Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Dear Friends:

I am just arriving from Rosario and you cannot believe! The monarchs are now all concentrated at the main spot in Llano Cruzado and it looks just as if they had just arrived!  Around 12 trees are full in their mid to low branches. See the top two photos below. This is March 28 and it is unbelievable. People at the Sanctuaries say: 'This is like a miracle! It is indeed a blessing!'"

So I am submitting this last minute news to add to my Monday news report.

Estela

Monday, March 26, 2018

Dear Friends:

It is now March 26.  Temperatures are really hot.  Everybody, not only in town, but at our surrounding communities to the Sanctuaries and the whole region complain of the sun burning during the day and the shortage of water that is really evident. Although the blossoming flowers, main source of nectar, is still looking gorgeous, everywhere around the area is starting to look really dry. The time for sowing the corn crops for local families around the Sanctuaries has come and the dryness of land is worrying for many.

This time last year, Monarchs had already left their overwintering sites deserted. 

It is now two weeks exactly that they left their Sierra Chincua areas suddenly and all at once.  Not so in El Rosario Sanctuary.

Monarchs are still left in a really considerable population (taking into account that March is at its very end), in Llano Cruzado, El Rosario, -- this means a little closer to Llano de los Conejos than their former site for weeks in Barranca Honda -- at two main spots within the same area, not far away one from the other.

Llano de los Conejos was definitely not a favorite spot for them this year, and really few Monarchs can be observed flying around and hardly ponding.

Everywhere as one approaches the site, the seeds and seed-cones of Oyamel trees are now fallen on the ground;  Monarchs magically decorate the wonderful and strong green plants with flowers everywhere, being the Hoja Ancha or Rabanillo, Chaquirilla, Moradilla, Aretillo and Cantués, their favorite.

All at once and by surprise while still walking on the main road, a little beautiful and full blossoming clearing on the right, where the sun's rays started to shower the area, a cloud of Monarchs was either covering the site in bright yellow while nectaring and sipping humidity and dew, or flying in a cascade down to the road and all over in the sky. It's still a wonderful site for visitors to come and enjoy.

Some hundreds of meters ahead, and well into the very forest in the same right side in Llano Cruzado, the surprise comes.  About six trees with not the heavy dense and dark-brown to black color clusters as one week ago, but much lighter in population, but still really bright, wonderful, rather big to medium to small orange-gold-light brown clusters are still hanging from them!

Hard to believe, it is March 26th!

Mating? Oh, my gosh! Not only every meter but every half-a-meter; everywhere, and without the least bit of modesty or demure!

The atmosphere inside the forest feels wonderfully fresh and some clouds have been pending during the week. The guides say, “As long as some clouds continue to creep up in the noon-time hours during the week, the butterflies will continue to be here."

Here we all shall continue to contemplate this very late Monarch population left at El Rosario Sanctuary, until they finally decide to leave and start their Journey North, any minute after minute now!

Estela Romero

Journey North

Angangueo, Michoacán, México.