Overview
Project Name
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network
Access Level
By Request
Year started
2003
Year Ended
2003-current, consistent since 2006
Dataset
Pelee Island Bird Observatory Daily Monarch Counts
About
Dataset summary
During the fall migration monitoring season, PIBO conducts standardized monarch butterfly migration counts as part of the 90-minute census performed each morning. The surveys occur along the 2.25 km path at Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve. PIBO does not distinguish between flyovers or roosting individuals. Since the census is in the morning, most of the monarchs are flyovers, but there are times (especially during bad weather) when some monarchs are still roosting during the census. Monarch counts began to be done consistently during the census from 2006 onwards. PIBO's weather data was either collected at the banding station or was drawn from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Data Buoy Center - Station SBIO1 (South Bass Island, OH) (https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_realtime.php?station=SBIO1).
Season(s) and frequency
August 1 to mid-November
Geographic area covered
Standardized 2.25 km path at Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve, Pelee Island
Partners
Citation
Pelee Island Bird Observatory. 2026. "Pelee Island Bird Observatory Daily Monarch Counts". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada.
