Date: 08/22/2006

Number: 1

Today I was contacted by Dennis Barry, who has seen large numbers of monarchs ("thousands") roosting in Thickson's Woods on the north shore of Lake Ontario at Whitby. They are roosting in a "hole"
or clearing in this small but ecologically significant remenant of forest (http://thicksonswoods.com/, a spot favorite with birdwatchers. I recall hearing a few years ago of monarchs roosting in such a habitat by Dr. Kingston Leong of California.

Fortunately, my work took me past Whitby to Oshawa today, and on the way back to Toronto to visit this site. At 2:30 pm, scores of monarchs were flying inside this opening in the forest (the sky was becoming overcast and they may have been looking for a site to rest). There were many trees and tree branches in this opening, and the monarchs were settling on these as well as on tree leaves.

The property on the lake side of the property is privately owned and there are a number of homes.I came across one amazing garden filled with flowering plants and a few buddleia shrubs. There were many monarchs nectaring here.

Whitby, ON

Latitude: 43.9 Longitude: -78.9

Observed by: Donald A.
Contact Observer

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