Monarch migration continued this week with good numbers. Conditions were all and all not that great for Monarchs moving, but good numbers were around, fueling up on nectar and storing fats they will need for the long migration. Monarchs eat almost nothing while overwintering in the mountain forests of Mexico and live off of stored fats, so it is extremely important that they bulk up here in some of Cape May's more luxuriously planted gardens while they wait for good conditions to catch the wind and (hopefully) head south.Conditions have brought many other southern butterfly species to Cape May. Cloudless Sulfurs are in good numbers and there were the first reports of Fiery Skipper and Pipevine Swallowtail for the year.
Census Totals: Monarchs per Hour
9-8: 20.72
9-9: 13.33
9-10: 18.88
9-11: 12.45
9-12: 32.63
9-13: 50.18
9-14: 19.65
Monarchs per hour for Week 2: 33.45
Mean Monarchs per hour cumulative: 24.25
Monarch tagging demonstrations have also begun. They are held every day except tuesday and thursday at the pavilion by the hawk watch platform in Cape May Point State Park at 2:00PM. It's free and you may have the chance to release a Monarch. You can learn all about the migration, ask questions, and even adopt a Monarch.
For those who are interested in some multimedia content, project supervisor Dick Walton has some fantastic video of Monarchs, Milkweed, and a others here.
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