Dear Journey North Readers,

Well, while it is still slower than I thought, migration is starting to pick up. Several days of clear skies and southerly winds have allowed migrants to make some progress. The big winners of the week were Florida and Alabama, which saw a large arrival of migrants over the past few days, including 15 species of warblers! Among the new arrivals were Black-throated-blue Warblers, Wood Thrushes, and Great Crested Flycatchers.

Leading Edge

Monarchs are still being observed in the Carolinas, as well as the Virginias. In the Central Flyway, Oklahoma continues to be a hot spot, with movement north toward Kansas and Missouri (latitude 38°N).

The Flyways

The eastern and western monarch populations are divided by the Rocky Mountains. There are two distinct flyways through which eastern monarchs migrate in the spring, the Atlantic and the Central Flyways.

Western Monarchs Update

Temperatures are finally warming in the southern range where monarchs are active this week, but Spring is arriving later than in recent years. After a hopeful swell in the overwintering population, monarchs are now in a race to reach the summer breeding grounds before their migration stalls, just a short time away.