MEGA Monarch & Dragonfly Flight, Cape May Point, NJ, October 3, 2018

Hi Gang,

It is the peak of fall migration!  Any time the winds are from the Northwest, you can bet your bippy there will be birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and bats galore migrating through Cape May Point.  The Monarchs will continue to migrate through all of October and, if conditions are right,  even the first few days or first week of November.

October 3rd the winds were gentle from the northwest, perfect for migration, so Clay & I decided to “take our walk” at Cape May Point.  We got down there and never left.

A blizzard of Monarchs on Seaside Goldenrod at Cape May Point, October 3, 2018. A day for the record books!

The floodgates opened and a river of Monarchs and dragonflies was flowing down the dune line, right over the dune crossovers in the town of Cape May Point.  That was the place to be.  A steady movement of Monarchs floated by while others nectared on the Seaside Goldenrod in the dunes.  Some pulses were huge!  A steady movement of dragonflies zoomed by including mostly Black Saddlebags and Common Green Darners with some Carolina Saddlebags mixed in (about 1 in every 10 saddlebags).  The numbers were uncountable.  Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Monarchs and dragonflies.  I’ve included some photos with this post to share with you the spectacle we witnessed on October 3rd, truly a day we’ll remember forever more.

Thousands of Black Saddlebags and Common Green Darners migrating down the Cape May Point dune line over nectaring Monarchs in the Seaside Goldenrod.

Many Monarchs reach the tip of the Cape May Peninsula  on winds like those that blew on October 3rd from the northwest.  These winds blow migrating Monarchs out to the coast.  Rather than get blown out to sea, they turn and follow the coastline south, and reach lands end, Cape May Point.  On days with the right conditions (gentle winds from the northwest), numbers build and build.  Sometimes we’re treated to a late afternoon and evening roost where Monarchs gather by the thousands.  The next morning can be quite a spectacle, when they are warmed up by the rising sun and lift off to continue their migration.

Talking with Mark Garland, who heads up the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project, he did not expect that there would be a huge roost or roosts of Monarchs the evening of October 3rd in the town of Cape May Point because it was so warm (80 degrees).  He shared that those huge roosts usually form in the late afternoon on the colder days when temperatures are 50 degrees or cooler.  He thought there would be lots and lots of little Monarch roosts around Cape May Point instead, with 10 Monarchs here and 10 Monarchs there.  From what we hear, that was the case.  We couldn’t stay that evening to see for ourselves.

We headed back down the next day, October 4th to see what was left over from the flight the day before.  The winds switched in the night from northwest to south, so we weren’t expecting too much.  Indeed the south winds were not bringing new Monarchs to us, but it was a beautiful day for a walk.

This fall, respond to weather predictions.  If the winds are to come from the north or northwest, get to Cape May Point!  Just do it!!!

Monarchs nectaring on Seaside Goldenrod with the Delaware Bay beyond. Please don’t flush them for a photo. Their migration is hazardous enough!
All these photos were taken on October 3, 2018, from designated trails and dune crossovers in Cape May Point. Please don’t walk up into the dunes for photos. For one thing it is illegal and very poor etiquette.

If you should encounter roosts of Monarchs, please do not approach so close that you flush them.  Remember that they’re holding on for their lives.  The next stop is a big stretch of water and that can be treacherous for Monarchs.

There are many dune crossovers in the town of Cape May Point that take you right next to blooming nectar full of Monarchs.  And there are nectar-rich stretches along the dune trails (between the dune and the Plover Ponds) in both the Cape May Point State Park and the South Cape May Meadows.  All these sites offer terrific photo opportunities.    Please do not leave dune crossovers and trails to venture into dunes for photos; it’s illegal for one thing and disruptive and just poor etiquette.

There are also 100s and 100s and 100s of Common Buckeyes nectaring on the Seaside Goldenrod in the dunes at Cape May Point now.

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the Monarch migration, read my previous post, “Cape May Monarch Migration, Fall 2018 (click on underlined text to get to link).”

I’ve been rejuvenated and given hope, having seen this mega flight.  May you too connect with one of the Monarch flights this fall.

To Hope,

Pat

Cape May Monarch Migration, Fall 2018

Hi Gang,

Moving Monarch cats from stripped milkweed in my front yard garden to my still-leafy patch of Swamp Milkweed in my backyard garden (8-26-18)

I had so many Monarch caterpillars in my various patches of Milkweed (Butterfly Weed, Swamp Milkweed, and Tropical Milkweed) in August that they stripped some of it bare.  Luckily I have a robust stand of Common Milkweed and was able to move many of the still-hungry caterpillars to that stand.  I heard from many gardeners who had planted only a few milkweed plants and were unprepared for the bounty of Monarch caterpillars.  Lesson: Plant More Milkweed!!!

