Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Monarch Migration

The Monarchs are migrating.
Ten roosted in my gardens last night.

This morning they feed before traveling on.


I have seen them all day long,
flying high over the highways.




I am following their migration this year,
on Journey North's web site.

Monarch Watch is also a fun site.


12 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

We saw quite a few migrating monarchs this weekend before and after the storm. The winds and rain must have put them down in the areas where we bird. It was amazing to see so many together. Your photos are great. I love that first one. Mimosa trees are one of my favs. I have tried to grow one several times without success. I guess the soil around our house isn't good for them.

Anonymous said...

Hm my butterfly have pretty much gone and the hummingbird are pretty gone too. All around me, the beeches speckled with gold. With the other tree poise to turn too.

www.thequietone.net

ChrisND said...

Some great pictures and nice web site references...Maybe a trip to Mexico would be nice in the winter - just to visit the Monarchs of course.

Q said...

Dear Lisa,
Watching the Monarch migration is always so exciting! I love to see how many find my gardens. I am not really a "way station" but I do plant for them! We have two Mimosa trees both were planted by the birds! I like the Mimosa too since some blooms are still on in September for the Monarchs as they come through. I see them in the early morning sunning in the tops of the Mimosa and nectaring.
Sherry

Q said...

Dear Cathy,
Are you having any birds migrating from PEI or Canada?
My leaves are just starting to show some color.
Autumn is a fine time of year.
Sherry

Q said...

Dear chris,
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the links. Journey North is very nice. I like how it has bird migration on it too.
Monarch Watch's hometown is very close to me, in Lawrence, Kansas. I have thought it would be fun to go to some of their events.
I just finished a book about the Monarch's migration and their over wintering roosting spots in Mexico.
Sounds amazing!
I might need to migrate one of these days too. I really miss the butterflies in February!
Sherry

kkryno said...

Could you imagine flying to Mexico
and seeing the migration? That would be so awesome! Monarchs are probably my favorite butterflies.
Thanks for the beutiful shots.
Love, Vikki

Q said...

Dear Vikki,
I think it would be cool to drive from my house southwest and follow them as they migrate. I have read a few nature writers who have done this. I could blog my way to Mexico!
Maybe when my husband retires. I think it would be a fun Autumn adventure. I have done a few leaf peep trips in October, a Monarch trip sounds so fun! I could scatter milkweed seeds as we travel...
On butterfly wings,
Sherry

Deb said...

We had a day filled with butterflies ~ little messengers :-) I'm looking forward to following your link. And we finally have a hummingbird visiting the garden, enjoying the trumpet vine :-) I hope I can get a photo!

Q said...

Dear Deb,
Me too! The air is warm and the butterflies are feeding. I am out weeding and harvesting. A perfect day in the gardens.
So happy you are seeing the Hummingbirds. They will find you faster next year. I too hope you get a few pictures. Knowing they are still with you means I bet mine will be here for at least another month. They normally leave around the middle of October.
Butterflies are little messengers of joy!
Sherry

ICQB said...

I used to live in Texas, as in deep-in-the-heart-of. It seemed that there were several butterfly migrations that would move through our area, but the monarchs would always stay way up high. I always wished they would come a bit closer to the ground, but they'd float way up there, sometimes resting in the tall ash in our yard.

The other kinds would float by the thousands across the highways, like a butterfly dam had burst.

The monarchs were smarter, I guess, not becoming roadkill by staying out of reach.

Q said...

Dear Icqb,
I have read that some of the Swallowtails migrate. I wonder which ones and where do they go?
I just finished a fantastic Monarch migration book called, "Four Wings and a Prayer", by Sue Halpern. It was from the book I learned about Journey North and Bill Calvert.
I read that in Texas when the Monarchs come through they turn on their sprinklers so there is water for the butterflies. Traveling the thermals during the day and dropping down at night to roost is the Monarch style. I am back wondering about the other butterflies that migrate. Maybe I could follow my favorite, the female Tiger in her black dress, and see where she goes! I wonder if I could get a butterfly grant?
On butterfly wings,
Sherry