Date: 09/01/2014

Number: 500

I am fortunate to have been where I was Monday morning, 9-1-14. I got to one of the main roost sites just as the Monarchs were starting to warm up in the sun. I can only estimate the number of 500 or more on several smaller Eastern cottonwood trees. The cottonwood tree grove is in the middle of a Tallgrass prairie remnant on our farm. This has always been a good staging area over the years because of the food source (wildflowers) and native grasses.

After the Monarchs warmed in the sun they began to move into the prairie remnant to forage on goldenrod, sunflowers and blazing star. I was surrounded by Monarchs just going about the business of fueling up for the flight south.

I would estimate the number of Monarchs on our farm this weekend at well over 1,000. I know of 3 roost sites that had close to that many and I saw many individual Monarchs on our grasslands from 8-29 to 9-1-2014, they were not all in the roosts.

Milkweeds are vital but so are undisturbed grasslands with a season long food source. We have about 200 acres of Tallgrass prairie on our farm, some native some restored. There are tree groves throughout for protection on the windy days, this weekend the Monarchs waited out the south winds in the trees and foraged on the native species.

From my standpoint in western Minnesota it looks to rival 2011

To see more of our Monarch habitat go to www.bigbluestemprairie.com

Barnesville, MN

Latitude: 46.7 Longitude: -96.3

Observed by: Doug
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