Only who’s in charge?
This was my favorite scene on Gooseberry this morning – eight beautiful Monarchs sharing a small area of Goldenrod as they fueled up during their long trek to Mexico.
Monarchs on Gooseberry path near south point. Click image for a larger view.
Same Monarchs - just a little different arrangement 
At first I thought the top guy was flying upside down - but if that were the case his wings would be paler - I think this is just the down stroke and he has his body bent upward. (For the underside of the wings look closely at the the first two pictures - there are at least two Monarch in those with their wings folded.)
OK - what I saw most of the time was a lovely combination of beach, ocean, blue sky, and Monarch.
As i walked the path they kept popping up and flitting away in all directions.
And you just couldn't count them because you were never sure if you were counting the same one, two or three times - but I would guess I saw 50 in a 10 minute stretch - though during most of my hour-long walk there were far fewer.
They were concentrated at the south end - probably, as a friend suggested - because of the north wind.
Oh - and they weren't entirely alone. I did see this beautiful Clouded Sulfur.
And you might encounter then anywhere - but just one at a time - including on the causeway.
Love this!
Just curious, how is the mosquito situation up near the towers?
In the hot muggy weather of the past week or so it was pretty bad. I did not notice any the past couple days – but keep in mind – they don’t like me!