Butterflies Are Free--for Viewing Locally

The monarch butterflies are back. Those hearty travelers that fly south for the winter are holed up in their usual digs along the coast, lazing away the cool months.

You can see these orange and black beauties as they congregate in clusters in eucalyptus trees--but not just in any grove. Miraculously, they return to the same handful of spots along the coast each year, puzzling scientists.

One of those choice locations is a grove at Leo Carrillo State Beach near the Ventura County-Los Angeles County line. Rangers are leading four butterfly outings there during January and February. The first one is at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The hourlong program is free. (The other outings are Jan. 18, 2:30 p.m.; Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m.; and Feb. 15, 4:30 p.m.)

It’s an amazing sight to see hundreds of butterflies clustered on tree limbs or fluttering in swarms. But it’s not always a sure thing that you will see that many. The numbers of butterflies vary each year. Sometimes the numbers are down all over, and sometimes they are down at certain spots.

Ranger Doug Bosch isn’t optimistic about spotting great numbers in the eucalyptus groves at Leo Carrillo State Beach. Storms with strong winds blew through the area and may have blown many of the butterflies out of their shelter.

“The monarchs are there, they’re just not in the larger quantities we’re used to,� he said. Instead of thick bunches in the hundreds, they might be in clusters of only 15 to 20. “If it’s sunny, there will be a few out. Often if you look long enough, you’ll find some.�

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The eucalyptus groves are in a river bed that parallels the campground and Mulholland Highway. Walking will be minimal on this outing, no more than a quarter-mile, he said.

During the program, rangers will talk about the butterflies and how the story of their migration is the stuff of miracles. The survival skills of these fliers are awesome.

In the summer, the monarchs can be found all over the United States and even in southern Canada. In late October or early November, they begin their migratory trek, flying up to 80 miles a day at speeds that can reach 30 mph.

In a typical year, millions wing their way to Southern California and Baja to escape the cold. Those east of the Rocky Mountains zero in on a spot in central Mexico. By March, after the cold winter months have passed, the monarchs are ready to begin their return trip.

The miraculous thing about this cycle is that the life span of a monarch is as short as one month, or as long as seven months. That means there are four or five generations of butterflies in one year, and none makes the complete migratory trip. Yet, year after year, the monarchs fly to the same wintering spots--often to the same trees.

Just how they do that has baffled those who study the butterflies. “We’d love to know,� said Bosch.

But there are other fascinating tidbits about the monarchs that scientists know. The females lay eggs on milkweed plants, the favored cuisine of the monarch caterpillar. The butterfly’s vivid coloring is a warning to birds that it is toxic to eat.

David Marriott studies these winged creatures at the Monarch Program, based at Encinitas near San Diego. To learn more about the butterfly’s migration pattern, he and other monarch devotees tag thousands of butterflies each year. As a testament to the monarch’s vigor, one hearty flier tagged in Roseburg, Ore., turned up about 470 miles away, near San Francisco in Richmond.

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According to Marriott, there are about 300 monarch wintering sites along the California coast between Marin County and San Diego. Some are just a few trees on private property; others are on parkland, accessible to the public.

Big Sycamore Canyon in Point Mugu State Park is one local spot to see them, although numbers there dropped somewhat after wildfires scorched part of the park in 1993. Now, there are but a few.

Camino Real Park in Ventura is another spot. The butterflies cluster in trees in the barranca of the park, located at Dean Drive and Varsity Street.

Marriott was at the park last weekend and estimated about 7,500 monarchs near Aurora Drive. “That’s pretty good,� he said. “It’s nice there are still quite a few for early January. In early December, they start disappearing.� The highest count he has ever gotten at the park is 15,000.

He called this year’s crop of monarchs “a good average year. These numbers are high enough for people to enjoy.�

If you don’t mind a trek, one popular spot is Pismo State Beach, where rangers report about 45,000 butterflies this season. That’s down from an average of about 100,000, but way up from a low three years ago of only 15,000. Rangers there offer free butterfly programs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through February.

DETAILS

* WHAT: Monarch butterfly program.

* WHERE: Leo Carrillo State Beach, on the Pacific Coast Highway at Mulholland Highway, near the Ventura County-Los Angeles County line. Meet at the entrance station to the campground.

* WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Other programs will be Jan. 18, 2:30 p.m.; Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m.; and Feb. 15, 4:30 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: Free. Day-use parking $6.

* CALL: (818) 880-0350.