Date: 09/07/2020

Number: 1000

Monarchs have been seen all day flying southerly along Lake Huron in Tawas's. At 6:30 PM a walk to the end of Tawas Point State Park found several large roosts forming of over 300 each gathering along the treeline. I used my sightings during the course of my time on the 7th in the Tawas City area to decide that I had better take a look at Tawas Point in order to take in the “awe-inspiring” experience of walking with hundreds of Monarchs.

I found two roosts where I could easily count 300 individuals, several others with 50 to 100 individuals and the butterflies continued flying into the roosts when we left the area around 7:30 PM. I did take the time to count individuals on the trees in one photo I submitted. Just an estimate overall.

There is some scattered nectar sources throughout Tawas Point and the Tawas area. Purple Loosestrife and Spotted Knapweed mostly.

Winds were out of the NE at 10-15 and the night temperature dropped to around 50 degrees, I believe.

Tawas Point State Park funnels the Monarchs as they travel along the shoreline of Lake Huron and Tawas Bay, and the roosting generally occurs in the pine and hardwoods away from the shoreline, somewhat shielded from the winds and towards the end of the peninsula.

East Tawas, MI

Latitude: 44.2 Longitude: -83.5

Observed by: Gordon
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