towards Sierra Chincua, sure that today’s photos would be showing the empty trees left at Sierra Chincua Sanctuary after the last Monarchs’ final departure.

During the long but really nice walk with Don Pancho, my guide, who knows me since I am a child, we enjoyed nice talks along the 1.40 hours it took us to reach the colony.

Much before we approached the site where guides assured Monarchs were still, after passing by “Llano Redondo”, two to three Monarchs could be seen nectaring at the wonderful yellow “Hoja Ancha” flowers, and once at the site where the smaller colony was one week ago, only some perishing on the ground could be seen, with totally empty trees around.

“Are you sure you are fit enough to walk much further downhill towards the Koala site, Estelita?” Don Pancho, now 67, one of the oldest Ejidatarios at the Sanctuary asked me.

“Sure I am!” I responded immediately, indeed braver than I should have showed myself, not imagining how far we would have to walk still,  and how much tougher the way back would be.

Along the way, while Don Pancho and I remembered the terrible wind, hail and snow storm in March of last year, he told me:

“You know, I have now proposed my Ejidatario Colleagues and our official authorities, to try a new way to reforest our Oyamel areas. Three times we have worked on reforestation programs to compensate previous logging damages and last year’s destructive storm, and the three efforts have actually failed in most percentage of the trees planted. Something is not working.  The little Oyameles die almost all after they are planted. This year, I have proposed our Comisariat, Conanp, Semarnat and Reserve Authorities to make another effort or reforestation but in a different way.  We should first start by working on the soil itself trying to first loosen it, then, we should try to collect the seeds of our own Oyamel trees fallen all over. There is so much Oyamel seeds on the ground all over —look! And then, simply spread the seeds all over in a certain land area, right before the raining season starts!  I believe this might be a successful way to get better results. Bringing the little Oyamel trees from the nurseries nearby to plant them again, makes no sense, we have had very poor results! We grandparents, parents, and our children, both men and women, should organize ourselves and start seed-collecting actions, and then, everybody to prepare the forest soil to receive the seeds of our own trees! No seeds and nursery trees from other places anymore! It is urgent that our forests recover all what they have lost!”

As he spoke, Don Pancho collected every Oyamel fallen seed-cone on the ground and kept it in a bag as part of his own personal seed collection, which I myself joined too.

"And what have the different authorities said to your proposal?" I responded.

“Mmm, it seems they find my idea interesting, but have not officially made a decision on it, yet,” Don Pancho told me, showing himself really interested in continuing to insist in this new way to try the next reforestation season here in Sierra Chincua.

During our walk, Don Pancho pointed to some areas where little Oyamel trees are growing here and there.

“But they are not growing as abundantly as the most diminished areas urgently need,” he reiterated.

After a really long walk, we reached the center of what used to be the mayor Colony at “Koala” Site, but further down from what this main colony was last time a little more than one week ago, way towards the forest area where I was a couple of weeks ago, within this Senguio Ejido, somewhere upway from where the beautiful waterfall was.

I was very surprised to still see a beautiful picture in front of my eyes by this time of the month.  For some reason, a minor but still substantial percentage of Monarchs are still clustering in these forest areas at Senguio Ejido.

Under a still beautiful sunny day, I shot my best possible photos, seeing that these were the last minutes under the sun, since very menacing and thundering clouds announced rain coming right then. I counted around 30 trees with small to smaller, but very live clusters.  This rather minor percentage of Monarchs were still doing small but beautiful explosions and at some points at the clustering, the sound of their flying could clearly be heard in a rather intense activity! I could only see one couple mating, but do not doubt that mating is still going on intensively during the day!

I asked Don Pancho if he could say why this percentage of Monarchs were still here, being now practically the end of March. 

“Perhaps they found this place were the forest is more crowded with trees, very fresh in spite of the very sunny days in other areas where the forest is not as close-crowded,” he said.

I myself wonder if Monarchs are still within a normal timing in their leaving, or if they are now rather delayed for a final departure.  It will be very interesting to know about the opinions of experts and researchers on the topic.

We rushed our way back in a much tougher way uphill and under rain and fine hail.

Forecasts have said there will be weak sunny days and rather cloudy and rainy afternoons within the few days to come; right now, it is cold and cloudy, and makes one wonder: might this hold Monarchs for a few more days at this “Koala” site in this forest area?

“They might stay here until next weekend, if we are really lucky, but the season is indeed at its very end,” Don Pancho said at leaving the Colony, certain that the real final leaving is imminent any minute now.

The beautiful rustic restaurants and souvenirs stores at Sierra Chincua Sanctuary are already closed.  Fee-paying booths too; two-three visitors were still today visiting the Sanctuary. 

Estela Romero
Journey North
Angangueo, Michoacán, México
March 27, 2017