Friday, December 3, 2010

Monarchs in a Holding Pattern

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On our little beach walk at the lighthouse last Sunday, I was surprised to see so many monarch butterflies in the salt bushes that are no longer flowering, but all fuzzy with their seeds. This coast is known for being the jumping off place for the butterflies that migrate to Mexico for the winter. But the big migration takes place in October and here it was the last of November. These were the dawdlers.

I can only imagine that they were all hanging out waiting for a cold front with a strong north wind to help blow them on their way. They were all in a holding pattern, so to speak. But several were holding each other; they were mating. I took a couple of pictures, but of course they were lousy since they flew further away to  more private spots as we approached.

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