Date: 10/09/2010

Number: 1

Oct 9, 7am-9am, Chincoteague NWR, Assateague Island, VA

I arrived on the beach 10 minutes before sunrise. I was hoping there would be a mass liftoff of all the monarchs that I thought had roosted in the seaside goldenrod last night. But that was not the case. I left the beach at 5:30pm last night and my guess is that the winds died down just before sunset and the monarchs flew north back up the beach to the remaining thickets of bayberry/groundsel-tree/marsh elder. They had scattered throughout the thickets and roosted there. I was very surprised to see some roosting on the bare exposed branches of dead eastern red-cedar trees. I found this to be very interesting because these were the very trees that held large monarch roosts when they were alive and full of dense conifer branches.

At 7:10am this morning, the temp was 62 degrees with full sun, no humidity or dew, and a NW wind at 4mph. Most monarchs were off the roost by 7:25am, but others continued to leave a few at a time until 7:45am. Even though conditions were perfect for migration, I did not see any engaging in directional flight. They swirled around as if testing the air, but then landed in the seaside goldenrod and began nectaring. By 8:15am they had all settled back into the seaside goldenrod. I thought that very odd, given the weather conditions, so I netted a few and saw that they had very lean abdomens (eat first, fly later). Unfortunately, by 9am the wind shifted and was W at 8mph. I saw a few monarchs lift off, got caught in the wind, flapped like crazy and still got blown down to the ocean edge. They were able to make it back to the goldenrod, but not without expending lots of energy.

It is 2:30pm now and the wind is WSW at 8-10mph. So the monarchs should still be nectaring. This island truly is a critical stopover for migrating monarchs. I hope they build up lots of fat during this layover.

I am heading back down to search the beach at low tide for any washed up monarchs. More later.

Oct 9, 3pm-5:30pm, Chincoteague NWR, Assateague Island, VA

Usually on this island, all the attention goes to the famous Chincoteague ponies. But today was different. Photographers were not set up at the pony pen; they were lining the sides of the causeway with their tripods and 2'-long lenses, photographing something none of us had ever seen. The wind shifted again and was straight out of the west, bringing common buckeyes, green darners and more monarchs by the thousands from the Delmarva and probably the mainland to this tiny island. Unbelieveable is the word that best describes the scene. If anyone is in the area, you may want to get yourself here before sunrise tomorrow. I couldn't even guess how many monarchs were here this afternoon.

The monarchs were engaging in a feeding frenzy on all three species of goldenrod in bloom. It was not like yesterday when they were so mellow I could capture them with my fingers. Today they were skittish and would flush from the plants if I moved too quickly or got too close. Perhaps it was because the west wind was 10-15mph and they were getting quite a ride on the flower stalks. This time I had my video camera and filmed through two batteries and cassettes. When I return home I will post some footage on YouTube. But there were so many people filming today, you might be able to find one of their videos on it right now.

At exactly 5 pm, the wind shifted again, and was NW at 4-5mph. The wind speed was low enough that the monarchs could fly back to shore from out over the ocean. And as I walked the beach looking for dead monarchs I started seeing monarchs returning to shore about 3 per minute. I followed their path and saw them landing in closest clump of seaside goldenrod. Wait til you see the photo; it was one crowded plant.

I have not seen the weather forecast for Sunday and I don't know what to expect. But you can bet I will be out there well before sunrise to witness what happens next.

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Assateague Island, VA

Latitude: 38 Longitude: -75.3

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