Waiting, waiting

We have experienced a full week with winds blowing from the east, along with at least a little bit of rain almost every day.  These are not conditions that bring migrating monarch butterflies into Cape May, and indeed it has been a very slow week for our team.  We held our first four "drop-in" programs at the Triangle Park, where there were few monarchs and even fewer human visitors.  We start up our second weekend of tagging demos at Cape May Point State Park, and with a weather forecast for continued east winds, clouds, and some more rain, we don't expect to have many monarchs to show our guests.  There should be a few -- we are seeing some monarchs each day, but we guess that these are mostly ones of local origin.

Sarah Crosby tags a monarch at last Saturday's demo.

Once the weather changes we expect to see migrating monarchs, and perhaps a lot of them.  We saw reports this week of huge numbers gathering at Point Pelee, Ontario, then flying across Lake Erie and gathering at various spots in northern Ohio to rest before continuing the trek to Mexico.  Many people from the midwest to New England and right here in New Jersey reported seeing lots of monarchs last summer, so we still expect to see large numbers in Cape May.  But as long as the winds are wrong and strong, alas, we don't expect to see them.

Lindsey Cathcart describes tagging to an enthusiastic group.

Many monarchs or few, we will continue with our public programs and we invite you to come join us.  Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through October 14 we will offer our full Monarch Talk and Tagging Demo at 2 pm.  This program is held under the East Shelter at Cape May Point State Park -- that's the covered pavilion next to the hawk watch platform.  On other days, Monday through Thursday, you can meet a member of our team at 1 pm at Cape May Point's Triangle Park, located at the junction of Lighthouse and Coral Avenues.  There is no fee for either program, though donations are accepted.