Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: mellielong's Daily Pictures # 104, 2 by AmandaEsq

AmandaEsq wrote:
Here's a question:

Counting birds is troublesome in the winter for recordkeeping. I'm wondering how to tell if the Monarch I'm seeing is the same Monarch as before?

Yesterday was my first sighting. She was in the driveway/front yard for quite a while, then I saw her again later in the afternoon in the back yard and assumed it was the same butterfly.

Just before lunch I was outside and saw a Monarch on a Zinnia in the front yard and my heart lurched.

I didn't stick around to observe it, but as I was going about my chores I didn't see it again on the grounds.

About 5 hours later, after a trip out for some errands, I pulled up in the car and saw a Monarch on flowers in my front yard again. Heart lurch.

If they are migrating, do they stick around for days? Would I count these as separate sightings for recordkeeping? I'm at a loss . . ..

Photo on yellow zinnias is the first Monarch from today around 11:30 a.m.

Photo in flight is from after my errands approximately 4:30 p.m.