Monarchists Win "No Carbon Footprint" Award at World Series of Birding

Monarchists, l to r: LuAnn Daniels, Mark Garland, Michael O'Brien, Louise Zemaitis, Meg Walker Hedeen.

Our World Series of Birding team found 140 species of birds during the competition on May 11, 2013, with all of our travel by bicycle or foot, and we won the "No Carbon Footprint" category at the event.  Most importantly, we raised badly needed funds for the Monarch Monitoring Project.  Here is the full report from the day afield: http://mgnature.com/WSB/2013Results.html.

"Monarchists" raise funds for Monarch Monitoring Project at the World Series of Birding

l to r: Kashi Davis, Meg Hedeen, Michael O'Brien, Louise Zemaitis, LuAnn Daniels,
Ron Rollet, Mark Garland, Paige Cunningham.

A group of current and past members of our Monarch study team are joining together for the fourth consecutive year to raise funds for the Monarch Monitoring Project in the World Series of Birding. The annual event, sponsored by the NJ Audubon Society, is a fun way for teams to raise funds for important conservation and environmental education efforts.

Our team, which we call the "Monarchists," competes in the "No Carbon Footprint" and "Cape Island" categories. On Saturday, May 11, we will travel around Cape Island by bicycle and foot to see how many species of birds we can find. As butterfly researchers, we also keep track of the number of butterfly species we find. Sponsors pledge to contribute a given amount for each species we find. Some choose to just contribute a flat amount.  Last year the conditions were great and our team tallied 155 species of birds and 14 species of butterflies, winning the coveted "Cape Island Cup," held by team captain Louise Zemaitis in the photo above.  In 2011 we faced a cool and cloudy day with very few migrant birds around, and we found just 115 species of birds and 5 species of butterflies; in 2010, our first attempt in these categories, conditions were a little bit better and that year's totals were 127 species of birds and 14 species of butterflies.  How well do you think we can do this year?  Make a pledge and guess the right number of birds and we'll send you one of our monarch butterfly magnets.

Ready to help out? To make a pledge, just send an e-mail message to team member Mark Garland at mgnature@me.com. If you are ready to contribute a flat amount, just send a check to PO Box 154, Cape May Point, NJ 08212. Write the check payable to "NJ Audubon Society" and in the "memo" are write "Monarch Project #024." You can see more pictures about this event at this page.

Monarchists checking Pond Creek Marsh just before sunset.

Seeking intern applicants for autumn 2013

Each autumn the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project hires one or more seasonal biologist to help with the project.  We normally don't announce this position nor begin to evaluate applications until summer, but if you or someone you know might want to work with us next fall, we'd be happy to accept their application at any time.  Here is the position description from last year; it's unlikely anything will be changed for 2013.

INTERN (1) to assist with ongoing Monarch butterfly migration project at New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory, Sep. 1 - Oct. 31.  Duties include daily road censuses of migrating Monarchs, tagging, data entry, and educating the public about the project and Monarch biology. Successful applicant will be expected to work long hours during peak Monarch flights, shorter hours during lulls. Careful data collecting and entry skills, and excellent interpersonal skills a must; familiarity with insect ecology and migration a plus but not required. Must have own vehicle. Salary $800/mo.; housing and reimbursement for gas provided. Send cover letter indicating position of interest, resume outlining relevant experience, and three references (including email addresses and phone numbers) to MIKE CREWE, New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory, Northwood Center, 701 East Lake Drive, PO Box 3, Cape May Point, NJ 08212 or email: mike.crewe@njaudubon.org.   Applications accepted until positions are filled.

NJ Audubon is an equal opportunity employer.

Season's end

Our studies were interrupted by Hurricane Sandy and related evacuation orders and bans on travel.  Fortunately Cape May saw minimal damage from the storm.  Censuses resumed yesterday, the official last day of the monarch season, and a total of 2 monarchs were counted.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped with our project and to the hundreds of visitors who came to our tagging demos and met informally with our team as we worked in Cape May Point.  Monarchs are already arriving into the mountains of Mexico.  We wish them well through their winter of dormancy and to next summer's generations in temperate North America.  We'll be counting and tagging again next autumn.

Don't come to Cape May

The gardens around Cape May Point still have lots of monarchs, but with the entire mid-Atlantic region under threat from "Super-storm Sandy" and evacuations taking place, it's simply not the time to come see monarch migrations.  We have tagged quite a few over the last few days, it will be interesting to see if any of these tagged monarchs are found after the storm.

Monarchs are here

Yesterday's noticeable influx of monarchs has given us a nice monarch day today.  Census totals for the day are 151.5 monarchs per hour, and we've been tagging dozens of monarchs in the local gardens.  Whenever we're out there tagging, passersby seem to notice and ask questions.  We're always happy to share information and show others how we conduct our research.  Our season ends next Wednesday, but if you see one of us out there with a butterfly net, don't hesitate to stop, observe our work, and learn about the wonders of monarch migration.

Julia Druce tags a monarch at the Triangle Park, located at the
junction of Lighthouse and Coral in Cape May Point.

Julia records data from a newly tagged monarch following the
procedure described in her Oct. 24 blog post.

One of many impromptu educational sessions conducted around
Cape May Point this autumn.

More monarchs at the Point today

There was a noticeable increase in monarchs at Cape May Point today.  Multiple observers noted a steady movement of monarchs down the dunes towards Cape May Point.  Just after noon I counted 36 monarchs passing over the dune in just 3 minutes, and our afternoon census today tallied 62 monarchs.  We don't know if this was the peak or if there might be even more monarchs moving into the Point tomorrow, but we'll be out there watching and counting.