Date: 09/23/2014

Number: 3500

Today was a non-stop migration day. I don't know how many I saw fly past, but if I had to guess I would say it was 3,000 - 4,000 monarchs. And those are the ones who were migrating at a level that could be seen with the naked eye. There may have been many more soaring higher, visible only in a binocular view.

If you look at the data page for the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project, you will see that they had an increase in monarch numbers on their road censuses today. But that doesn't tell the whole story. I spent the day observing from along the primary dune where most of the monarchs were migrating. It was probably one of the best migration days I have seen in a long time. Monarch flight was constant but every now and then there would be a spurt of hundreds of monarchs all at once. At one point I counted monarchs for one minute and my total was 79. It wasn't the frenzied flight of Monday; it was more of a lazy, relaxed flight. The wind was NE most of the day between 4-6 mph, so they didn't have to flap much. Monarchs were swirling around each other quite a bit, usually with 3-5 individuals, but one spiraling group had 12 monarchs in it. They were also landing frequently to nectar on seaside goldenrod on the dune. Many monarchs were making a detour at Cape May point State Park to visit the butterfly garden. New England aster and Zinnias were the most popular flowers. This provided a photo op for the many photographers and it attracted quite a crowd of curious onlookers.

Tuesday afternoon around 3pm, I checked the boardwalk ramps that cross over the heavily vegetated primary dune at Cape May Point. At the top of each crossover, there is a platform with seating around the sides, and in the middle there is a large round picnic table bolted to the deck. At the St. Peter’s Church crossover, I put my folding chair on top of the table so that I had a high view of the surrounding vegetation and beach. I settled into the Zen of monarch-watching. The scene was mesmerizing, with a ceaseless flow of monarchs floating by me at eye level. This is just about the most southern point of the cape, so I assumed it would be the “jumping-off” spot for monarchs to cross over the Delaware Bay. (To see the platform location, see Google Earth image of South Lake Dr. and Ocean Ave at Cape May Point NJ). They did in fact fly up to where the waves were crashing on shore, and made an abrupt stop and turnaround, and then continued along the dune. It was a clear day, and with just my eyes, I could plainly see the enormous blades of the windmill on the shore at Lewes DE, as well as land on the horizon. But I guess it was too far and too late in the day for the monarchs to cross. I sat there until 5pm, when I noticed that monarchs were coming down—not to nectar but to perch in the pines, red-cedars, and wild black cherry trees on the dune. I watched until 5:30, and still no collective roosts were forming—only individual monarchs perching wherever they happened to be when it was time to land—with no time or energy spent on searching for other roosting monarchs. The wind was still favorable for migration—NE about 5mph, and some monarchs were still on the move. They continued around the point and up the western side of the Cape. I later checked other public access locations up there, but never found a roost. I searched until it was too dark to see.

While I was perched on my table pedestal, I had many wonderful conversations with others who came to watch this migration spectacle. Several people stayed until I left. There were so many good questions, and so many facial expressions of awe (my favorite part). The sharing of monarch stories and experiences was illuminating. Two women, both in their 80’s, who were there for a religious retreat, thanked me for bringing meaning to their visit. It got me thinking—with such a perfect and accessible location, it seems to me that the state park and the CMBO are missing a perfect opportunity to educate people. There should be a volunteer at every crossover platform on days with good migration winds and flows of monarchs to focus people’s attention and answer questions. Most people I met referred to the monarchs just as butterflies (didn’t know their name) and were clueless about what was occurring. A lack of interpretation at these locations is criminal. I will contact the two organizations and make suggestions.

It's important to note that my counts were unofficial. The official counts were conducted by the Cape May Monitoring Project team by driving a transect 3X daily.  I haven't looked, but I would guess their average numbers were lower than mine, since they were limited to a view from a car windshield. I want to be sure to mention them, and all the good work they are doing collecting data and educating visitors.

Cape May Point, NJ

Latitude: 38.9 Longitude: -75

Observed by: Denise
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