From: John Thornton [mailto:jlthornton02...@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:46 PM To: Mike Quinn Subject: RE: Zizotes milkweed
Thanx so much; my mailing address is
John Thornton 146 Highland Terrace Drive League City, TX 77573 Phone: 281-799-3710
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From: John Thornton [mailto:jlthornton02...@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 7:39 PM To: Mike Quinn Subject: Zizotes milkweed
Greetings,
My name is John Thornton and I have been referred to you by trudy Belz by way of the NPSOT Yahoo group.
Per the subject line, I am trying to locate some zizotes milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides), a most interesting native species. I'd like to at least have seeds to plant some for the butterflies. I am in League City and I have seen the plant growing as close as Waller county. I believe it grows not so far from my area. Any help is appreciated.
Today was fabulous! Started off with 200 monarchs in the trees down the road, proceeded with 60 or so monarchs per minute on the Cunningham Ranch; and during the canoe trip of 15 miles, there was a continuous stream across the river. Probably saw between 500 and 700 to be conservative. Our canoes and the monarchs were fighting a stiff SE wind gusting up to 35mph. Heaviest flow around 8:45 at the trees around the ranch house. 30 in view at any one time.
There were easily another 500-600 at the Salvadore Gonzalez country home under massive native trees. This is the spot I call "The Cathedral." Monarchs drifting wall to wall in the 100s as they settle into clusters. Alan Fisher (TP&W) got some good footage at sunset.
It will be interesting to see what the monarchs do tomorrow if and when the front comes through. It could blow them all out of here. I hope there are more riding the wind in.
Carol Cullar Maverick County, TX
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Nothing is moving that we can see in numbers into the strong SE wind right now. Stephanie Baker spent 3 hours at the Smith Point Hawk Watch tower on Galveston Bay yesterday. The only monarchs she saw were near home. I watched Lavaca Bay at the end of the Lavaca Bay Causeway on the Point Comfort side and drove the three mile loop to the southeast of town, nothing until I got about three blocks from home. The front is expected Monday morning. The coastal monarchs traditionally don't show much until after the first strong norther and have been as late as the last week of October. If you live near the Texas City Dike, watch out on it just as the north wind is calming down next week.
Thank you and take care
Harlen
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Harlen E. and Altus Aschen mailto:h...@tisd.net Port Lavaca, Texas 77979 midcoast of TX 28.61N 96.62W Google Map of the area: http://tinyurl.com/2blo8v Photos of some Texas milkweeds: http://asclepias.org/
If you have been watching the weather forcasts you know there is a change coming. The weather channel has been warning us all day here of high winds up to 40 mph along the coastal bend tomorrow. Houston just said the low in the morning is predicted to be 74 for us, 64 by noon, and 54 by evening. Winds between NW and N Mon, Tue, and Wed, low in the upper 40's Wed morning. This may be that front we have all been looking for, so be on the "look out" if you haven't been already.
Harlen
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Harlen E. and Altus Aschen mailto:h...@tisd.net Port Lavaca, Texas 77979 midcoast of TX 28.61N 96.62W Google Map of the area: http://tinyurl.com/2blo8v Photos of some Texas milkweeds: http://asclepias.org/
At sunset today winds were from the South at Eagle Pass, Del Rio, San Angelo and Abilene, but from the North in Midland.
So tomorrow morning the wind should be out of the North in all these cities and Carol Cullar should see some spectacular flights in the morning hours around 8:00 - 11:00 am (if skies are clear).
Paul, It couldn't have been more spectacular today! We continued with the 30 mph winds from 170 heading. It forced the monarchs to hang up in all those cul de sacs that you and I explored in past years; and we found a new site up on the bluff above the Rio Grande with at least 3000 in a single tree. Fortunately, Alan Fisher from the Tx. Parks & Wildlife Dept. was there and able to film that site and one other where the monarchs were less densely gathered, but equally numerous.
When Alan left Del Rio yesterday morning, there were still few if any monarchs in Del Rio. He said he saw two there in town.
It doesn't look like our supposition that the leading edge of the central flyway could have been blown to the far west has panned out.
We spent much of Friday in Dolan Creek hoping for clusters, but they hadn't seen but a few monarchs. The Queen migration was still moving through there though.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what tomorrow will bring.
At sunset today winds were from the South at Eagle Pass, Del Rio, San Angelo and Abilene, but from the North in Midland.
So tomorrow morning the wind should be out of the North in all these cities and Carol Cullar should see some spectacular flights in the morning hours around 8:00 - 11:00 am (if skies are clear).
