Date: 09/17/2019

Number: 10000

Report from Eric Peterson, Wild Ones member and Nature Conservancy core volunteer in Toledo OH.

I noticed them at 10:00am, at Douglas Rd just south of Central Ave (in Toledo). I couldn't even come close to counting all the monarchs traveling--hundreds and hundreds! Some were flying so high that murky, low clouds, hazy morning that I could barely spot them.  I would have thought that they would fly low like ducks on cloudy hazy days.  But they weren't.  They were easily 200 feet up and higher.  They were riding thermals in tight circles.  Multiple ones in the same thermals.  They were circulating in four-foot loops once the sun started to show a bit around 11:30 or so.  Then once the clouds started to dissipate to a more mostly sunny scenario they started to not be as numerous by about noon. I could still always see waves of them.  Sometimes they would all just start flying the other direction which I found humorous.  But I continued to see them migrating all over west and north Toledo all day. Even out by my house on my drive home.   Mostly a few though as the afternoon went on. 

They would only fly the other direction once it was mostly sunny.

Up untill about 11:30 they were all heading the same direction (southwest).

If I ever see that many again in my life here in Toledo I will try to remember to call the news.  Maybe their cameras work better. I honestly was seeing about 100 at a time.  There was no way somebody could count them all because more and more would pass through. And lots of them were very high up.  Barely able to see them.

Every minute or so a whole nother bunch of monarchs were replacing the one I just saw.   I'm not kidding when I say if I had a clicker to count everyone of them between 10:00- 11:00, I couldn't click fast enough.

You can see some in the pic but not near as much as the naked eye could see. I even zoomed in a bit which in hindsight I probably shouldn't have.

Seeing all those monarchs was one of the most magical things I have ever witnessed.  I honestly wouldn't doubt if 500,000-1,000,000 monarchs passed over the city limits.  I'm not joking.  That's my best guess.  It was insane!!!!!

It really makes me wonder how spectacular the migrations must have been many years ago.  That must have been mind boggling.

Note: Temps 70-74F, winds NNE at 4-7mph at the time of the sighting.

Toledo, OH

Latitude: 41.7 Longitude: -83.6

Observed by: candy
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