Date: 10/23/2016

Number: 1

17 Oct
From the below
Yesterday I drove 200 miles to northern OK to work on restoration projects. Along the way I looked for nectar sources - there were virtually none for the entire trip.

18 Oct: In the early afternoon we surveyed large pasture areas for seeds of native plants and potential restoration sites near Morris, OK. In the forty mins or so we were in the fields we saw at least 10 monarchs. Winds were light and most were of the monarchs were moving steadily to the SW on headings of 200-215 degrees.

19 Oct: Sulphur, OK. While attending the construction of a hoop or high tunnel house for growing native plants at the Chickasaw Cultural Center (worth a visit) I saw at least 15 monarchs during the late morning and early afternoon. Again, all had headings of 200-215 degrees. The conditions were sunny with light winds during the entire day so some monarchs may have been using thermals to soar and glide to the SW. The headings for both sites are consistent with those recorded in Lawrence over the years. Here we have mean headings that are close to 210 degrees. Evidently I only saw a small portion of the monarchs moving through the area. Others reported seeing large numbers of monarchs foraging at the flowers in the gardens at the Cultural Center.

20 Oct: Miami, OK: The temperatures dropped overnight and the winds were from the north most of the day. This would have been a good day for monarchs to ride a tail wind but it was too cold for flight.

21 Oct. Gross, OK. Sunny with light winds. We saw a few monarchs but flight direction wasn’t apparent. I drove back to KS in the afternoon. I saw a few more sites with flowers but my earlier assessment on Monday, that nectar sources were scarce along the route from eastern OK to Lawrence, was confirmed. Unlike the interstate, where one can stop for nectar (drinks and fuel) and pollen (food) every 20 miles or so, monarchs had to move through large areas without Waystations.

22 Oct: As I returned to the office on Sat, I was greeted by monarchs on the flowers in front of the building and in the garden - about 6.

23 Oct: There were more monarchs on the flowers this morning - a full 43-45 days of flight away from the overwintering sites - a December arrival - assuming they could survive the lack of nectar along much of the journey.

Chip Taylor of Monarch Watch

Lawrence, KS

Latitude: 39 Longitude: -95.2

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