The peak of the Monarch Migration in West Cape May is Sept 15 through Oct 5

Around the second week of March Monarchs begin flying north and east from their wintering sites in the Transvolcanic mountains of Central Mexico. Millions of Monarch butterflies from Canada and the United States have spent winter high up on the slopes of these mountains (about 10,000 feet above sea level).

As winter ends they begin moving down the mountains and traveling north recolonizing the southern United States, the summer Monarchs live much shorter lives than the overwintering generations only a month compared to nine months. Each generation of summer monarch lays  millions of eggs as the travel north so that by summers end there are many millions of Monarchs all over Canada and the U.S.

The Fall Migration begins the last week of August in the higher latitudes with the peak migration reaching West Cape May from mid September to the 1st week of October. There is a very large concentration of Monarchs Migrating in to the Cape May area each fall due to New Jersey’s geography, since monarchs do not like to fly over open water they end up being funneled toward the southern tip of New Jersey. This natural funneling effect is also another reason the Cape May Peninsula is a great place to watch migrating birds. The Southern tip of New Jersey is the place many migrating hawks, songbirds and even insects like Monarchs and dragonflies gather to refuel and rest before crossing the bay to Delaware and the Delmarva Peninsula on their journey south.

The best online resource for the Monarch is: Monarch Watch

To see a map of the spring and fall Migration of the Monarch click here.