Afterwards, I was away for a week over Labor Day running 2 butterfly counts in South Carolina (the 26th year I’ve run these counts), and when I returned the Monarch caterpillars in my garden had disappeared, hopefully to safe places where they went into their chrysalis stage.

We’re all hoping that this will be a magical fall at Cape May for Monarch migration.  If yesterday (September 25) was an indicator, I think we’re in for a treat.  Clay and I played hooky yesterday and walked some of our favorite spots on The Point (the southern tip of NJ): South Cape May Meadows, Cape May Point State Park, Triangle Park in the town of Cape May Point, and the streets of Cape May Point.  Despite heavy rain to the north and the west, the sun came out in Cape May and the Monarchs were nectaring in force.  One garden on Alexander Avenue in Cape May Point had 50 nectaring Monarchs on a breathtaking stand of Late-flowering Thoroughwort.

Late-flowering Thoroughwort in a garden on Alexander Avenue in Cape May Point yesterday (9-25-18) with 50 nectaring Monarchs!
A close up of some of the nectaring Monarchs yesterday (9-25-18) on Late-flowering Thoroughwort

Some falls I and others have enjoyed seeing 100s (some years 1000s) of Monarchs roosting together in the dunes at Cape May Point or in trees in certain yards.  Some of these roost sites are used fall after fall.  The dune crossover by St. Peter’s By the Sea Church at the intersection of Ocean and Harvard Avenues in Cape May Point is often good.  Sometimes on a good flight day, when 100s or 1000s of Monarchs are being blown out to the coast and south to Cape May Point, by late afternoon (2:30 or 3 p.m.) they begin to gather in sheltered spots, where they will spend the night communally.  You can view them that evening or early the next morning before the sun hits them and warms them up enough to take off and continue their migration.

One of the gatherings LAST FALL at a Monarch roost site at the dune crossover by St. Peter’s By the Sea Church in Cape May Point (10-1-17)
Last fall (9-30-17 at 8:00 a.m.), a roost site in the early morning before the Monarchs warmed up enough to take off and continue their migration

If you would like to keep your finger on the pulse and not miss a big movement of Monarchs at Cape May or an evening roost (or soon-after-dawn departure from that roost), here are a few tips.  Follow the Cape May Bird Observatory’s “Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project” at these 3 sites (click on the underlined text / link to reach these sites):

  1. Monarch Monitoring Project BLOG (updated almost daily in Sept & Oct)
  2. Monarch Monitoring Project Facebook Page: “Cape May Monarchs”
  3. Monarch Monitoring Project (primary site with in-depth information)

When you read the Blog, be sure to scroll back and read the September 16th post, “Don’t Bring Monarchs to Cape May.”  Share with friends who have either transported Monarchs to Cape May or plan to do so.

This fall there are some great opportunities to learn about migrating Monarchs from the folks studying them.  Don’t miss:

MONARCH TAGGING DEMO
Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays: September 7 to October 14
(weather permitting) 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Meets at the East Shelter next to the Hawkwatch Platform at Cape May Point State Park. Join CMBO Monarch Monitoring Project naturalists to learn about the Monarch butterflies that migrate through Cape May. You’ll learn how you can help with Monarch conservation. After the talk, watch as small tags are affixed to Monarchs to track their migration. No preregistration necessary. Family-friendly. Cost: FREE.

MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT DROP-IN
September 10 through October 25
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays only
1:00 – 1:30 pm
Stop by Triangle Park, at Lighthouse and Coral Avenues in Cape May Point to learn about the Monarch Monitoring Project.  The team may be tagging monarchs, tending to the gardens that support the monarchs, or engaged in other project activity.  No reservations needed for this free program, but contributions to the Monarch Monitoring Project are welcome.

2nd ANNUAL MONARCH FESTIVAL
Sunday, October 7
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
At the Nature Center of Cape May (1600 Delaware Avenue, Cape May, NJ).  The festival will include educational programs, butterfly tagging demonstrations, children’s crafts, along with music and food! Join in the celebration and learn why this area is so special to the migration of the butterflies and what you can do to help conserve wildlife. Suggested $5 donation to support the nature center programs throughout the year.  Call the NCCM at 609-427-3045 with any questions about the festival.

