Western Monarch Day Feb 5, 2024

Western Monarch Day

Western Monarch Day celebrates a stunning natural phenomenon, the annual migration of thousands of flame-colored butterflies to California. Traveling south to escape the winter weather, they use air currents to help them make journeys of hundreds of miles. They descend to gather in large numbers on eucalyptus trees, like the ones pictured on our homepage today in Goleta, Santa Barbara County. Those gathered to see clusters of butterflies in 100-foot-tall trees might confuse them for clumps of leaves at first. However, as the sun"s rays gently fall upon them, their wings will begin to flutter. Bring your binoculars and take the opportunity to witness these winged wonders huddled together. It"s truly a sight to behold!

© Craig Rademacher/500px/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Feb 5, 2018Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica
Feb 5, 2019Welcome to the Year of the Pig
Feb 5, 2020Frozen beauty
Feb 5, 2021A sea of swirling stone
Feb 5, 2022Monarch butterflies in Angangueo, Mexico
Feb 5, 2023Monarch butterflies, Pismo Beach, California
Feb 5, 2025Scottish Blackface sheep, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 22, 2025Ad-Deir, Petra, Jordan
Jun 16, 2025World Sea Turtle Day
Apr 14, 2022Horseshoe Bend, Arizona
Apr 17, 2023International Haiku Poetry Day
Jun 22, 2024World Rainforest Day
Mar 20, 2025Spring equinox
Apr 19, 2021Rays on parade
Jul 31, 2020The Big Blue of the Sierra
Jan 10, 2025Abraham Lake, Alberta, Canada
Jun 3, 2025World Bicycle Day
Nov 10, 2023Badlands National Parks 45th anniversary
May 16, 2023American Wetlands Month
Aug 29, 2024Castellfollit de la Roca, Catalonia, Spain
Jan 31, 2022Incense making, Vietnam
Aug 6, 2018Jamaica celebrates its independence
Nov 15, 2024Yi Peng lantern festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Feb 16, 2022Cranborne Chase, England
Jun 16, 2018Drop in on International Surfing Day
Jun 10, 2023Porto Cathedral, Portugal
Jun 9, 2020Gem State views
Jun 29, 2025International Day of the Tropics
Oct 10, 2021A shell of many colors
Dec 4, 2021Cheetah mother and cub
Feb 13, 2021Four little birds sitting in a tree…
Jun 26, 2023Château de Villandry, France
Apr 6, 2021On the rebirth of the Olympic Games
Jan 15, 2020Harvest season begins
Oct 4, 2022World Space Week
Aug 14, 2018Combating extinction with citizen science
Oct 20, 2021Feeling lazy? Today s your day.