Monarchs Coming Through

September 23, 2025

A Monarch (Danaus plexippus) taking a quick break during its long migration, getting a sip of nectar this afternoon.

They’re coming through on their way to their winter home, the high-altitude fir forests of central Mexico.

The journey for the eastern segment of the Monarch population can involve traveling up to 2,500 to 3,000 miles, or even more. They travel, at the most, from Canada and the northern United States to Mexico. The western segment travels fewer miles, most of them spending the winter months along the southern California coast.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.