Science in Action

My youngest wanted to walk the bridge today, probably because the past couple of times we have done it we've had company. (There's a 2 mile bridge that spans the opening where Back Bay meets the Mississippi Sound.  Rebuilt after Katrina, it features a wide pedestrian walkway and a great view.  Mississippians trying to shed the stigma of living in the fattest state in the union now have a place to walk, jog, or bike 4 miles round trip without fear of getting hit by a pickup, esp. one wearing these.) I hesitated, but decided I could use the workout, so changed to jogging clothes and loaded up the baby jogger.

After being helped by a friendly security guard at the casino parking lot to inflate the bj's tires, we got underway. Without anyone but a three year old to talk to, I thought it might be a long trip, but then we started noticing the butterflies. First in singles, then duos and trios, septuplets ... I was slow to realize that we were witnessing the migration of the Monarchs to Mexico.  That mythic journey I'd read about in science books was taking place now. Butterflies whizzed by in drunken flight, blown about by the traffic's airstream.  They seemed to follow the bridge, as if they would follow the coast before crossing to Mexico. They were surprisingly fast.

I counted 235 during the 4 mile run.  Saw a couple sulfurs and at least 1 comma (or was it a question mark?) resting on the walkway barrier, so more tagalongs might have been mixed in the crowd.  The seagulls seemed to ignore them. Not good eating, I guess. I wonder if any had come down from Indiana.

                                                                                              Flickr photo from wolfpix

Glad I went - I felt like a part of history in the making.  From this site, it looks like this is just the beginning. (Ok, I reported the sighting.) Fly high, fly swift, little butterflies!