Midday Update 9/26/19

Winds switched around the the south-southwest today, and as expected, movement of monarchs around Cape May Point has stalled out.  The last two days brought us winds from northerly directions, and monarchs were clearly on the move, but the wind speed and direction were ideal for monarch movements, and most seemed to cruise right over Cape May and continue on to Delaware.  For an hour or two on Wednesday afternoon it seemed that many were dropping onto the beach and into the dunes, but then they lifted off again and headed out over the Bay.  That's good news for the monarchs, of course, they've got a long way to go, but we feel a slight twinge of disappointment that more didn't stop over here.

We're not without monarchs today, of course, as a small percentage did stop over.  It's a rare day indeed when there aren't some monarchs in Cape May Point during September and October.  We're not seeing many in the air, but certain wildflowers and gardens have good numbers of monarchs feeding.  The native sunflowers in Cape May Point State Park are once again a hotspot -- an especially good area is along the park's yellow trail, where several dozen have been nectaring on a big patch of the native Helianthus gigantea.  We tagged a few here, and many had very little fat reserves, so they needed to feed.  Our best guess is that most monarchs arrived in Cape May on Tuesday and Wednesday with good fuel reserves and didn't need to stop, but those with low fat have stopped and are currently refueling.

Winds are predicted to blow from the south or the east for the next few days, and those winds typically don't bring many monarchs to Cape May, but as we always point out, all of our predictions are just slightly better than wild guesses, the monarchs don't tell us when they plan to come visit.  So we will be out in the field every day, conducting censuses, tagging monarchs, and sharing the wonder and joy of monarch migration with anyone who will listen.

Female monarch sips sunflower nectar

Male monarch at wild sunflower

Midday Update 9/24/19

Tuesday morning brought northwest breezes and brilliant sunshine to Cape May Point, and it also brought a gradual increase in monarch numbers.  Early in the morning we saw some monarchs flying around, not many but more than the last few days.  As the morning progressed the numbers gradually increased, and by midday we were seeing a few monarchs drifting overhead every minute or two.  Most were seen right along the dunes, or from the hawkwatch at Cape May Point State Park (where a very good hawk flight is taking place).  A few monarchs were settling into the gardens, but many more were seen flying overhead.  It's possible that many just continued across Delaware Bay and are now on the other side.

Monarch at Cape May Point State Park, Tuesday morning 9/24/19

Northwest winds are predicted to continue all afternoon.  We know better than to make bold predictions, the butterflies keep us humble by surprising us, but our best guess is that numbers will continue to gradually increase at Cape May Point, and that by mid-afternoon more monarchs will be visiting flowers in the area's gardens and parks.  There may be some small roosts of 20 - 50 monarchs forming late in the afternoon, most likely along Harvard Ave., next to the dunes, or along the trail behind the dunes at Cape May Point State Park.

We'll post another update tomorrow, or sooner if monarch numbers or behaviors change dramatically.

Update and Reminders

Update for Monday, Sept. 23, 2019.  Monarch numbers remain relatively low in Cape May today, as has been the case for most of the month.  We may need to remind our readers that "low" numbers still mean that monarchs are here, and at certain times and locations there may be several dozen in a garden or flower patch.  But veteran observers know that every fall we have at least a few days when monarchs seem to be everywhere in Cape May Point and along the waterfront in Cape May City.  We haven't had such a day yet this season.

We hate to make predictions, but we might be on the verge of the season's first big flights.  A change in the weather is coming, with a cold front due to bring winds from the northwest on Tuesday and from the north on Wednesday.  These are winds that typically bring the best flights into Cape May during the fall migration -- the biggest numbers of monarch butterflies and birds.  Our fingers are crossed, and we're ready to be in the field all day tomorrow.  We will report back on what we find around midday, earlier if we see the monarchs pouring into the Point during the morning.

Tagging demo at Cape May Point State Park

We can predict that our programs will continue.  We have had large, enthusiastic audiences for all of our tagging demos, which will continue through October 13 every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Join the fun this weekend at 2:00 pm, when we gather at the East Picnic Shelter in Cape May Point State Park.  If you're here at 1 pm on a Monday through Thursday, "drop in" to visit with a member of our team at the Triangle Park, located at the junction of Lighthouse and Coral Avenues in Cape May Point.

We do want to remind monarch enthusiasts who visit Cape May about our few requests, which we last published back in August.  We welcome all monarch enthusiasts, whether intense or casual in interest, to come to Cape May and join us in appreciation of this migratory phenomenon.  Three requests for the more serious monarch fans:

1. If you tag monarchs in Cape May, please share your tagging data with us, as we want to keep track of all monarchs tagged in and around Cape May, and of course never enter private property or closed areas (such as the dunes at Cape May Point).

2. Don’t net or tag any monarchs at Cape May Point during these intervals: 9:00 - 9:30 am, 12:00 noon - 12:30 pm, and 3:00 - 3:30 pm.  These are the times of our censuses, and it’s crucial that all monarchs be undisturbed during these time periods.

