Date: 10/10/2013

Number: 50

Roost Oct 9-10.

Rather than look in the evening, we drove to the large grove 30 minutes after sunrise Oct 10 to observe what happened. 63F and gusty south wind was already blowing. On the way to grove we saw Monarchs leaving trees, but none yet on flowers.

In the grove there were no large clusters, and none flying unless disturbed. They were distributed throughout grove, except for upwind end. Over the next half hour increasd numbers flew out of the grove or to tops of trees to perch in sunlight. By that time I could also see Monarchs in the distance on liatris, when they flew from flower to flower.

When we left, many Monarchs did not appear to be preparing to leave the grove. They remained perched on bare twigs in the shade, 5 to 10 feet from ground. If disturbed they resettled nearby. I will check status later today, but it appears that some are going to remain in the grove all day, just waiting for the wind to change.

I again entered number as 50 as placeholder because the input screen will not accept blank or text. The “correct” number depends on the definition of “roost”. If extended inactivity is enough, then my number should be higher, and some are roosting in the daylight. If a Monarch roost requires clusters and night, then the number is almost none.

Chalk Mountain, TX

Latitude: 32.1 Longitude: -97.9

Observed by:
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