Date: 10/21/2005

Number: 1

Altus said this was most monarchs she had seen in several years!!!

She was able to leave school and join me across the Lavaca Bay Causeway at 2:30. We did a one way count along the peninsula at the north end and had 214 monarchs in twenty minutes. We left at 5:30 and the number had never decreased in the three hours we were there ... monarchs always coming out of the NE to either fly by or to stop at goldenrod or sunflower to nectar.
We got home with what we think are over fifty that we netted.
There was at least one cluster of a dozen forming for the night that we could see. The other side of the peninsula had the wind and about 10% as many monarchs.

October 22
Numbers at least triple yesterday. Three trips across the causeway ... 3.1 miles @ 50 mph 4:30 -- 46 monarchs, 5:00 -- 32 monarchs, 6:40 -- 46 monarchs facing W and moving SW with N wind 6 to 10 mph, clear, 82 dF Monarchs moving off the bluff in front of Alcoa at a rate of three to ten a minute all afternoon and "flowing" SW across Lavaca Bay towards or just north of Port Lavaca.

Larger numbers loosely clustering for the night on the willow on both sides of the peninsula. The false willow is blooming and is "bitter" to me. The monarchs crawl down into it and will flush when you get too close. At 6:40 a good deal of the seaside goldenrod seemed to be occupied for the night by large numbers of monarchs. A few more were still arriving from the NE when we left at 6:40.

October 23
The wind changed to ENE about noon and back to the N this afternoon when the front came in. There was a good liftoff this morning of last nights monarchs but the faucet was slowly being turned down. Trips across the causeway and the count of monarchs flying SW across the 3.1 miles, in about 4 minutes.

10:00 am ... 30 monarchs

10:30 ... 32 monarchs

11:00 ... 26 monarchs

11:30 ... 23 monarchs

4:30 pm ... 15 monarchs

5:30 ... 10 monarchs

We did see a few monarchs all around the area here in Port Lavaca and around Aloca in Point Comfort.

Their actions for the night aren't what we are used to calling "clustering" ... they are nectaring on the False-willow in loose groups until sundown and in the morning the groups will look about the same. One in ten of the willows must be blooming just right and they are drawn to those ... the rain we had recently must have set off this bloom.

Clear, light wind, N to ENE to strong N, 82 dF. This front will drop our temps to 71/50 ... chilly.

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Port Lavaca, TX

Latitude: 28.5 Longitude: -96.7

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