Enjoy this fall’s Monarch migration!
Pat

Monarch Caterpillars: Numbers in Gardens this late Summer and Fall (2016)

sm-monarch-chrysalis-in-virginiarettiggdn-9-25-16001-sigHi Gang,

I have been traveling a lot and so am tardy in sharing some very good news.  I’ve heard from wildlife gardeners near and far that their milkweed patches have been discovered by egg-laying Monarchs.  Caterpillars are still being found, lots of caterpillars!  Chrysalises too, like the one above that I enjoyed today in Virginia Rettig’s lovely North Cape May wildlife garden!

Today I stopped at the West Cape May Elementary School to see their “Schoolyard Habitat” and was thrilled to find their thriving Common Milkweed patch with at least 5 Monarch chrysalises on the brick school and in under steps of wooden ladders placed near the garden (for just that purpose — a safe spot off the beaten path).  Hopefully more and more schools will create and utilize outdoor wildlife gardens like this to connect students with the natural world.

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Display at CMBO Northwood Center on 9-25-16

I also stopped by the Cape May Bird Observatory’s Northwood Center (701 E. Lake Drive, Cape May Point, NJ) and was dazzled by their Monarch Migration display and by their terrariums full of hungry caterpillars and chrysalises!

Don’t miss the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project’s fun opportunities to learn about Monarchs this fall:

MONARCH TANK TALK

Fridays: Sept. 23, 30, and Oct. 7

10:00 to 10:15 a.m.

At the CMBO Northwood Center (701 E. Lake Drive, Cape May Point, NJ) .  Free.

MONARCH TAGGING DEMOS

Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Wednesday

Sept. 14 through October 16  (weather permitting)

2:00 to 2:45 p.m.

Meets at Cape May Point State Park at the East Shelter, the picnic pavilion next to the Hawkwatch Platform.  No preregistration required.  Family-friendly.  FREE.

Full details about these and other programs can be found in CMBO’s Kestrel Express.

To keep your finger on the pulse of the Monarch migration through Cape May this fall, go to the Monarch Monitoring Project BLOG.

As many of you know I have written many posts about Monarchs and Milkweeds for “Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.”  I’d love to share the links with you here so that you can do more reading, but sadly that lovely website is no longer.

 

Monarchs and Milkweed in 2015

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A meadow of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in Cumberland County, NJ. I’d love to see wildlife management areas around NJ and elsewhere thick with this native wildflower, but sadly invasive non-natives have crowded them out in many places

 

Back in February the Press of Atlantic City pointed the finger at wildlife gardeners as contributing to the demise of Monarchs, specifically that by planting Tropical Milkweed we “may be killing” Monarchs. My e-mail box overflowed. My phone rang off the hook. I promised to get back to folks but didn’t get a chance until now.

I’ve addressed the issue and the latest news of Monarch numbers this past winter in Mexico, which directly affects the coming year.

To learn more be sure to read my latest post on Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens:

Monarch & Milkweed Concerns — 2015

PLEASE leave any comments in the comment section at the end of my post. That way other readers can benefit from your comment and my reply (rather than writing to me directly). Thanks a bunch!

Many are concerned and planting milkweeds, but there too you have to be careful of where you buy your native milkweeds.  Don’t buy milkweeds from big box stores because many plants sold by big box stores have been treated with insecticides called neonicitinoids.  Monarch caterpillars will die eating these plants!  Read more HERE.

Other posts I’ve written about Monarchs may also be of interest:

Too, I’ll be giving my “Milkweeds for Monarchs” program, packed with helpful information, three times this spring.  Check out our “Upcoming Events” page for details and plan to join me.

Monarchs, Where are They in 2013 ?

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Monarch on Giant Sunflower in my fall wildlife garden

I am very concerned about Monarchs

This year, I’ve been asked more times than I can count, “Where are the Monarchs?”

It is now fall and Monarchs are migrating through Cape May on their way south to the mountains of Mexico where they will winter. They’re not absent.  We’re seeing some.  But few came from our wildlife gardens, where previously our gardens were responsible for generation after generation.  My garden in all of 2013 (so far) has attracted less than 20 Monarchs and I’ve only found 1 caterpillar.  That’s OFF, big time!

I fear that this coming winter (2013-2014) their numbers at the winter roost sites in Mexico will be even lower than last winter, which was the lowest in 20 years.

Read my latest post on Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens, “Where are the Monarchs in 2013?” to learn about the plight of eastern Monarchs and why we’re seeing so few.

If you are not familiar with the many posts I wrote for Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens (as well as the other excellent daily posts), you might want to bookmark the site and learn from it daily.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Late-breaking GREAT news (and photos) from Jean Gutsmuth!

