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Migration
Update: October 29, 2009 |
Please
Report
Your Sightings! |
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This
Week's News:
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Photo
of the Week |
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The
Migration: Maps and Questions |
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Latest
News |
A
Week to Remember in Northern Mexico
Rocio
Treviño
reports from Saltillo, Coahulia:
All week the monarchs have astonished us during their passage over Saltillo,
Coahuila. People say they have not seen the monarchs so numerous
in years. The monarchs have formed clusters throughout the city of Saltillo.
By about 9:00 every morning, as soon as the sun warms the air to 15°-17°
C (59° -62° F), the monarchs begin to fly from the trees in parks,
near houses, schools, and streams across the city. Hundreds and hundreds
of monarch butterflies, spiraling upward in thermals, sometimes so numerous
they are difficult to count. (Try
counting!) I am sending the photos that my 10 year-old granddaughter
took in a park to the north of town. Today I continued to see dozens of
butterflies rising in the thermals.
The butterflies
must already be in the state of San Luis Potosí in
great numbers, but I have still not received reports. And where is the
migration near the coast to the east? My son, Rogelio, was near Victoria,
Tamaulipas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and told me he did not see any
butterflies...
Try
This! Explore the Migration Pathway in Mexico
Which Mexican states do the monarchs cross as they travel to their winter
home? Why don't the monarchs travel straight south? The direction the monarchs
travel is "delightfully confusing!" says Dr. Calvert. Read Dr.
Calvert's article article to explore possible migration pathways in
Mexico. Plot the migration pathway on this
week's map handout.
Migration
Continues from Canada and the U.S.
It's almost November but monarchs are still migrating out of the United
States and even Canada. Here are some of this week's highlights:
- Along
the the Texas coastal flyway,
where the Aschens are watching daily, the migration is picking up but
they still haven't seen a roost there yet: "There just aren't enough
yet to make for real clusters" but they watched a few monarchs
attempting to roost in ones and twos on Tuesday.
- Along
the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida,
peak migration occurred last week and continued to be strong this week.
This is the time of year when we sometimes receive monarch sightings
from islands out in the Carribean Sea. Let's see if that happens this
fall!
- Stragglers
still coming down from the north: Scattered sightings of single
monarchs are still being reported from as far north as Ontario and New
York. Those butterflies better get moving. It's almost Halloween!
- Northern
habitat is changing! An observer watched a fresh female monarch
flying south on Sunday in Illinois and noted: "There is not much
for her to eat. Most flowers are gone due to a hard frost. However a
few dandelions and other roadway flowers are available," reported
Carol from Rock Island Elementary.
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News
from the Finish Line in Mexico: Spanish
& English |
Dear
friends from Journey North:
Just like you, we are "standing on one foot and alternating with
the other" (as we say in Spanish), waiting to see a Monarch here,
but nothing yet. I went this morning to El Cerrito to take these photos
for you. Not one single Monarch around... I've asked people from El Rosario
and Chincua, and they say they should be appearing from any moment. We
are having, because of meteorological events in the Pacific Ocean, very
wet, cloudy and rather cold days. Later in the week, when the sun comes
up, I hope I can give you the big news!
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Estela
Romero
reports from Angangueo, Michoacan. |
Slideshow:
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In
November, when the monarchs return to their sanctuaries, the people of
Mexico are celebrating Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
Estela Romero
explains the connection to monarchs in this slideshow: "Our ancestors
believed, and we continue to believe, that the souls of our dead relatives
come to stay overnight with the whole family on the night of the 2nd of
November."
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The
Day of the Dead
at Our School in Angangueo
English/Spanish/Teacher
Guide
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Links:
Monarch Resources to Explore |
Monarch
Butterfly Migration Updates Will be Posted on THURSDAYS: Aug. 27, Sep.
3, 10, 17, 24, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov. 5...or until the monarchs reach
Mexico!
The
Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on November 5, 2009.
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