Date: 05/27/2019

Number: 1

While on a Memorial Day walk in Cleveland Metroparks in Bay Village, OH, my son and I spotted our first monarch of the year in the Huntington Reservation meadow. It was very swampy where the monarch was landing, and I didn't have the right footwear to check for eggs. The metroparks is trying to connvert it to pollinator habitat (which it already was, but hopefullyl this will make it even better) - they mowed, burned, and used chemicals about a year ago and reseeded, so it will be interesting to see the progression and changes from previous years. I have lots of photos through the years to look back on. I'm very thankful to see both common and swamp milkweed coming up. The monarch was hovering around the old dogbane patch and dried stalks and skinny open pods were still present (dogbane is a good imitator of milkweed - it has milky sap - its leaves are not a food source for monarch caterpillars, although pollinators like the white flowers). Both common and swamp milkweed are coming up, which is great! So far the only nectar sources I saw in the meadow were some buttercups in a different section closer to Porter Creek Dr. and a few plants with small daisy-like flowers that I believe are fleabane. I'm still waiting to see a monarch in my own garden, which is blooming beautifully right now and both common and swamp milkweed stalks are coming up there, too!

Bay Village, OH

Latitude: 41.5 Longitude: -81.9

Observed by: Julie
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