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
Feb 5, 2026Salt evaporation ponds on the island of Gozo, Malta

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 20, 2024World Childrens Day
Jul 17, 2019Nomads of the Gobi
Jan 1, 2023New Year s Day
Jun 21, 2025World Giraffe Day
Sep 1, 2023National Mushroom Month
Oct 10, 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado
Jun 30, 2025Asteroid Day
Jun 29, 2024Tour de France 2024 begins
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
Feb 1, 2021Reflecting on Black History Month
Dec 5, 2023Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, Bavaria, Germany
Sep 11, 2019A tower of remembrance
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice
Aug 26, 2019Classical music takes center stage
Oct 10, 2021A shell of many colors
Mar 5, 2019Stompin’ with the Big Chief
May 7, 2019Spring comes to Glacier National Park
Feb 5, 2024Western Monarch Day
Jul 20, 2019Bringing the moon to Earth
Sep 30, 2024Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
Sep 16, 2018Mexico celebrates its Independence Day
Mar 27, 2018Macro photograph of a migrant hawker dragonfly
Nov 5, 2020A medieval Moorish gem
May 18, 2018It’s Endangered Species Day
Jun 29, 2019It s National Camera Day. Get the picture?
Dec 2, 2019Wild and beautiful Alaska
May 13, 2019In praise of bogs, swamps, and marshes
Sep 17, 2019Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Jan 31, 2022Incense making, Vietnam
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France