Date: 09/14/2016

Number: 2000

This is just one of dozens of trees like it. Monarchs blanketed the south and west sides of the trees in a fence row. It was 5pm.

The location is rural north-western Illinois. Our road is a country/gravel road with relatively few houses and a lot of farm/pasture land surrounding it. The monarchs themselves situated in a field between our 6 acre parcel (mostly unmowed and left to grow wild) and a farmer’s large alfalfa field. They were situated in a line of trees on the fence row bordering the farmer’s field. The land around is a sort of manicured prairie area with a path mowed around the perimeter for walking. The man who owns it burns it off early each spring, and what grows back is a mixture of very tall and lovely grasses, clovers, and some wildflowers. The farmer’s field adjacent to it appears to have been planted with alfalfa this year, and parts of it are being used as grazing area for cattle.

The temperature dipped into the mid 50’s. It was a very still night. There wasn’t even enough wind to make the tall prairie grasses sway. If there had been any wind, the monarchs would not have been shielded from the wind positioned as they were. The trees are on a crest of a hill in an area of hills and valleys. I can say that 100% of the monarchs were on the sides of the trees that faced south and west.

I was told by my neighbor (the one who owns that property) that the monarchs come every year to their field and that they stay about a week. She can’t recall a time when they’ve been as numerous as they were Wednesday evening. She said last year there were only a few that she saw.

Oregon, IL

Latitude: 42 Longitude: -89.5

Observed by: Marcie
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