Monarch Migration

At the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, our Project PROTHO citizen-science project involves observing Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) along the boardwalk in the old-growth forest.  However, those birds have already migrated south for the winter, so we must look elsewhere for a citizen-science opportunity.

Visit Journey North's Monarch Butterfly Migration Tracking Project to help track the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) migration each fall and spring as the butterflies travel to and from Mexico. Report your own observations of migrating butterflies to real-time migration maps.

Scientists alone cannot cover the entire migration route for these butterflies.  You can look at the fall migration map and help fill in gaps in observations!  This is a perfect opportunity for families to go outside together and gather data that will help in the conservation of the monarch butterfly.

Image by Mark Musselman

Computer Returns

Yesterday, the UPS man delivered the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest education department computer, which had been absent for repairs for two and a half weeks.  With the computer and software back in the office, this blog can get back in business.  We'll begin with by pulling images from the collection that accumulated while our computer was inoperable.

Nature is full of examples demonstrating that nothing goes to waste...even waste.  While in the swamp north of the boardwalk and powerline looking for Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) for Project PROTHO, we came upon a log covered in FRESH River Otter (Lutra canadensis) scat.  The moist scat reeked of fish and crayfish (think of discarded shrimp parts sitting in the sun for a few days) and was just starting to attract flies.  As we inspected the scat (yes, we do that), a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus) flew in and began sampling the buffet.  How does that saying go?  When life give you...er, lemons, make lemonade.  Yeah, that's it.

Now, back to cataloging the backlog of images!

Images by Mark Musselman