World Series of Birding Competition- The Monarchists

For those that know where my passion for working with monarchs started, it all began in Cape May. I have been obsessed with them since a child, but gained the passion for doing research and conservation for them when I lived in Cape May in Fall of 2013 working for the Monarch Monitoring Project. The project consists of tagging and counting monarchs that pass through Cape May, NJ while doing public outreach demonstrations and educational programs to get the public involved and aware each fall and helps significantly in the conservation of monarchs. It is a non-profit and funded solely off of donations from people like you!

The way that the organization gains most of its donations is through the Monarchists team that participates in the World Series of Birding. Here is a link to their page which will tell you more about the team and the competition. You can also check out Mark Garland's website; Mark is a personal friend and was one of my supervisors when I was involved with the project and is a big part of this competition. It's held in New Jersey for birders to try to count the most species. For those that are into birding or want to support a great cause of education and conservation, please consider pledging a donation to help out the project! The cool thing about the Monarchists is that they compete without leaving a carbon footprint; they travel by bike to count their birds which is amazing, and they always win the carbon footprint category, and also enter into the Cape Isle Cup category which is an award for those that only count birds in the Cape May area. They are amazing, and pledges can be made for specific bird or butterfly species we hope they will see. Please help support!

Monarchs are in a major decline throughout the US and Canada, but Cape May's efforts of education, gardening, and awareness have helped the monarch population in the area face a less severe decline as in other areas. Plant your native milkweed folks.. plant your milkweed! That's the best way to help them.. and by supporting projects like the MMP that help learn more about the monarch populations trends each year and also spread the word to visitors and locals in Cape May. It all starts on a small scale, but man does it make a difference!