[Pollinator] Monarchs Return to Albany Hill, in Droves

Tue Nov 15 11:40:56 PST 2011

cid:image001.png at 01CCA1F2.F6BF1FE0

Monarchs Return to Albany Hill, in Droves 

http://albany.patch.com/articles/the-monarchs-are-back-at-albany-hill#photo-
8430739

The number of the monarch butterflies is up at wintering sites all over
California. Grab your binoculars and head to Albany Hill on a sunny day to
enjoy the view. 

*	By Mary Flaherty <http://albany.patch.com/users/mary-flaherty-2>  
*	5:55am 

Clouds of monarch butterflies have returned to winter on Albany Hill
<http://albany.patch.com/listings/albany-hill-park> , after more than a
decade of extremely low populations.

On Saturday, more than 1,400 monarchs were seen on the hill, said Bill
Shepard, the volunteer counter for Albany's monarch population. The weekend
before he counted 500.

"That's the most I've ever seen here," in 10 years of watching the
butterflies on Albany Hill, Shepard said.

Last Tuesday at noon, dozens of large, orange-and-black butterflies drifted
in the air, while 100 or more clustered on one tree near the hill's main
path. Fifty yards away, another 200, at least, lined the branches of a very
small eucalyptus, like ornaments on a Christmas tree. By Wednesday
afternoon, both groups seemed to have consolidated in two adjacent trees on
a steep, hard-to-access slope.

In the photos here, none shows more than 10 percent of the butterflies
clustered on Wednesday. Photographer Doug Donaldson used a large, 300-mm
telephoto lens to catch the monarchs high overhead. Butterfly-watchers
should bring binoculars, and watch out for the poison oak, which is
prevalent in the area.

The resurgence of the monarchs isn't just here in Albany.

"I think that numbers, so far, are up all over California," said Scott
Black, executive director of the Xerces Society <http://www.xerces.org> ,
which tracks 80 or more wintering sites in the state. Current reports are
preliminary; the official count takes place at Thanksgiving, but Black
called himself "cautiously optimistic" after years of bad news in the
monarch world.

"From '97 to last year, we saw well over a 90 percent decline in monarch
populations in the west," Black said. At Albany Hill, in 1997, 3,000
monarchs were counted; the number plunged the next year to 85 and after that
exceeded 100 only once.

One possible reason for the increase, Black said, is that the end of the
drought has allowed milkweed, the plant on which monarchs lay their eggs, to
thrive. Although this year's early numbers are encouraging, Black cautions
that populations will not likely be anywhere near as high as in the 1980s
and early '90s, when some sites had more than 100,000 monarchs.

Part of the excitement over monarchs is that they are the only insect in the
world that makes a true annual migration, traveling up to 3,000 miles every
winter to warmer climates.

During the summer, monarchs live throughout the United States and southern
Canada. Come fall, the monarchs east of the Rockies make their way to
Mexico, where they gather by the millions in the Michoacan region.

Monarchs west of the Rockies head mainly to coastal California sites, the
largest of those being from Santa Barbara north to Monterey. Monarch sites
in Pacific Grove and near Santa Cruz attract some of the biggest populations
in Northern California, but the Bay Area is home to a dozen or more small
sites, from Fremont to Point Pinole in the East Bay, and along the Peninsula
and Marin coastlines.

When the monarchs arrive at their wintering site -- amazingly often the same
site their ancestors used in years past (no one knows yet how they do it) --
they cluster together in trees that provide protection against winter
storms.

Scientists believe that, historically, monarchs roosted mainly in Monterey
pines and cypress, but they have adapted to the non-native eucalyptus, whose
winter blossoms offer food.

On Albany Hill, as elsewhere in the Bay Area, the butterflies start arriving
at their winter sites in October, with their numbers increasing until late
November or early December. Those that survive winter storms disperse around
January to repopulate inland regions. (Some, of course, remain fairly
local.)

One can hope that Albany's monarch population will continue to increase in
the coming two to three weeks. However, sometimes a small colony, such as
Albany's, can depart mid-winter for another site.

It's best to visit the hill on a clear day to see the butterflies when their
orange wings are open. Monarchs can't fly until their bodies are heated by
the sun, so on cloudy days they cluster on the trees, wings folded up,
revealing their tan undersides, which are hard to see from a distance.

Finding the butterflies can be a challenge, as they can change trees,
following the sunlight. Here are a few spots to check:

*	If you park at the top of Taft Avenue, take the wide trail south by
the "Albany Hill Park" sign, about 100 yards. After you pass a bench and
tree swing, the path starts to descend and gets rocky -- watch your step.
Pass the white cross and continue about 30 paces. The monarch tree will be
on your right (west of the trail), and it has a double trunk. The
butterflies would be on the sunny, south-facing, lower branches, about 15 to
20 feet overhead.
*	For the second location, go back to the swing and bench at the top
of the hill. From the swing, there is a very narrow path through the grass,
headed south. Follow it to the next large tree with a swing. Stop there; the
path gets very steep and slippery with leaves after this. Just downhill is
another tree hung with ropes. Look just to the right of it, and about 20 to
30 feet further downhill. If it's sunny, you may see quite a few butterflies
in the air.  Look for a very small eucalyptus. If you have binoculars you
may see butterflies on its branches.
*	On Wednesday afternoon, the butterflies had moved a short distance
from the small tree onto some west-facing branches, not visible from the
swing area. The path to see them is extremely steep. There is another, very
narrow, path to access that area, which starts across the main path from the
cross, but it is difficult to find and somewhat uneven.

Even if you can't find the large clusters of monarchs, on a sunny day you
are likely to see several dozen floating through the air on the the hilltop.

Here are some other monarch wintering sites you can visit:

- City of San Leandro: Naturalist-led walks for all ages at the Monarch Bay
Golf Club (west of I-880). 5,000 monarchs reported as of Nov. 8.  See the
9/26/11 PDF at http://www.sanleandro.org/services/press.asp. Contact
sanleandrobutterflies at earthlink.net or 510-577-3462.

- Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont: Guided walks and special programs
weekends. Entry fee.  2,700 monarchs reported as of Nov. 5. On the web at
http://www.ebparks.org/node/1579. Call 510-544-2797.

- Point Pinole, Richmond: For park directions see
www.ebparks.org/parks/pt_pinole. For location of the monarchs there, see the
note at the bottom of this page: www.ebparks.org/node/1579.

- Natural Bridges State Park, near Santa Cruz.
http://www.thatsmypark.org/cp-parks-beaches/natural-bridges-state-park

- Pacific Grove, Monterey Peninsula: 6,600 monarchs as of Oct.29.
www.pgmuseum.org/category/topics-interest/butterflies

The monarch butterfly's life cycle, from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to
butterfly is a whole other fascinating story. Learn more here
<http://www.monarchwatch.org/biology/cycle1.htm> .

An excellent photo exhibit of the life cycle is available on El Cerrito
Patch blogger Heidi Rand's site <http://Garden-Delights-Arts.smugmug.com> .
See "Life cycle of the monarch butterfly."

For more information on monarchs see http://www.xerces.org/monarchs.

Related Topics: Albany Hill <http://albany.patch.com/topics/Albany+Hill> ,
Butterflies <http://albany.patch.com/topics/Butterflies> , Monarchs
<http://albany.patch.com/topics/Monarchs> , and Nature
<http://albany.patch.com/topics/Nature>  

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Email me updates about this story.

_______

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

1971 - 2011: Forty Years of Conservation!

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