Sighting for May 3, 2012

As I was driving down Lincoln Memorial Drive (the road that goes along the lakefront in Milwaukee) at about 3:30 pm on Thursday, May 3rd, hundreds of butterflies were flying or being blown across the road from Lake Michigan. There was a storm blowing in from the east-northeast. I pulled over my car to try to see what kind of butterflies they were, but was only able to see a few before the skies opened up in a downpour and thunderstorms and was I was forced to take shelter. The few I saw clearly were Red Admirals, American Ladies, Monarchs, and most strangely, Mourning Cloaks.

Earlier on the same morning, when I was driving down Good Hope Road heading west from Green Bay Avenue to 76th Street which is considerably inland from Lake Michigan, I also saw several groups of Mourning Cloaks flying across the road. They were flying from the south. It seemed strange to me because the area is highly urban especially on the south side of Good Hope Road; to the north there are a number of golf courses and Brown Deer Park. Since I was on a busy road and driving to an appointment, I did not stop to investigate.