Date: 04/28/2018

Number: 10

Today as I walked about the pastures from 10 to 10:45am, I observed 7 individual monarchs ~ all seemed to have somewhat faded wings and I think all were males. It was sunny, around 68 degreees F, with 60% humidity and very soft breezes. In the lower pasture I saw two monarchs flying and in the upper pastures I saw five monarchs flying and nectaring. They were mostly nectaring on self-heal flowers and prairie plantains. Often the monarchs were quite near each other on the plantains and at one point two monarchs were on the same lavender self-heal flower!

At 11am I was watering plants in our front yard when a very bright monarch sailed past me ... and then over the house. I hurried inside to get my camera and headed in the direction he had been going. Luckily, I found him in an upper meadow nectaring on prairie plantains. He was moving quickly like these fresh-winged ones do and soon he flew away towards the north. I wished him a good journey ... but that wasn't the last time I would see him.

Throughout the afternoon I continued to see faded-winged monarchs ~ as usual lately seemingly all males. But at 3:30pm I saw a female monarch nectaring on self-heal flowers in our yard. Wonderful to see her! She had medium-faded wings with only a few nicks out of her wing edges. She spent a good deal of time nectaring, going from one lavender flower to another ~ thoroughly winding around each one to get all the nutritious nectar possible.

At 5:30pm I again saw the fresh-winged male flying about and I tried to follow him. I lost him for a while as he vanished around some woodland trees ... but I kept heading in the direction he had gone. With great happiness I spotted him again ~ he was nectaring from a flowering milkweed! He then went exploring for new tastes and nectared from some blooming roughleaf dogwood trees for a good while, then from self-heal flowers, and then prairie plantains ~ very hungry! He soon sailed away to the northern treeline as evening approached and I again bid him a good journey! This is a photo of him as he nectars from a flowering milkweed in the late afternoon sunlight.

Montgomery, TX

Latitude: 30.4 Longitude: -95.8

Observed by: Kathy
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