Date: 10/02/2019

Number: 6769

My post from Facebook 02 October, 2019:
I just witnessed an incredible wave of Monarchs migrating overhead.

Just after the cold front finally passed through this afternoon, and the rain subsided for a period of time, I sat in my butterfly and pollinator gardens to count the numbers of Monarchs passing overhead ranging from tree-top height to just specks in the sky. I counted the following numbers per minute... 88, 77, 138, 141, 178, 153, 165, 142, 166, 123. These numbers remained high for 45 minutes, averaging 137.1 Monarchs per minute! For the next 15 minutes, they averaged 40 Monarchs per minute. They were a continuous stream, not unlike vehicles going down a highway. I calculated that in my 90 degree cone of view, in a swath less than a quarter-mile wide, I observed over 6000 Monarchs pass overhead in one hour. Rain moved in after the hour's time, and the migrants sought shelter in the timber surrounding the gardens. If the Monarchs maintained these numbers all along the cold front, I can't imagine the numbers that are moving south. I can't wait to see the fallout in my garden in the morning. - Butler County Kansas - 20 miles East of Wichita.

Towanda, KS

Latitude: 37.8 Longitude: -97

Observed by: Bob
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