The Monarch Monitoring Project is a long-term study on monarch migration through Cape May, NJ. It is a part of the New Jersey Audubon Research Department, and closely affiliated with the Cape May Bird Observatory.

Monday, September 22, 2014

A Promising Day

Monarchs (credit: Tom Reed)

Today was a windy day at Cape May Point. Strong northwesterly winds in the morning brought huge numbers of Merlins and American Kestrels. The strong winds prevented Monarchs from flying around for the morning and noon driving censuses, and the ones I did see flying were struggling to stay in one place.


American Kestrel (credit: Tom Reed)

Merlin (credit: Tom Reed) 

The Monarchs and other light-weight flyers (such as warblers) were sitting tight until late afternoon, when the winds died down a little and suddenly there was a decent push of butterflies into the area. The overall "average-per-hour" count today nearly tripled the count from yesterday, and the good news is that there's more northwesterly winds tomorrow! Make sure to do a few laps around Cape May Point in the afternoon if you're hoping to see a few of our favorite orange & black flappers.

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