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Monarch Fall Roost

Date: 10/01/2011

Number: 100

With so much rain and cloudy weather during the second half of September, monarchs were accumulating along the lakeshores northeast of Point Pelee National Park near Toronto, Burlington and Port Burwell, but not coming down to us. When the rain ended in late September, we expected to get thousands of monarchs coming southwestwards along the north shore of Lake Erie. Instead, we got small migrations at rates of 5 to 7 butterflies per minute (24th, 28th, 29th Sept.) and only one roost of 100 butterflies (1st Oct.). What happened to all those monarchs up in Toronto???



Reports posted on the Journey North October 6th website show two very startling events!!! 1. Large numbers of monarchs were blown out to sea at New Jersey and Virginia. 2. Record large numbers of monarchs moving southwestwards along the Ohio River. These events suggest that strong northwest winds of up to 50 km/hr (30th Sept., 1st and 2nd Oct.)carried "our" monarchs across the Great Lakes and into New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. And from there they moved southwestwards to travel along the Ohio river in numbers "never seen before".


So, the weather plays a large part in how the migration will unfold -- and it is different every year. Thank you Journey North, and all those citizen scientists contributing their sightings, for helping us in solving this puzzle.

Leamington, ON

Latitude: 42 Longitude: -82.5

Observed by: John
Contact Observer

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

 

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