Monarch Watch Tagging Event

Come visit us this Saturday – in person or online!

Saturday, 20 September 2008 7:30-11:30am CDT
Lawrence, KS, USA

Once again, Jayhawk Audubon Society and Monarch Watch are sponsoring Monarch butterfly tagging for the public at the Baker University Wetlands. The wetlands are located along 31st Street between Haskell and Louisiana. The event will be held from 7:30 AM until 11:30 AM on Saturday, 20 September 2008. There is no charge to participants and no experience is necessary – so bring yourself, your kids (all ages), your friends, and your neighbors! If you have a net, bring that too, though JAS and Monarch Watch will provide the tags, nets, and instructions in how to net and tag monarchs. In 2001, 325 participants tagged nearly 3,000 of the estimated 20,000 Monarchs present, and at least 85 of those tagged were recovered at the winter roost sites in Mexico! You can view all of the recoveries tagged at these events by searching for Lawrence-tagged monarchs in our searchable recovery database.

Every year, tens to hundreds of thousands of Monarchs stop on their way south to refuel on the nectar from the ocean of yellow Bidens flowers at the wetlands, a fantastic site in its own right. We will have check-in and information tables just inside the boardwalk entrance to the wetlands so you can arrive and leave whenever you please. The monarchs are usually roosting or clustering (sometimes in spectacular concentrations!) until around 8:30AM. As it warms up, they begin foraging on the Bidens flowers around the boardwalk.

Complete details are available online at 2008 Monarch Watch Tagging Event – there we plan to feature a live audio/video broadcast and post photos during the event so that everyone that can’t make it can at least see (and hear!) what’s going on. You will also be able to participate in a live chat session with fellow Monarch Watchers.