Date: 09/12/2010
Number: 15000
September 17
I've never witnessed migrating groups or clusters of monarchs in the dozens of years I've raised them so my friend and I took a few days to travel south to Pointe Pelee, Ontario Canada to see them. We chose to stay at a campground on Friday night just about 10 miles east of PP along the northern rim of Lake Erie, 5 miles east of Wheatley. Imagine my excitement as we drove through dozens on them flying over us on the highway as we approached the campground. As the campground staff showed us our tent site, we saw monarchs roosting nearby in a tree. Then another roost in another tree! Most of the campground was a nice flat grassland but the tall mature trees had several branches layered in monarchs! I think we saw at least 6 roosting spots, with monarch numbers between 3-4 dozen to hundreds - depending on the tree. I stood below them netting and tagging the few that dared to fly low enough for me to get them. About 98% of them stayed above 15'
so they were too high up to net. I'm only just over 5' and my net pole is about 6' - I'm getting an extension handle next year! I even used a picnic table to elevate myself - a fruitless attempt to net more. This must have completely amused the other campers. Thank goodness there were only a few of them, the campground wasn't busy.
I estimate we saw 1000 (conservatively) to 2000 (!) at this campground Sept 17. Saturday morning we awoke to partly cloudy skies and the same strong wind blowing from the W - SW which was the opposite direction the monarchs wanted to fly. When the sun broke, many left the trees to nectar on pink field clover so we were able to net more. And for about 2 hours, more and more monarchs trickled in from the east and set up on the trees. I looked eastward and did NOT see any flying toward Pointe Pelee over the adjacent soybean field, The winds were too strong for them to fight it. So if you add the 2000 at Wheatley to the 2000 at Pointe Pelee (reported by park staff), those are good numbers.
September 16
Well.....I guess they were in a hurry and headed south. Only 3 monarchs counted at the tip. HOWEVER, given the reports from yesterday, another wave is headed down towards Pelee.
September 12
Just got off the phone with Sarah Rupert, Sr. Park Interpreter/Education Coordinator, Point Pelee National Park (9/13). Sarah says Sunday night (Sept. 12) was phenomenal, with 15,000 at the tip. There may be a good roosting tonight (9/13) because north-westerly winds will hold the monarchs back. She has been out counting monarchs each night! Their monarch figures are posted about 8:30 pm at:http://twitter.com/pointpeleenp.
September 12: 15,000
September 13: 5,000
September 14: 2,300
September 15: 3
September 9
The same Friday night that Presqu'ile estimated 10,000 roosting in the park, she estimated 5000 at Pelee. As with Presqu'ile, these departed the next day (Saturday). Then Sunday clouds and cool temperatures departed and it became a beautiful, warm day - similar to what we experienced west of Toronto near Breslau (but later in the day!), and the monarchs began to migrate again.
Point Pelee National Park, ON
Latitude: 42 Longitude: -82.5
Observed by:
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