Click on the link above for more information about each research project.
These data are preliminary and should be viewed as such. Final verified totals will be posted at the end of the season. These data are the property of New Jersey Audubon Society and may only be reproduced or used with specific written permission from NJAS. Contact New Jersey Audubon Society's Center for Research and Education regarding data requests.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Monarch Monitoring Project - 9/19/08
posted by Erin - Monarch Intern | 3:46 PM
Yesterday was a great day for monarchs!! (Finally!) With the help of skilled butterfly catcher Sam Galick (AKA the morning flight counter), I was able to tag and measure over 50 monarchs!! Indeed it was very satisfying, but monarchs were not the only insect in abundance at Cape May yesterday. It was a veritable...
(Carolina Saddlebags)
Anyone visiting the hawk watch platform yesterday noticed a little more than just hawks. Literally thousands of dragonflies filled the air in an amazing display of mass insect migration. Naturalist/artist/bird guru/dragonfly photographer Michael O'Brien took on the immense challenge of trying to count them all. He proceeded to do four 5-minute point counts on a transect across Cape May Point from Lighthouse Avenue to the dunes at Coral Avenue. Here is what he counted:
Common Green Darner - 4820
Swamp Darner - 2
Calico Pennant - 1
Eastern Pondhawk - 2
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - 1
Blue Dasher - 3
Wandering Glider - 17
Spot-winged Glider - 7
Pantala (glider) sp. - 52
Blue-faced Meadowhawk - 2
Carolina Saddlebags - 32
Black Saddlebags - 45
Tramea (saddlebags) sp. - 45
TOTAL = 5029
Although Michael didn't do his count until around 1 p.m. (a bit after peak dragonfly flight), the numbers still work out to roughly
Dragonfly-palooza!!
(Carolina Saddlebags)Anyone visiting the hawk watch platform yesterday noticed a little more than just hawks. Literally thousands of dragonflies filled the air in an amazing display of mass insect migration. Naturalist/artist/bird guru/dragonfly photographer Michael O'Brien took on the immense challenge of trying to count them all. He proceeded to do four 5-minute point counts on a transect across Cape May Point from Lighthouse Avenue to the dunes at Coral Avenue. Here is what he counted:
Common Green Darner - 4820
Swamp Darner - 2
Calico Pennant - 1
Eastern Pondhawk - 2
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - 1
Blue Dasher - 3
Wandering Glider - 17
Spot-winged Glider - 7
Pantala (glider) sp. - 52
Blue-faced Meadowhawk - 2
Carolina Saddlebags - 32
Black Saddlebags - 45
Tramea (saddlebags) sp. - 45
TOTAL = 5029
Although Michael didn't do his count until around 1 p.m. (a bit after peak dragonfly flight), the numbers still work out to roughly
15,000 dragonflies/hour!!
(Green Darner)
That's a lot of dragonflies!
Thanks to Michael O'Brien for his always awesome pictures and for his dragonfly census information!
(Green Darner)That's a lot of dragonflies!
Thanks to Michael O'Brien for his always awesome pictures and for his dragonfly census information!
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