Sighting for January 11, 2017
Jim Egbert
Roscoe Rd Orange Beach
Baldwin County, AL
- Cloudless Sulphur 11
- Sleepy Orange 1
- Common Buckeye 1
- Monarch 9
New Sighting
Roscoe Rd Orange Beach
Baldwin County, AL
Sunny
Wind southerly
Winds 10 -15mph
Temps lower 60s - mid 70s
This was my 1st time out after 3 consecutive nights in the mid to upper 20s,and I found that most of the Spanish Needles burned to the ground along with other native wild flowers.The cold damage has reduced the availability of nectar sources to non native winter flowering plants;the most wide spread being volunteer Canola. Another source of nutritants is sap from a wide range of trees and bushes;usually with the help of woodpeckers opening portals in the bark.Weather permitting mid February will bring a new crop of nectaring opportunities just in time for the Monarchs to fuel up for there texture trip back north,and the early spring natives.