3. If you raise monarchs, please do not bring them to Cape May for release.  This will be our 28th year of conducting systematic censuses of monarchs in Cape May, one of the longest, most consistent data sets on monarch populations in existence.  Imported monarchs can skew our numbers and reduce the validity of our data.  Also, the water crossing of Delaware Bay is hazardous -- you're probably not doing monarchs a favor by bringing them to the Cape.

Still Waiting

Thursday evening update: As reported earlier, there were a good number of monarchs around today, the most we have seen so far this season, but it did not blossom into a major arrival event. The biggest numbers were seen at Cape May Point State Park, nectarine on the native sunflowers that are in peak bloom right now (Helianthus giganteus). The show was great there, especially in the morning and early afternoon, but big monarch numbers were not seen elsewhere around Cape May Point. We saw reports of many monarchs at East Point, just one county north of us on the shores of Delaware Bay. We keep thinking that a big arrival is imminent, but we don't know if it will happen tomorrow, this weekend, or maybe not for a while longer.

Quick update

Monarch numbers rising significantly in Cape May Point today! Cape May Point State Park is the recommended destination.

Tagging demos, monarchs coming?

Our tagging demos are going strong, with 85 in attendance at the demo on Saturday, Sept. 14, and that coming after private, pre-arranged demos for two other groups earlier in the day.  We love to share the story of monarchs and their migration, and (we hope you'll forgive us for this) to boast a bit about the work of our project, now in its 30th year.

Naturalists Anya Held and Victoria Cope at Friday's demo.

Our tagging demos will continue every Friday through Sunday at 2 pm at the East Shelter, Cape May Point State Park, through Oct. 13, and then switch to noon at the Cape May Convention Center Oct. 18 through 20.  Each demo begins with a brief talk about monarch biology, migration, conservation, and the work of our project.  We then break into small groups, each led by one of our naturalists or interns, where visitors can see a monarch up close, watch as we place a tag on the wing, and then a few lucky ones become the launching pad for a just-tagged monarch, sending it on its way to Mexico.

Anya Held shows enthusiastic visitor how to tag a monarch.

We've had plenty of monarchs to tag each day, but we haven't seen the first big influx of the season yet.  One of these days we'll see a lot of monarchs flying into Cape May Point, and the first such flight could possibly occur on Sunday, Sept. 15.  We received a report of big numbers flying through Ocean City, NJ, this afternoon, which is just 25 miles to our north.  The weather forecast for Sunday isn't perfect for monarch migration -- we like to see northwest winds, and the prediction for Sunday is for southwest winds and a chance of showers.  But you never know, we'll be out there watching, for sure.

And we'll be out at Cape May Point State Park at 2 pm Sunday, that's a guarantee.  We'll be talking monarchs and tagging a few for our visitors, and we hope that many of our readers will be there, too.

Victoria Cope at Saturday's tagging demo.

Our Field Coordinator Louise Zemaitis tagging a monarch.

Visitor releasing a just-tagged monarch.

Week 2 Update

We're nearing the end of our second week of studies for the 2019 Monarch Monitoring Project, and the monarch numbers continue to be low.  We had a bit of northwest wind early in the week, but that was earlier than we usually see our first big arrival event, and indeed those favorable breezes just brought modest numbers into Cape May.  We continue to see a slow trickle of monarchs at the Point -- we don't go a day without seeing a few, but we're still waiting for the first big flights.

Monarch feeding on lantana in a Cape May Point garden

We expect big numbers of monarchs to get here eventually.  There have been many reports from our north of observers seeing excellent concentrations; you can see some of those reports via Journey North here: https://journeynorth.org/monarchs/news/fall-2019/.

In staff news, we are excited to report that the Migration Count Coordinator for NJ Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory, Tom Reed, is now tagging monarchs.  Tom's a busy guy at this time of year, coordinating the hawk watch, sea watch, and morning flight counts, plus doing pilot work on studies of migrating bats, dragonflies, and moths.  If it migrates through Cape May, Tom studies it, so it's not surprising that he wanted to add monarch tagging to his impressive list of skills.

Migration Count Coordinator Tom Reed with tagged monarch.

Our program season has begun, and we met with enthusiastic visitors last weekend at our first two tagging demos at Cape May Point State Park.  Monday through Thursday featured our first four informal "drop-in" programs at the Point's Triangle Park, with attendance ranging from 2 to 15.  We love to talk about monarchs with everybody, and hope that many readers of our blog will attend one or more of our programs this fall.  The Triangle Park programs will run through Oct. 25 every Monday through Thursday at 1 pm.  The Triangle Park is at the junction of Lighthouse and Coral Avenues in the Borough of Cape May Point.  Our more formal tagging demos are held at 2 pm in Cape May Point State Park, at the East Shelter, which is adjacent to the big Hawkwatch Platform.  Those programs run every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through Oct. 13.  We'll also be part of the big NJ Audubon Monarch Festival on Sunday, Oct. 13, details here: https://njaudubon.org/event/monarch-migration-festival-2/

The following weekend, Oct. 18 - 20, our demos move to the Cape May Convention Center as part of the NJ Audubon Cape May Fall Festival and will take place at 12 noon (and possibly at other unscheduled times).  See details about the festival and the schedule here: https://njaudubon.org/nja-events/cape-may-fall-festival/

Nothing in the weather forecast suggests that we'll see many monarchs this weekend or early next week, but as we always say, patterns are sometimes broken.  We will hope to be happily surprised.  But even if the big flights don't start up yet, there are always some monarchs in Cape May Point, and this fall we're seeing lots of other butterflies as well, as illustrated below.  You can't go wrong with a visit to Cape May in the fall; we hope to see many of you at our programs and out in the field.

