Monarchs, Monarchs, Monarchs

Monarch roost photo’d by Pat Sutton (details below) 9-25-12.

Lots of us got our starts chasing after butterflies because of fall monarch flights, and the wonderful phenomenon may be peaking for 2012 this weekend, with thousands of individuals along our coast (and inland as well) down to Cape May Point, where generally the largest of congregations can be found. Grab your bins and camera, if you can, and enjoy the pageant!

Here’s a report written from Cape May last night by Pat Sutton.

Thousands of Monarchs were roosting by mid-morning in the dunes at Lincoln and Cape Avenues (along the beachfront), the dune crossover there . . . visible from the street (Lincoln Avenue):

Pat Sutton’s Cape Island Map

Winds were too strong to keep migrating so they kept settling in all day.

It was pure magic. More should be coming today, but between 7:30 and 8:30 this morning you might experience lift off of thousands from that spot / roost . . . unless the winds are still too strong and they just stay & continue to gather there all day today.

Photos from yesterday:
Monitoring Monarchs Blog

My photos from last week (Sept 25) at Stone Harbor Point (in Red Cedars west of 3rd Avenue), which is where I’m going this morning before I dash down to Cape May Point:

Pat & Clay Sutton’s Nature Blog

Go to the Suttons’ blog for more photos and lots of info — about monarchs and lots else.

Enjoy the flight, everyone!

jc

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