This morning my wife and I headed out in search of Monarchs and Milkweeds for the 2023 Blitz.  Our plan was to visit various locations in the Bellefonte and State College area where we know there are Milkweeds and where in the past we have occasionally spotted Monarch Butterflies.  (In contrast, in recent weeks, we have seen very few Monarch Butterflies and no Eggs, Caterpillars, or Frass as evidence of their presence.)

Our third stop, as described in our "Milkweed" report for that site, yielded no Monarch Butterflies.

Our fourth stop was at the Wildlife Restoration portion of State Game Lands #333 on the east side of Shiloh Road, near I-99 east of State College, PA (see my 8/13/2021 sighting and its earlier links for more information about the location).  It has areas of Common Milkweed, as well as a variety of plants coming into bloom that are excellent nectaring sources.

Eventually, we spotted a Monarch Butterfly fluttering about off in the distance.  It never got close enough to get a good shot or determine if it was a male or female.  However, I did manage to catch it on the wing in the photograph I have included above.  In the original photo it appears as little more than an orange dot.  But I have clipped and enlarged it twice, and then overlaid those versions on the original.  Granted, the larger I make it, the more pixelated and distorted it gets, but I think by the second enlargement it is sufficient to see that it really was a Monarch Butterfly.

At the time (about 12:45 PM EDT) the air temperature was 79°F, the air pressure was 28.64 inches and slowly dropping, the dew point was 64°F, the humidity was 61%, with a 9 mph breeze blowing from the south under partly cloudy skies.

                                  -  Tim