Mass Migration in California--But Are They Monarchs? All at once, a flurry of reports poured in from California and Arizona describing a spectacular migration: 04/23/01 Carlsbad, CA (33.15N, -117.30W) "Monarchs are streaming through Carlsbad and Encinitas today like blowing snowflakes. We first noticed them when we woke up this morning, and they continue to migrate through this coastal town as of 1pm." (lena_klinova@iname.ru) 04/23/01 San Diego, CA (32.72N -117.17W) "Thousands of monarchs are flying all over the San Diego area today. I saw hundreds of them on my way through Camp Pendleton Marine Base this morning, and am watching many more fly past my office window in Rancho Bernardo. I've never seen them pass through this area before. Amazing!" (cfisher@strubix.com) 04/23/101 Bullhead City, AZ (35.01N -114.57W) "Thousands heading north!" (stiflinghot@yahoo.com) 04/23/101 San Diego, CA (32.72N -117.17W) "There were hundreds of butterflies flying north this afternoon." (bonkhead@san.rr.com) 04/23/101 Murrieta, CA (33.55N -117.2W) "About 5:00 p.m. I was amazed by the thousands of monarchs flying in what I'd say was a northwest direction." (ehyatt@earthlink.net) 04/23/101 San Diego, CA (32.72N -117.17W) "This is my first sighting, and I'm not positive that these are monarchs. They are butterflies, flying over my yard with great speed and purpose. Yesterday I saw about 2-3 approximately every 2 seconds; today I'm seeing about 1 every 7-8 seconds. They are about 2-3 inches in wingspan, and mustard colored with black markings, but I think they may have black spots. They haven't paused long enough for me to get a good look." (dcoon@post.harvard.edu) 04/24/01 Valencia, CA (34.45N -118.54W) "Small but steady stream of butterfies. Off of the 405/126. sighting was approx. 5:00 pm." (pndlusjmzgbv@spammotel.com) 04/24/01 Fontana, CA (34.07N -117.47W) "Sitting in our front yard this afternoon and evening we saw increasing amounts flying northward. It got very heavy at one point and stopped 6:30 pm." (ninaanddj@cs.com) 04/22/101 Yuma, AZ (32.69N -114.67W) "I observed hundreds if not thousands of small monarch butterflys while walking and driving in and around our R.V. park today. Loved it and had to tell someone." (jacobates@aol.com) 04/21/101 Lake Havasu, AZ (34.48N -114.34W) "This has been soooo beautiful - everywhere butterflies - thrilling to watch and so unexpected!!!!" (jackie@interworldnet.net) 04/20/01 Calimesa, CA (33.98N -117.04W) "Many hundreds of Monarch adults are flying north. We don't usually see this kind of migration." (jklturner@netscape.net) 04/18/101 Lake Havasu City, AZ (34.48N -114.34W) "I have observed the monarchs flying through this area since last week, Wednesday April 18, 2001. They appear to be in large groups which cover a large area for hours. They appear to be flying northwest. They are still very visible today Monday april 23, 2001. They do not appear until the sun has been up for about 1 and 1/2 hours; which is about 0800 hours." (paul@londonbridgelinens.com) 04/15/01 LaQuinta, CA (33.39 N, -116.18W) "I was on a phone call and noticed something flying by very frequently. I walked outside and they were Monarch butterflies; LOTS of them. They were coming from the South and flying North. They were smaller than the Monarch butterflies I was used to seeing in Minnesota (where I formerly lived; this is my first season in the desert); so I was wondering if they just weren't adult. Anyway, I also noticed more birds around than normal and it looked like the birds may have been trying to catch the butterflies. A half hour has passed this Easter morning and they're still coming!!" (teresa.craven@verizon.net) 04/15/01 Bakersfield, CA (35.38 N, -119.01 W) "Hundreds of them, they just kept coming. Beautiful spring day, they were beautiful." (desertladi@uia.net) 04/13/01 Phelan, CA (34.25 N, -117.34 W) "I live in Southern California's high desert community of Phelan. For the past 3 days I've noticed monarchs passing through like schools of fish! I never knew they migrated until I saw them and questioned a friend that said they come through this area every 7 years. So, I decided to get on the internet to see what I could find out about them a behold so many sites! My husband and I moved here a year ago and didn't remember seeing this many last spring. On the migration maps I've seen so far, I don't see where they are showing them coming through here but they are!!! I do understand that they migrate from mexico, but where are they migrating to?" (desertladi@uia.net) Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form