At the garden of a friend in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, the numbers of chrysalises hanging from EVERYWHERE on her house and garage is amazing;  she estimated 95 to 100 on September 20, 2013.  They are hanging from eaves, window sills, around door frames, and even on the bricks of her house.  The friend shared that she never saw more than perhaps two pairs of monarchs at one time.  Although she had a fairly good size garden of milkweed, it is pretty well stripped.   Thank you Jean for giving us this GREAT news and sharing your photos.  Let’s hope there are many more pockets of Monarchs like this!

sm-95 chrysalises (Haddon Heights GDN)-by JeanGutsmuth-9-20-13 (001) sm-95 chrysalises (Haddon Heights GDN)-by JeanGutsmuth-9-20-13 (002) sm-95 chrysalises (Haddon Heights GDN)-by JeanGutsmuth-9-20-13 (003) sm-95 chrysalises (Haddon Heights GDN)-by JeanGutsmuth-9-20-13 (005) sm-95 chrysalises (Haddon Heights GDN)-by JeanGutsmuth-9-20-13 (006)

Red-spotted Purples are waking up

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Red-spotted Purple caterpillar on its first walkabout, April 15, 2013. Notice its hibernaculum, the home where if safely survived winter.

It’s Spring

It’s spring and Red-spotted Purple caterpillars are venturing out of their winter hibernaculums.  Partially grown caterpillars created these safe retreats last fall by silking a tiny leaf shut, silking the leaf to the tree, then crawling inside and going to sleep for the winter.  All the other leaves fell from Black Cherry trees and Beach Plum bushes, but the hibernaculum leaves remained still attached – a tell-tale sign to a keen naturalist that some creature might be inside.

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From late June on this lovely butterly is a regular in our garden, especially if we maintain a dish of gooey fruit – which they favor over flower nectar

 

As temperatures warm, these teeny tiny caterpillars (about one-quarter inch long) are venturing forth, sunning in the warmth and looking for tasty buds on their host plant (Black Cherry, Beach Plum, . . .).

To learn more about the neat life history of this stunning butterfly, read my April post on Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.

How to Build a Butterfly House

Mourning Cloak – survive winter as an adult

Around homes, as treasured wood piles are dismantled for firewood over the course of a winter, possibly quite a few Mourning Cloaks, Question Marks, and Commas are disturbed from their slumber on brutally cold winter days and meet their demise.

To ensure the survival of these unique butterflies that overwinter as adults, consider building a Butterfly House.

Our butterfly house

 

 

Learn how easy it is to build a Butterfly House by reading my latest column at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.

Hibernaculum: Winter Home to Red-spotted Purple

Partially grown Red-spotted Purple caterpillar preparing its hibernaculum (winter home)

On September 23, 2012, I watched one of the very last Red-spotted Purples in the garden. It danced around the Beach Plums and I thought it must be laying eggs. I looked closely at leaf after leaf, zeroing in on the very tip where Red-spotted Purples carefully lay their jewel-like egg, but could find none.

As I scrutinized the leaves I spotted a different treasure than expected – a teeny-tiny caterpillar silking a bit of leaf to the branch and silking the leaf curled shut.

I stepped back from the Beach Plum, looked at the bush as a whole, and noticed other similar leaves .   I knew just what I was looking at, though I’d never seen one before – a nearly completed HIBERNACULUM, where a partially grown Red-spotted Purple caterpillar would winter, hopefully safely.

Learn about the complete life cycle of the Red-spotted Purple and how they survive the winter in my latest column at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens, where fellow long-time wildlife gardeners share what we’ve learned over years of sometimes painful trial and error.

Monarch Migration at Cape May — Fall 2012

This fall’s Monarch Migration at Cape May has been magical. Each cold front has brought another wave.

Flights on September 23 and 24, 2012,

were steady all day long with Monarchs floating down the beachfront from dawn till dusk. Each of those evenings, by late afternoon, Monarchs began gathering at roost sites in Red Cedars near blooming Groundsel-tree in dunes along the beachfront and in deciduous trees near blooming English Ivy along the rural streets of Cape May Point.

Even nasty looking Common Milkweed is still vital to Monarchs, leave it standing through fall

Still finding Monarch eggs and caterpillars

And through it all we’re still finding Monarch caterpillars on milkweed, so please, please, please, DO NOT cut down the milkweed in your garden. Despite looking “done” it’s still helping the Monarch population swell.

Monarch Roost, 7:00 to 8:30 a.m.

Yesterday morning (September 25), at first light, I visited sites where Monarchs had roosted through the night. As the sun warmed them and they were able to fly, they dropped down onto blooming Groundsel-tree and nectared heartily. It was magical – no other way to describe it!

