Linda,

What wonderful news! I'm so glad you were able find this roost and enjoy seeing such a large number of monarchs! It is great to learn that the migration continues. Thanks for sharing the news with all of us.

And.....no snakes! It doesn't get any better than that!

So, assuming they might travel down this far south without veering hard to the southwest before they reach Marietta, how many days before we might see them here in southern Oklahoma?

Happy Butterflying!

Dawn

Yes, I thought that I had died and gone to heaven!

The rain was a farce, only a sprinkle. But, they're saying that some thunderstorms could be triggered with the cold front.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/enhanced.php

Dawn, I am not for sure if the Monarchs here will funnel more to the SE, or not. But, a friend in Pauls Valley says that he has seen Monarchs all over this last weekend, just not in large concentrations. When he reported last Monday, within 1 hour, you saw them flying overhead. I would watch some Tues. a.m.,after lunch, and towards evening. If the wind conditions are good, you should be able to see them overhead. I'm sure that they have been held back all over the state, due to the strong winds. Keep me posted. :)

Linda,

When I read your initial post about the monarch roost, the first thing I thought of, as far as what you must have been feeling when you saw them, was the following lyrics from the song "Cheek to Cheek" as danced to by Fred Astaire in some movie long ago....

"Heaven! I'm in Heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek....."

So, when you said "I thought that I had died and gone to heaven", all I could think of was that 'great minds think alike'! LOL

I'll be watching for some to flutter by in the next couple of days. We did have rain around 6 a.m., about 8/10s of an inch, and I think more is coming. I hope the rain doesn't interfere with the butterfly migration too much. I don't think I saw a single monarch all weekend, so it is good to know some remain north of us 'cause then we might see them as they migrate south. At least the dreadful south wind that we had yesterday has stopped blowing.

I'll be watching and will keep you posted. Now, if only I could figure out what has happened to the binoculars, because you know that DH has no idea where they are, and I haven't seen them in a couple of years.

Have a great day!

Dawn

I'm in North Tulsa, just N of 244

Monarchs are flying by at a rate of about 4 per minute now. I don't have binoculars but i'm seeing a lot of birds flying high and acting as if they're chasing something, are they eating butterflies?

Hi Craig,

Lucky you. Four per minute is a pretty good rate.

I'm not an expert on monarch butterflies like Linda and several others, but in general most birds do not eat monarchs. There is something in the milkweed they feed upon that hurts the birds, so the birds avoid them. However, down in Mexico where they overwinter, there are a couple of species of birds that will eat them, and seem to be immune to the toxin.

In an earlier thread about monarch migration, Linda mentioned that some people were seeing the monarchs, pelicans and some predator birds migrating on the same wave of cool air coming down across Oklahoma that week. So, probably, you are seeing the same phenomenon.

I've linked a section from the Journey North website that describes how monarchs become "toxic" to most birds, and if you read on down through that page, it mentions the species in Mexico that prey upon the Monarchs that overwinter there.

Can you decribe for Linda what the weather conditions were when you saw the monarchs--approx. air temperature, windspeed, and anything else noteworthy. Also, were they flying extremely high (barely visable to the naked eye?), just above the treetops, or down low to the ground, perhaps nectaring?

And finally, what direction were they moving?

Thanks for reporting the sighting! Several of us like to keep up with the monarchs as they travel across our state, and sometimes stop to visit our gardens.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Journey North info on Monarchs/Birds

Thanks Craig for your North Tulsa report. I will forward your info on. Sorry, that I have not gotten with you sooner. I've been busy "chasing Monarchs!"

You are right on the money, Dawn. Monarchs love to fly way up there with the raptors. Have you ever seen a Monarch circle around, and then go up until they are out of sight? They love to catch the thermals, as the hawks and other migrating birds do when the north wind is just perfect. They exert alot less energy, and more guaranteed survival by sailing with the wind, as opposed to continually flapping their wings against the wind. Alot of hawk watchers in Texas are also good Monarch reporters.

Large roost update:
At home, Monday evening, rain and strong southerly winds had Monarchs scurrying to the north side of the trees, looking for shelter. Tuesday morning, the wind changed to the north, and about 9 a.m., the Monarchs were coming down out of the trees, spreading their wings, trying to soak up what sun they could. By 12 noon, most of them were gone.

If there would have been any way I could have gotten off Tues., I would have dearly LOVED to have gone out to the large roost, and gotten pics of them with their wings open trying to soak up the rays before they left! That's were folks get these great pics of Monarchs roosting with their wings open! Oh, well.... another time.

I have heard that there is another wave of Monarchs noted in Bartlesville, that should be making their way down. This group seems to be late. I had about 6 Monarchs in my yard today. There is always a bit of sadness when a large group leaves, though I know that they "gotta go", and time is of essence.

The first bunch of Monarchs are already approaching the Mexican border!

Journey North has some great articles on how high can you see Monarchs?

Here is a link that might be useful: How high do Monarchs travel?

Linda,

I have seen them spiral up high and it is so cool.

I had 5 or 6 around today also, but only saw one at a time here or there, and they were nectaring on and off throughout the day. I don't know if they are locals or were just passing through.

I need to get over to Journey North and do some reading! And I will, one of these days, when things quiet down a little.

Dawn

Well they haven't all gone to Mexico for their winter vacation because I saw two nectaring in my back yard today. There may have been more, but I just walked out there to get something and noticed those two. Mexico doesn't sound bad for the winter, in fact, we are going that way ourselves on a cruise in a few months.

Carol,

I've seen a few every day, mostly nectaring in the fields. This morning, I saw three come out of the trees and down into the pastures as they headed southwest.

I suspect these few that we are seeing are just the stragglers.

Wintering in Mexico does sound nice....at least in some of the coastal parts of Mexico. I sure wouldn't want to be there this week with Norbert and Odile lashing them with heavy wind and rain. I guess some of that rain will make it to Oklahoma this weekend or early next week.

Dawn