Date: 10/09/2010

Number: 325

Monarchs roosting in the cedar elm and pecan trees along the San Saba River. Was able to net and tag 325 for Monarch Watch. Had a group of San Antonio kids come out from City Kid Adventures - inner city kids who are exposed to many outdoor activities. They enjoyed learning about the monarchs.

We have been tagging Monarchs in our river bottom along the San Saba River in Texas since 1999. They always arrive the 2nd weekend of October. Some years have been better than others, depending on the weather. We don't live there full time, so I don't know exactly when they arrive, but they are long gone by the next weekend. Out of the butterflies we tag, we almost always have about 1% found in Mexico that winter.

In 2008 a strong cold front blew in right before sundown. You could literally see butterflies falling from the sky, taking cover in our trees. It was amazing. They were clustering in the branches. We have big nets attatched to swimming pool poles and were able to net up to 25 in a single swoosh!

By the next morning the winds had shifted and were blowing hard from the south. The butterflies seemed to "know" they didn't need to take off and so they stayed in the trees for 3 days - we tagged 1000 of them that year. Then last year (2009), for the first time ever for our tagging experience there were NONE! Crazy - I don't know why - many people experienced that also.

Normally we tag about 250 - 400. This year we were at about 367. It was good, but they didn't seem to be coming in more and more each evening. None were really nectaring, just resting in the cool shade and humidity coming off the river.

This year we had a group of middle school kids come out who are a part of a group called City Kids Adventures out of San Antonio. They take kids from the inner city out into nature to show them what exists beyond their little world. They had been deer hunting in the morning and showed up in their camo ready to learn about monarchs. I told them all about the migration and the life cycle, then handed them all nets and they got to catch and tag. All the while, a film crew from the hunting tv show, Trophy Hunts, filmed them! How funny it is going to be to watch a deer hunting show and see Monarch Butterflies being hunted also! Only, we don't eat them!

Editor’s Note: We are estimating 325 monarchs minimum based on observer’s note of having tagged 325.

Hext, TX

Latitude: 30.9 Longitude: -99.5

Observed by: Jenny
Contact Observer

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