Ever since I heard that St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge has a Monarch butterfly festival, I have wanted to go. It is a drive. The place located on the east end of Florida's panhandle is the start of what they call the Big Bend area of Florida (like TX Big Bend). Most of the land in this area is owned by the various governments. The festival was just held (4th Saturday in October) and was their 21st. The festival part was okay, but I just wanted to really see the Monarchs. We arrived the day before the festival to get their before the crowds and walk around on the trails (great idea). There is a 7 mile road that goes to the Gulf and a lighthouse is there (only open certain days). The entrance area is mostly forested, but the further you drive down the road to the Gulf it opens up to Savannahs. The butterflies were down by the Gulf on Salt Marsh bushes. There were also other butterflies besides the Monarchs to include Gulf Fritillaries, Buckeyes, Sulphurs, Long-tailed Skippers, and smaller skippers. Just imagine walking down a trail with 5-7 Monarchs covering each bush. There are three units in the park and we only visited the one. We took a van tour the next day (only done during the festival) and learned a little about the park and that the government is going to add another 35,000 acres to it. We saw a kingfisher, a mother wild hog and deer during the van tour. Unfortunately we made these reservations ahead of time and I would have rather gone on a butterfly walk that morning that was not repeated. We also saw some crabs that had markings on them like faces. They would scurry out of the way from you.
After we left St. Marks, we headed west along the coast. It was great as the traffic was minimal except for the few cities you went through. We stopped at Bald Point State Park, St George State Park and our final stop was St. Andrew's State Park. They all had Monarchs, but not quite as many as St. Mark's. This was the most wild Monarchs I have seen in my lifetime.
I would like to go to Mexico to see them there, however, it is a strenuous journey, so thinking of making a trip to the groves of California. There won't be as many Monarchs there as MX, but it will do.
Anyways, here is a link to some of the many photos I took:
Monarch Butterflies
Butterfly Sue
former Wisconsinite, now a retired Floridian
Sue's Butterfly Haven http://www.suesbutterflyhaven.com
Thank you for posting these pictures. Enjoyed them!!!!
Wish I could go there! Have read about it on e-nature where the have the different parks listed. My problem is that noone I know is a nature lover!
Butterfly Sue, Thank you for sharing your beautiful Monarch pictures! I only saw two Monarchs here this summer.
This is OT, but St. Mark's Refuge is where half of the Operation Migration Whooping Cranes winter over now. We finally went to the Whooping Crane Festival in Necedah this fall and went on a tour of the wildlife refuge there. It was an amazing experience to get out there into the area where the public doesn't get to go and see all the waterfowl and wildlife. And yes, I did see two wild Whooping Cranes.
Pat ~ WC WI
Yes, I know about the Whooping Cranes. We use to belong to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and visited there so many times. We even had a tour one time by Archibald, whatever, his name was. He was one of the starters of the whole organization. It really is amazing.
You can't get anywhere near the cranes to see them as they are in an area kept out of public's eyes. That is good as people are sometimes crazy. The work put into each bird is lots of very hard work and expense.
I am glad to see Sandhill cranes here, but so far no Whoopers. I plan to go to Paynes Prairie State Park where one can see thousands of cranes and hopefully a Whooper will be there.
Thanks for sharing your trip. I looked at your Monarch photos. I really want to go to Mexico and see the Monarch migration. After talking to Sam Trophia the owner of the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory, our family learned it is too dangerous to go there. I am going to Costa Rica on January 12, 2010 to stay in the jungle (with my mom).
Wow, lucky you! Always wanted to travel to see a jungle up close, birdwatching would be my thing although I take an interest in butterflies too. Since I was in grade school (many,many yrs. ago) I've alwas wanted to see Aftrica, South America and The Galapogos. Now I have to put Costa Rica on my list!
There are several tours that go to Mexico butterfly grounds and I think if you went with them, you would be okay. There is a tour with the University of Florida-Gainesville along with Monarch Watch. But I have heard of things happening in Mexico. You have to have a reliable guide that knows what they are doing. Copper Canyon is a nice area to go through and a group went through there and didn't hire any guards as I guess you need those. So they were all robbed and these people were birders. So there went their cameras, money, passports, binoculars etc. It does pay to check things out ahead of time. You have to be in good shape to climb mountains unless you go by horseback and then there is the altitude, so that leaves me out.
Now the California Monarch grounds are reporting less Monarchs this year. Right now I am on hold for planning anything, but I want to go there and see what I can. I have been to CA, but a long time ago and not for butterflies. The state is huge and so many places to visit. Want to go back to Yosemite and the new green museum in San Francisco.
I would love to go to Costa Rica and looking at cruises there as I haven't yet been on a cruise. I am looking forward hearing about your trip there.
There is so much to see and do wherever we go.
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