Date: 09/17/2008

Number: 600

At Point Pelee National Park (Ontario), the largest cluster reported there was on Sept. 17 - about 600 individuals. Dismal year.

The numbers at Point Pelee National Park vary each year, but sometimes there are some spectacular clusters on this small triangular peninsula of land. (North of Pelee are acres and acres of open flat farmland, and also acres and acres of greenhouses.) As an example, a number of years ago four birdwatchers had set up their viewing scopes to look for pelagic (ocean-going) birds blown inland by a hurricane. They began to notice a strong southerly movement of monarchs through Pelee and continuing out into Lake Erie. From the calculations they made in terms of the number of monarchs seen passing in the view all 4 scopes over a specific period of time, it was estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million monarchs passed through Pelee during the four hours they were there.

Why were there so few monarchs at Pelee this year. Did they fly directly across Lake Erie when there were favourable winds or weather conditions before reaching Pelee?

Contributed by Don Davis

Point Pelee National Park, ON

Latitude: 42 Longitude: -82.5

Observed by:
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