Monarch in pollinator field, Michigan Image ID BU10165 ~ order prints
A Great year for Monarchs in Michigan!
This year is being reported as being a great year for Monarch Butterflies. That’s welcome news! Overall, however, their populations are still very much on the decline, down 80% over the past 20 years. Historically when I have thought about monarch migrations, I imagine them at their wintering destination in central Mexico. Perhaps by my own lack of attention, photos of large numbers at the start of their journey in the north seem to be in short supply.
Monarch reports as of 2018-09-16 in the Great Lakes region at Journeynorth.org
Monarch caterpillar on milkweed plant, Michigan Image ID IN8640 ~ order prints
This year was different, with photos of large numbers of them roosting near Tawas, Michigan, and other reports of “large numbers” appearing along their migration routes. While I didn’t go chasing down the big migration reports (a good site for doing do is at Journeynorth.org ), I did spend some time at a local field in peak bloom, planted specifically for pollinators. It did attract quite a few monarchs, there were at least 50 present at any particular time.
Monarchs in Flight
I haven’t photographed butterflies in some time, and in particular wanted to get some photos in flight. I had forgotten how fast and unpredictable monarchs are. They seem to spend less time on a particular flower than other butterflies. So I would wait for one to land, try to look for some other flowers nearby it might approach, and wait.
When the monarch took off, I would basically do what photographers call “spray and pray.” 🙂 With the strong winds blowing everything around, there is emphasis on the word pray. My camera was just firing on high speed in hopes of getting one sharp in the plane of focus where I thought they might land next. The photo at the top is the only success out of hundreds.
People can help
A lot of organizations are promoting planting for pollinators (especially monarchs) and providing education materials about these vital species in our ecosystem. Here are just a few in Michigan :
- Leslie Science Center – Monarch Migration Festival
- MSU resources on planting milkweed plants
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Monarch Habitat Initiative
Monarch butterfly on tickseed , Michigan – Image ID BU10171 ~ order prints
The background and the in-flight capture in the first image is really beautiful – the others are lovely as well.
Thank you Tom
Mark, the first photo certainly stands alone on its beauty but the technical requirements make any photographer appreciate it for its difficulty to achieve. Very, very nice…perhaps that group shot will happen next time. 🙂
As a most honorable mention, I love the colors of the last image…orange and teal together are one of my favorite combinations and that deep yellow adds just the right “pop” to the mix.
All we can do is keep trying to do better the next time right? 🙂 Between the wind and the fast, aerobatic flying of the monarchs, it takes some practice that’s for sure. I ended up happy with the color toning on the last one as well, and it may establish a style for the rest of the images I need to develop. Thanks Earl!
Beautiful images. Seems like lately the populations of so many things are declining. Butterflies. Honey bees. Hopefully there will be recovery. Hopefully.
This pollinator field happened to be next to a row of beehives, so there were plenty of honey bees around. It was a welcome sight given their genera scarcity elsewhere. Thanks Howard!
Its funny, under the eaves of our roof we actually had a honey bee hive and occasionally they would get into the house (old home….lots of holes). We didn’t know they were honey bees and had called an exterminator/pest control guy who told us they were honey bees so we said to just let them be (and he wasn’t allowed to move them anyway). He said the hive will typically move in a few years and the problem would be solved. Come to think of it I’m not sure I saw any this year, while the past few years there have been quite a few.
Wow, kudos to you for leaving them bee. 🙂 hehe
?. Very punny! Oh my, did I really just say that?
Well, your prayers were answered, but then again I am not surprised, it sounds like you have the patience of a saint. Seriously though, the first photo is beautiful. The slight motion blur on the wingtip is perfect. Rather cinematic too, like an opening scene to a movie.
We get Monarchs here in Australia as well (brought here in the late 1800’s) and I’ve seen them migrate a few times but alas, have never successfully photographed a single one. If I ever get the opportunity again, I will definitely try the spray & pray technique.
Thanks Cedric. Well, I had hoped to have more than one, but I am happy with the one. I was actually trying to envision multiple butterflies flying in one shot, but that was a big prayer! 🙂