Date: 09/27/2005

Number: 1

Hello from the beautiful southern Blue Ridge Mountains... Monarchs are being seen steadily gliding through the mountain passes on the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville, NC as well as through valleys near Brevard College. Many are nectaring on native wildflowers that thoughtful gardeners have allowed to bloom in meadows as well as flower beds they have planted for their Waystations. The first migrating monarch I saw was Sunday, Sept. 18. On Tuesday, Sept. 27, I counted 225 in one hour just as the sun was setting. Today, Thurs. 9/29, I netted and tagged 11 monarchs that were nectaring in nearby fields of asters. Keep looking up, everyone and get ready to smile. Ina Warren.

October 1
It's great to be alive in the Blue Ridge Mountains! And especially during the monarch migration! Sat. 10/1, from noon to 6pm, an estimated 300 visitors stopped by the Tunnel Gap overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, south of Asheville, NC, to monitor monarchs. Most of the monarchs were too high to net so we discussed the importance of Waystations and viewed life cycle posters from our Monarch Watch posters. I had a live 'larva box' of munching caterpillars with chrysalides on the lid for all to see. We netted and tagged 10; and from 4-6pm the monarch numbers increased to 350 per hour as the winds increased and temps fell. Special thanks to the Rubinos, Barrigars and Abernathy's who helped supply nets and answer questions all afternoon. Our most frequently asked question: What is milkweed? Keep looking up! Ina.

Brevard, NC

Latitude: 35.2 Longitude: -82.8

Observed by: Ina
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