Holy Cow! Clustering Monarchs in the Texas Panhandle!

[Paul Cherubini]

The winds in central and western Kansas have continued to blow from the northeast in recent days and now the southern edge of the fall migratory front has pushed further southwest all the way to Dalhart, Texas, http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87 ... alhart.jpg
elevation 4000 feet, where clustering monarchs were observed this evening:
http://www.learner.org/cgi-bin/jnorth/j ... 1253235391

Never before, to my knowledge, has the main front of the fall migrant monarchs in reproductive diapause strayed so far West into the high Plains area nor at such an early date (Sept. 17). And never before (in recent decades) have their been winds blowing almost continuously out of the NE, E and SE for a whole month in the upper Midwest (e.g. beginning around Aug. 20 in western Minnesota).

So very soon we should hear more cluster reports from the top of the Texas Panhandle (e.g. Amarillo region) where large monarch movements are not normally seen.

[ilsa]

Wow!

[texas butterfly]

Interesting....

I was watching a rotating weather satellite display and it should look like there was activity over the mid part of the states and bringing cooler air into texas.

I'm guessing the Monarchs take advantage of these southerly winds to make an easier trip.

I'll be out in the Abilene area in a few weeks. I'll be checking the sky out for Monarchs and other migratory animals.