Monarch Migration Starting To Move Through Shoreline?

Donna Johnson Buckley, a photographer from Clinton, took these pictures of Monarch butterflies in the yard of her Clinton home recently. 

That was a encouraging, since the 2012/2013 Monarch butterfly population in Mexico, where they overwinter, was 80 percent lower than the average, according to the website Journey North, citing statistics from the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico. 


There are many factors affecting Monarch migration recently, including a drought in 2012, a cold Spring 2013, and an unproductive summer breeding season in 2013. Long term factors have taken a toll as well, according to Journey North, including a reduction in habitats that support milkweed, which Monarchs eat exclusively, an increase in extreme weather, and a variety of factors in Mexico, including deforestation, an increase in eco-tourism, and population increases near butterfly habitats. 

Donna lives in the northeast corner of Clinton, close to where where Killingworth, Clinton and Westbrook meet. Has anyone else seen any Monarchs near there or anywhere else along the shoreline? If so, let us know in the comments, and log your sighting at one or more these sites suggested by Journey North: 

• Migration and milkweed observations: Journey North
• Breeding observations: Monarch Larva Monitoring Program
• Disease monitoring: Monarch Health
• Butterfly counts: North American Butterfly Association
• Monarch tagging: Monarch Watch