Monarch Butterflies

About Blake Shaw

I am a photographer based in San Diego. I now specialize in bird photography, but also regularly photograph scenes of Mexico, Route 66, tennis, bicycle racing, flowers, and people. My work hangs in galleries in San Diego and elsewhere, and I am available for slide shows, lectures, and exhibitions.

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Monarch Butterflies

Michoacán's Monarch Butterfly preserves attract thousands of visitors per day during the winter season.

I visited the El Rosario preserve near the towns of Ocampo and Angangueo, in January of this year.

There is a steep hike or horseback ride to the area where the butterflies congregate, at the altitude of 10,000 feet.

The area where the butterflies are densest is cordoned off from visitors, but there is still a good view.

The atmosphere in the preserve was one of tranquility and even reverence. There are signs and volunteers urging silence, and the Sunday crowd definitely kept silent, in awe of the countless butterflies in the trees. Most of the butterflies were in hibernation, but many would alight on flowers, or sometimes, people!