Paul
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Yesterday in the morning, I was crossing the Greater NO Causeway between Metairie and Mandeville, Louisiana. Heads up to Corpus, Christi and the rigs between NO and the Texas and Mexico coastlines. I have seen them 5 miles out from the north side of the Causeway, and all along up into MS yesterday afternoon.
These guys mostly head out against the coastal winds from what I can surmise, starting in this area with Lake Pontchartrain.
My friends are in Corpus Christi this coming week, and I have asked them to watch for the coastal assault to Mustang island wildlife area. I haven't looked at the most recent winds from Laurel, MS and NO, but, the Monarchs are loving it here. The gulf frits remain nectaring on the lantanas planted all over the area while the wild ageratum and the goldenrod awaits the moderately higher flying Monarchs. They love our big red oaks as overnight roosts along the journey.
Also, I had a long conversation today with Ba Rea, now in West Virginia, who says the Monarchs are very late there this year. So, Coastal areas are definitely going to see action this coming week :-)
Best regards,
Carole Jordan Laurel, MS
On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:39:39 -0700, Paul Cherubini wrote
> At sunset today winds were from the South at > Eagle Pass, Del Rio, San Angelo and Abilene, > but from the North in Midland.
> So tomorrow morning the wind should be out of the > North in all these cities and Carol Cullar should > see some spectacular flights in the morning hours > around 8:00 - 11:00 am (if skies are clear).
> Paul
> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TX-Monarchs" group. To post to this group, send email to
Carol wrote:> we found a new site up on the bluff above the Rio Grande with at least 3000 in a single tree. Paul wrote:<Wow! Is this a site you never checked before because you thought the tree cover was too sparse? Or is it an out-of-town site?
This was a yard to the NE of the Ayeres' place and the trees were much denser, creating a better windbreak. I'd not checked it in past years because the trees were behind a high privacy wall and this year the owners found us and invited us in.
> It doesn't look like our supposition that the leading edge of the central flyway could have been blown to the far west has panned out.Paul said:> Or maybe they were clustered up by the thousands in the many pecan groves on the south side of Del Rio.
Mary Kennedy, Olga DeLeon, and I spent about 4 hours combing through all of the pecans along San Felipe Creek in South Del Rio on Thursday afternoon, the same time the monarchs were arriving in Eagle Pass. Then the TPW videographer and I met in Del Rio on Friday and I checked there again then. He spent the night in Del Rio; then Saturday morning he checked there again on the way to Eagle Pass to film down here and saw 2 monarchs on the way out of Del Rio.
Del Rio had a light scattering in the trees on the hills on the north edge of town the morning of the 18th, according to friends of Mary Kennedy (It's her hometown.) We checked up there as well but they were all blown away by the afternoon when we arrived.
Carol Cullar
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Carol, are the monarchs in Eagle Pass today flying at low to medium heights since the wind is so strong (25-35 MPH) out of the NNW?
Or are the monarchs flying so high you need to use binoculars to see most of them?
Or is the wind so strong many of the migrants are preferring to cluster in trees out of the wind instead of migrating?
During the last 10-60 minutes before sunset today, may I suggest you check a wide range of potential evening cluster sites including hilltop groves of pecan and oak trees. During N winds when temps are below about 75 degrees near sunset it is routine to see fall migrants selecting cluster trees on or near hilltops and ridgetops.
Also, during N winds, sometimes the fall migrants don't drop out of migration until the last 20 minutes before sunset and then the clusters form abruptly and spectacularly. So in a matter of minutes the situation can change from seeing few migrants to suddenly seeing thousands.
Thank you for that info to the east of us. I never can estimate the timing from that direction, but it may take them 3 to 5 days to work their way here, just 3 now. We had a horrible wind with the front today, steady 40 mph with gusts to 50 just before noon. I went across the causeway at 3:30 and had to fight to stay in my lane. The wind is supposed to stay 30 to 35 most of the night. It was clearing at 3:30 and should be clear with a 20 mph NW wind tomorrow and in the 70's. When Altus gets back we'll try another trip to the other side of the bay to see if anything made it to the false willow and other brush near the beginning of the peninsula about 5:30, wind might calm a bit near sundown. Then to see if anything flies tomorrow.
> Yesterday in the morning, I was crossing the Greater NO Causeway between > Metairie and Mandeville, Louisiana. Heads up to Corpus, Christi and the rigs > between NO and the Texas and Mexico coastlines. I have seen them 5 miles out > from the north side of the Causeway, and all along up into MS yesterday afternoon.
> These guys mostly head out against the coastal winds from what I can surmise, > starting in this area with Lake Pontchartrain.
