Date: 09/30/2011

Number: 100

There's a constant flow of Monarch's past my window today, since early morning. There are 4-8 every time I look out the window at the native coreopsis at the edge of the woods. I would estimate I've had over 100 come through thus far. This year, because of the drought, I decided not to mow so close to the woods. The Monarchs and I are happy we did that!

Since we did not mow to protect the soil this summer, many "weeds" have sprung up in the 5 acres around the house. I have selectively pulled them out as I go by, usually just as they are going to seed, leaving the flowers for the bees and butterflies. Right now the coreopsis scattered throughout the lawn and along the edge of the property is blooming. It appears as if the monarchs are going from cluster to cluster. That and the morning-glory-like groundcover that has small, almost unnoticeable blooms seems to be the only nectar source for the butterflies. We have clumps of milkweeds in the hayfields where I have seen a few monarchs this week, but generally they are going for the blooming plants. I have water available for birds, bees, and other wildlife in two places in the yard, but I did not see the Monarch's attend those.

Yesterday (10/1) I put out applesauce and a jelly-nectar on a plastic plate that I placed on a stump in the middle of the morning-glory-like flowers. I did not see any Monarch's take advantage of it, in fact they flew right around it to get to the blooms.

I saw the 100's of Monarchs on Friday over a 4-5 hour timespan. A front came through Friday night, so perhaps they were taking advantage of the weather to move south. There were fewer Monarchs on Saturday than on Friday, by about half. (There were fewer hummingbirds as well, probably for the same reason.) I took a tour around the 5 acres adjacent to the house, but could not find a place that they were roosting here. I saw them all the way up to sunset on the coreopsis on both Friday and Saturday evenings.

Wilderville TX east or Rosebud, TX

Latitude: 31.6 Longitude: -96.5

Observed by: Molly
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