Date: 09/23/2016

Number: 105

With strong North winds and 24C temperatures in Essex County today I did not expect to see much at Pelee tonight as we had similar conditions on Thursday and there were no roosts. Friday had more cloud cover though. We arrived late; right at sunset. There were high North winds on both sides of the tip and we could not imagine Monarchs finding much shelter. Saw a Monarch flying North over the car again on the parking lot road but were unable to locate it or its resting place. Met up with a friend who showed us to 2 roosts. In an historical roost tree there were approximately 95 individuals clustered on a South facing branch. In an adjacent denuded dead sapling immediately to the East there was a small group of 10. We suspect there were more roosts as anecdotal reports stated the monarchs were flying everywhere in the high winds just prior to sunset. The tree cover is thick and the trails are limited so observers are not always able to follow the Monarchs' flight. Another friend in our group said one of his friends had located a roost in a Walnut tree in the West beach parking lot further North in the park. People were telling me they had seen Monarchs all over Essex and Kent counties throughout the day. There was a report of a steady stream sighted flying straight off the tip through the day with the North wind at their backs. I only wish the person had counted the rate per minute... Perhaps someone in Ohio will spot them and report here.

Point Pelee National Park, ON

Latitude: 41.8 Longitude: -83.6

Observed by: Laura
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