Date: 09/07/2021

Number: 35

The migration has begun as seen in our yard over the last week. At least 24 on our Joe Eye Weed. Many also on the butterfly bushes and on the Verbena. Enjoying the best sightings in many years.

[Additional information contributed by observer, added by Journey North, 09/09/21]:
We were seeing them all at one time, we were watching during the day and they were there most of the day. Most were on the Joe Pye Weed (JPW), swarming about.
It reminded us about the time we were in Mexico in March at one of the preserves where there were so many flying about you could hear the sound of their wings. Of course there were not that many here, just more than we have seen in many years. We were thrilled, as were a group of our friends who were here on a Sunday afternoon, seeing what we were seeing, which was an exciting treat for them.

The most were seen in the late afternoon, as the sun beat down on the JPW, they were gone by sunset.

Yes the most seen at one time were on the cluster of JPW. This area is about four feet deep and about twelve feet wide. More were flying about the butterfly bush, the verbena, and on other plants.

We believe they were getting the nectar from the plants. We don’t know if they were laying eggs. Hard to say about the directions since they seemed to be so excited about finding the JPW. An educated guess would be they were heading south, for the long journey to Mexico.

The weather was warm, sunny and not windy.

Today, Thursday Sept 9 there are none to be seen, since it is overcast and raining on and off. I expect we will see more in the next few days as the sun and warmth return to Burlington, CT.

Burlington, CT

Latitude: 41.8 Longitude: -73

Observed by: STEVE
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