Red Admiral

Red-spotted Purple

Common Buckeye

First week

This was originally posting on our FaceBook page, "Cape May Monarchs," on Sept. 5:

Early September is usually slow for monarch migration in Cape May, and this year is no exception. Our staff has tagged a few monarchs each day, but they've also had time to bring a few eggs and caterpillars into the exhibit at the CMBO Northwood Center, shown here. Our census numbers have been low, as expected.

A cold front is expected to pass through Cape May on Friday night, bringing northwest winds for the weekend. These are typically the best winds for bringing migrating butterflies and birds into Cape May. It's still a little early in the season, so we can't promise lots of monarchs this weekend, but it is possible.

We can promise to present the first two monarch tagging demos of the year, at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Meet at the East Shelter in Cape May Point State Park, the picnic pavilion adjacent to the hawk watch. There's no fee for the program, but donations are accepted. Expect about ½ hour talk about monarch biology and the work of our project, then watch as a few monarchs are tagged and sent on their way toward Mexico.

Day 1, 2019

September 1 marks the beginning of our field season each year.  Now our 30th field season is underway.  Our two field naturalists, Anya Held and Victoria Cope, went to work, learning the census protocol and meeting several Cape May Point residents whose gardens will host lots of migrating monarchs.  They also netted and tagged their first monarchs.  They'll both be working from now until mid-November, counting monarchs, tagging monarchs, and talking with hundreds of people about monarch biology and conservation.  If you see one of them in Cape May Point with a butterfly net in hand, don't hesitate to stop and ask them about monarch butterflies and the work of our project.

Anya Held with her first tagged monarch

Victoria Cope with her first tagged monarch

In addition to informal meetings, you can come to one of our formal educational programs.  Here's our schedule for 2019:

Monarch tagging demos: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Sept. 7 through Oct. 13.  Our signature program, held at the East Shelter of Cape May Point State Park, begins at 2:00 pm with an overview of monarch biology and conservation, and a description of the work of the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project.  

Project founder Dick Walton discussing monarch biology at a tagging demo

After the 20 - 30 minute talk, our staff bring out monarch butterflies for tagging.  Several members of our team are always present, so we can split into small groups and everyone in attendance can get a close-up look at the process.

See monarchs tagged at close range

NJ Audubon's Cape May Fall Festival: Running Oct. 17 - 20 this year, our fall festival is NJ Audubon's biggest event of the year.  On Oct. 18, 19, and 20 we'll have a table and some monarch caterpillars and chrysalides at the Cape May Convention Hall, where there will be a series of presentations and booths with lots of vendors.  We will offer several tagging demos at the Convention Hall, or visit us any time to talk about monarchs with members of our team.  We'll also have an illustrated talk about monarch biology and conservation as one of the festival events.  Learn more about this great annual event online here: https://njaudubon.org/nja-events/cape-may-fall-festival/.

Drop-in programs at Triangle Park: Mondays through Thursdays from Sept. 9 through Oct. 25.  On the days when we don't have one of our formal tagging demos, you can still meet one or more members of our team for an informal chat at 1 pm in Cape May Point's Triangle Park, located at the corner of Lighthouse and Coral Avenues.  When monarchs are present at the park you may see an impromptu tagging demonstration, but at the very least you can learn about the work we do and ask questions about monarch biology and conservation.

Releasing a recently tagged monarch at Triangle Park

We look forward to seeing many monarch enthusiasts at Cape May Point during the next two months, both at our formal programs and informally as we observe and tag monarchs in the parks and gardens around the Point.

Finally, we are often asked to predict when the most monarchs will be in Cape May.  Sadly, we don't know.  Most monarchs usually migrate through Cape May Point between about Sept. 10 and Oct. 25, but within that period there will be days with lots of monarchs and days with very few.  Weather is often a key factor, as our biggest flights usually follow the passage of an autumn cold front, when cool winds from the northwest push many migrant butterflies down onto the Cape May Peninsula.  The same winds usually bring the best bird migrations onto the Cape as well.  But the butterflies surprise us sometimes, with big numbers occasionally showing up on other winds, or low numbers arriving after a classic fall cold front.  The best we can do is promise to post something quickly when we see a rapid increase in monarch numbers, both here on the blog and on our project Facebook page, simply titled Cape May Monarchs.