Western Monarchs Are Returning to California: Early-Season Count Documents Several Thousand So Far
Monarchs gather at Lighthouse Field overwintering site in mid-October, 2025. Photo by Diana Magor.
Monarch butterflies are fluttering back to California’s coast, and volunteers across the West have been busy surveying overwintering sites for the 2025 Western Monarch Count (WMC)! Early reports estimate approximately 5,000 monarchs observed so far, though data are still coming in. Last year’s early-season count tallied 7,601 butterflies. (View past years’ data here).
LINK: Western Monarch Count (WMC)
LINK: (View past years’ data here).
Similar to last season, Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz is a standout site, sheltering 1,100 monarchs as of 10/29/25. Numbers at Lighthouse Field are also climbing quickly, more than doubling over the last two weeks (up to 979 as of 11/1/25). A site in west Marin has topped 500, and other popular sites, including Pismo State Beach (235 on 10/29/25) in San Luis Obispo County, Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary (63 on 10/30/25) in Monterey County, and Gill Tract (87 on 10/24/25) in Alameda County, are showing early clusters that may continue to grow in the weeks ahead.
The early-season count officially ended Sunday, November 2, and we can’t wait to see the full picture once all data are submitted. Visit WesternMonarchCount.org to follow the count results (usually published a few weeks after each survey period). And, if you’d like to visit overwintering sites near you, check out our recent blog, Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Overwintering Monarchs.
LINK: Submitted
LINK: WesternMonarchCount.org
LINK: Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Overwintering Monarchs
A big shout-out to all the community scientists, regional coordinators, and conservation partners who help power The Xerces’ Society’s Western Monarch Count–thank you!!
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1. Western Monarch Count (WMC)
2. (View past years’ data here).
3. Submitted
5. Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Overwintering Monarchs
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Monarch butterflies are fluttering back to California’s coast, and volunteers across the West have been busy surveying overwintering sites for the 2025 Western Monarch Count (WMC)! Early reports estimate approximately 5,000 monarchs observed so far, though data are still coming in. Last year’s early-season count tallied 7,601 butterflies. (View past years’ data here).
Similar to last season, Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz is a standout site, sheltering 1,100 monarchs as of 10/29/25. Numbers at Lighthouse Field are also climbing quickly, more than doubling over the last two weeks (up to 979 as of 11/1/25). A site in west Marin has topped 500, and other popular sites, including Pismo State Beach (235 on 10/29/25) in San Luis Obispo County, Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary (63 on 10/30/25) in Monterey County, and Gill Tract (87 on 10/24/25) in Alameda County, are showing early clusters that may continue to grow in the weeks ahead.
The early-season count officially ended Sunday, November 2, and we can’t wait to see the full picture once all data are submitted. Visit WesternMonarchCount.org to follow the count results (usually published a few weeks after each survey period). And, if you’d like to visit overwintering sites near you, check out our recent blog, Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Overwintering Monarchs.
A big shout-out to all the community scientists, regional coordinators, and conservation partners who help power The Xerces’ Society’s Western Monarch Count–thank you!!