Even though I’ve witnessed Monarch evening roosts dozens of times over the many falls we’ve lived in Cape May County, I can never get enough of them. Red Cedar trees sometimes adorned with a thousand plus Monarchs, wings closed and looking like dead leaves until a newcomer flies by and they all open their wings as if to say, “Join us, this is a safe place to rest.”

Winds switched the morning of September 25, coming from the southwest – a headwind for a migrating Monarch (winds that do not help them continue their migration south). With this being the case, many Monarchs could not continue their migration, but are still around Cape May.

Next coldfront: Thursday, September 27

Another cold front is predicted for Thursday (September 27), winds that just might bring another wave of southbound Monarchs.

Monarchs on a blooming male Groundsel-tree, September 25, 2012

If you’ve never witnessed the magic of the Monarch Migration at Cape May, this is the fall to do it. Not every autumn is accented with magical Monarch flights, but this fall is proving to be just such a fall.

Don’t contact me to learn if there’s to be a Monarch flight

I may be out of town and you might miss one.

Instead, pay close attention to the weather

  • If it turns cold and you’ve got to track down flannel pajamas
  • and pull up the comforter at night
  • get to Cape May the next day!
  • That cold weather is a cold front – with north and northwest winds – winds that carry Monarchs and other migrants (Red Bats, dragonflies, warblers, flycatchers, thrushes, raptors, and so much more) out to the coast and south to land’s end at Cape May Point!
  • If the weather is warm and Indian summer-like, well . . . the winds are probably from the south and pushing migrants away from Cape May. If that is the case, well, don’t bother coming. But if it is cold and blustery, get here quickly.

Monitor the 3 websites I’ve listed below and read the posts

On these posts, folks often predict when they feel the next good Monarch flight might happen. Monarchs often gather at roosts in the dunes and around Cape May Point from about 3 p.m. on at the end of a good flight. If there’s been a cold front any time from mid-September through October, Monarchs may pour to the tip, Cape May Point.

I’ll be sharing my “Milkweeds & Monarchs” program on Monday evening, October 1, 2012, at the County Library, 30 Mechanic Street, Cape May Court House, NJ.  Join me!  It’s FREE.

Good luck with the miracle of migrating Monarchs!

See you in the field.

Painted Lady Explosion – September 2012

We were away in South Carolina running two butterfly counts (in their 20th year – a whole other butterfly-rich story to tell).  Upon our return on August 29th, we found our garden swimming in Painted Ladies.  We tallied 21, far more than we’d ever seen in our garden before.

Painted Lady and American Lady ID is a puzzle to many. These photos should sort it out for you.

To give you a feel for just how unusual this was, we never saw a single Painted Lady in our garden in 2011 and only 9 in 2010.

Much to our amazement, numbers steadily rose each day: 35 on August 30, 54 on August 31, and  70 on September 1.  Numbers held  steady at 70 for a few days, then shot up to 106 on September 5.  Clouds of butterflies lifted, scattered, and settled back on blooming Sedum and other plants as we slowly and reverently walked through our magic garden.

We were told there were thousands of Painted Ladies at lands end, Cape May Point.

A cold front hit on September 6, bringing rain and “raining” migrant songbirds.  Our garden filled up with hungry Common Yellowthroats and other warblers and flycatchers.  They feasted on butterflies and moths and the wealth of other pollinators in the garden.

Since then Painted Lady numbers have slowly nudged back up to 60.  Not the 106 of September 5, but still a sight to behold.  It’s quite magical as they lift off, scatter, and settle back on blooming Sedum when we walk through the garden.  Throughout all this there have been small numbers of the normally more common American Lady mixed in.

Funnily enough one of our Leopard Frogs has decided that the feasts to be had in the garden are far more desirable than the feasts to be had in the pond. Several times now we’ve found this opportunistic Leopard Frog nestled down in the sedum patiently waiting for an easy snack.

Opportunistic Leopard Frog patiently waiting for its next meal

Can’t wait to see how the rest of the fall of 2012 unfolds.

Painted Ladies were formerly called “The Cosmopolite” because they are found on every continent (except Antarctica).  Yet, they can not tolerate freezing temperatures in any form (as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult).  They safely winter on the Mexican Plateau (northern and central Mexico) each winter.  By spring they begin to repopulate the US from Mexico.  Some years their numbers here in the East are nonexistent, other years very low, and every now and then their numbers are good.  But in our 35+ years of watching butterflies and gardening for them, we’ve never seen explosive numbers like these!  Robert Michael Pyle shares in his book, the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, that these drastic fluctuations from year to year are due to a variety of factors: cycles of parasite attack, caterpillar plant defoliation, and / or superabundance of nectar following heavy winter rains.