Date: 10/11/2005

Number: 1

Many thousands of monarchs passing through Maverick County.

I've been outside since 10 a. m. It was heavily overcast, but low clouds at that time with distant small showers visible on the horizon.

No wind. Air warming. We're on the runway with Papalotzin getting the plane ready to take it into town for our Hoopla in the Park.

Monarchs in every direction elating in widening gyres, up through the moveless air, sometimes as many as 30 to a vortex. Making no effort to move in anything but spirals up into the sky. I suspect the concrete runway was providing a big thermal updraft.

At 11 a breeze 5-7 mph developed out of the SE to ESE and Boom! We were in migration mode again. At any one segment of the sky there would be too many to count. It stretched as far as we could see across the 1.5 mile runway. With 100s visible at any one moment. I don't know how high into the sky they went.

That flow continued till 1:30ish.

Now this afternoon migration has ceased again.
There was a goodly shower between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., so monarchs by the hundreds are puddling in the mud on all the country dirt roads. I saw monarchs on sunflowers, tips of branches, in the road and many flying to all compass points. But no migration.

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Eagle Pass, TX

Latitude: 28.5 Longitude: -100.5

Observed by:
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.