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ASCM 2010 Monarch Tagging Nature Walk |
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| Thanks to Debra Firmani for this report and photo coverage of the
2010 Edition of our popular September Monarch tagging nature walk! A Picture-Perfect Saturday in September! Nearly forty people - from toddlers to retirees - gathered at the Audrey Carroll Audubon Sanctuary in Mount Airy on September 18th to see Monarch butterflies begin their epic 2,000-mile journey to the oyamel fir forests in a small area of mountaintops in central Mexico, where they overwinter. Naturalist Cheryl Farfaras, who led September's ASCM sanctuary event, brought along numerous captive-reared Monarch caterpillars in various stages of development for people to see, as well, and several of them magically emerged from their chrysalises just as we arrived at the Monarch Watch tagging station! As the morning sun warmed the meadow grasses, the Monarchs took to the dazzling blue skies. The ones stopping to sip nectar from wildflowers along the way - 55 in the course of the morning - enabled participants to gently capture them in butterfly nets, so they could be tagged. Each Monarch was given a tiny, round, uniquely numbered identifying tag and entered on a data sheet before being released. Monarch Watch maintains records on the tag numbers that are given to those who do the tagging, so when tagged Monarchs are found and reported (via the phone or email shown on the tag), the end point data adds to the world's understanding of the Monarch's migration pathways and patterns. All but one tagged Monarch headed southward without hesitation, and, even the one who was momentarily confused quickly corrected direction! And, there were plenty of close-up views, hand-releases, and photo opportunities for all. The many kids who came out for the event also added to its fun and success. Their sustained interest and sensitive handling of the Monarchs deserve special note. We even had at least one aspiring entomologist in attendance, 11-year-old Kyle Evans. His younger brother, Dylan, aims to be a photographer, so the two can do field work together! Also notable was the capture of "The Tiniest Monarch Ever" - an individual so small we had to do a double-take to be sure we were looking at a Monarch. Many other lovely species were out enjoying the day, too, and adding color to ours, including Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Common Buckeye, Red Admiral, Cabbage White, Variegated Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Red-spotted Purple, Silver-spotted Skipper, Common Checkered-Skipper, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Eastern Tailed-Blue, and Sachem-and perhaps a few we are forgetting. Check out these photos of our excellent adventure and plan to join us on a future walk! Place your mouse pointer over each thumbnail to view a larger image. (Larger images may take a bit of time to download for viewing.)
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