Journey North Field Data

Monarchs were seen in Cornwall, United Kingdom (UK) on Sept. 22 and 23. The sightings were all on the coast, on the Lands End Peninsular, the same place where North American vagrant birds are usually seen. Hurricane Floyd was, I imagine, responsible for these sightings.

At the same time as the Monarchs were seen, a North American bird also appeared. (The bird was a Common Nighthawk. It was seen on the Isles of Scilly. Common Nighthawks are rare, North American vagrants to these shores.) One monarch was seen at Nanquidno on the 22nd, and other individuals were seen at Porthgwarra and Sennen. Another sighting on the 23rd was on St.Marys - the largest of the Isles of Scilly which are 28 miles West of Lands End. These reports are all from the West of Cornwall but, at the time of writing, reports are starting to come in from the east of the county. Monarch sightings in this country are mainly attributed to North American migrants that have blown over here, and a few escapees from butterfly farms. This 1995 article sums up the general consensus of opinion of how monarchs arrive in the UK: See: The Monarch invasion of Great Britain, 1995.

Editor's Note: A vagrant bird is a bird that is outside its normal range, usually due to a storm. Nighthawks migrate from North America to Central and South America.

A Nighthawk
Photo: Dr. John Kormendy

Event	Monarch Migration Sighting
Date of Sighting	09/22/99
Comments	Monarchs were seen in Cornwall, United Kingdom (UK) on Sept. 22 and 23. The sightings were all on the coast, on the Lands End Peninsular, the same place where North American vagrant birds are usually seen. Hurricane Floyd was, I imagine, responsible for these sightings. At the same time as the Monarchs were seen, a North American bird also appeared. (The bird was a Common Nighthawk. It was seen on the Isles of Scilly. Common Nighthawks are rare, North American vagrants to these shores.) One monarch was seen at Nanquidno on the 22nd, and other individuals were seen at Porthgwarra and Sennen. Another sighting on the 23rd was on St.Marys - the largest of the Isles of Scilly which are 28 miles West of Lands End. These reports are all from the West of Cornwall but, at the time of writing, reports are starting to come in from the east of the county. Monarch sightings in this country are mainly attributed to North American migrants that have blown over here, and a few escapees from butterfly farms. This 1995 article sums up the general consensus of opinion of how monarchs arrive in the UK: See: The Monarch invasion of Great Britain, 1995. Editor's Note: A vagrant bird is a bird that is outside its normal range, usually due to a storm. Nighthawks migrate from North America to Central and South America. A Nighthawk Photo: Dr. John Kormendy
Location	Sennen
State/Province	NA
Latitude	50.20
Longitude	-5.75
E-mail	email this observer (----@tesco.net)
Observer's First Name	Vince (Dave)
Observer's Last Name	Smith
Teacher's First Name
Teacher's Last Name
Grade
School
City	Cornwall England
State/Province	NA
Country	England (UK)