Imagine a Forrest of beautiful eucalyptus trees with what seems to be a million monarch butterflies hanging from the trees. That is what I found at Coronado Butterfly Preserve in Goleta, CA. The fragrance of eucalyptus is truly enchanting.
The butterflies spend their winters here. After winding through what seems to be the backyards of some very lucky residents, a grove of tall eucalyptus trees rises in front of you. Look up! At first it looks like eucalyptus leaves are just fluttering in the wind. Until you notice that they're not leaves, but masses of monarch butterflies dangling from the tree branches.
It was hard to leave this magical Forrest of beautiful eucalyptus trees, I could have stayed a few more hours watching the Monarchs. The photos cannot share the full experience. I am back in Colorado now, but we are going to be in Santa Barbara for Christmas and this is indeed an experience I will do again.
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Comments: 48
These are beautiful photos, Nanina!
I've always wanted to see it.
Is there any sound made by all those monarchs gathered together?
It's always uplifting to know that butterflies are somewhere while I'm here in the frozen tundra :0) (at least it feels that way heh)
Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos
U wishing you laughter
I had never see that before or since and want to see it again now that a camera is my friend.
The monarchs had gathered in my yard for a rest on their way south or west for the winter. My home at that time was in Grimsby, Ontario.
Your photos are wonderful.
I once saw something like this - during the Monarch migration through SW Minnesota, where I was living right next to some original prairie, that day there was a very light rainy misty fog. As I was walking my dog out on the prairie I noticed that a bush looked very strange, unlike its usual self. I looked more closely - and there was a whole flight of Monarchs hanging upside-down from the leaves, to get out of the mist.
Anna del C.
Author of "The Silent Warrior Trilogy"
http://www.annadelc.com
I/we are trying to do our part in raising monarchs. We currently have raised appx 20 larva which are now in the cocoon stage. Looks as if there are about 20 more soon to become cocoons if I can just supply enough milkweed to feed them all!
Thanks for the great pix!!