Date: 09/23/2001

Number: 1

My butterfly instincts told me that the weather conditions today might
bring a "Last Hurrah" or flurry of monarch activity through Toronto. The
past few days have been cool and cloudy with much needed rains, so there
was little monarch movement during these days. Scheduled for later in the
day today were clouds and showers. As I drove along the 401 expressway
and down the Don Valley Parkway through the centre of the city to the
lakeshore, monarchs soared high overhead in a south-westerly direction. A
sure indication that this was going to be a good day.

I arrived at Tommy Thompson Park about 11:30 am and by 3:00 pm, had tagged
290 monarchs, and run out of tags. I knew I had 160 tags left over from
last year, and collected enough monarchs in envelopes to use those up as
well. What a beautiful sunny day - initially with very little wind, then
a south-westerly wind, followed by easterly winds.

My net seemed sticky from the nectar and pollen from flowering goldenrod.
The monarchs were also showing a high degree of interest in the the newly
opened New England Aster. I suspect the rains of the past few days have
done much to increase the amount of nectar in these plants.

Toronto, ON

Latitude: 43.7 Longitude: -79.4

Observed by: Donald A.
Contact Observer

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