We are doing an adventure into the wilds of a Monarch Colony.  This is about a Monarch preserve in the Natural Bridges State Beach located in Santa Cruz, CA, an ocean side city approximately 50 miles south of San Francisco.

This beach/park features a visitor center with various examples of local inhabitants including a stuffed fox and various Audubon samples.

During the fall and winter months, the Monarch butterflies congregate here at Natural Bridges wintering over from as far north as you can only imagine.  Birds do it all of the time, especially the waterfowl, but something as fragile as a butterfly?

It is an amazing sight to see and ponder over.

The first exhibit outside the nature center is a fenced in preserve of milk weed.  Milk weed is the staple of the Monarch caterpillar.  It is not unusual to find caterpillars and eggs on the milk weed.  Unfortunately for the milk weed, it is a preferred food of aphids as well so there are also examples of them; as well as lady bugs which feed on the aphids.  This photo of aphids busily munching on a milk weed stalk, looked to be butterfly eggs from a distance.  The problem is, butterfly eggs don't have legs and eyes.  At least not the ones on this planet.

Not all of the butterflies are Monarchs.

This one is a little bit ragged isn't it?

It's not surprising as it is the middle of fall.

Does anybody know what type of butterfly this is?

Email me if you do,

Not all from the same caterpillar!

Just hanging out as the evening cools off.  They do gather in clusters like this for warmth and protection.

 

The sunset started this whole adventure so isn't it appropriate that a moon rise end it?

I have to share with you that I am breaking in a new camera and tripod.  My new focus is on sharpness.  Some of these photos don't meet my new standards regarding sharpness and you have to know I have thrown several out the second story window.  That being said, content sometimes trumps sharpness, in my eye.  As I grow in my craft, there will be fewer of my babies thrown out the second story window.  This new gear is challenging but the results are so magnificent that I am frequently posting much larger photos then I used too.

The above photo of the moon is a little hazy for instance but not the fault of the equipment or the photographer but rather a victim of the ever present city haze.

New equipment?  Yes, a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and two new lens: a 24 to 105mm L and a 100 to 400mm Telephoto L with a 1.4x extender.