If you live in or visit Central Texas during autumn, you may find yourself treated to one of Mother Nature's most spectacular sights. The majestic monarch butterfly makes an annual 2300 mile migration from Canada to Mexico and -- guess what? -- the Hill Country sits smack dab right in the middle of one of the main flyways. Generally during the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November, the burnished copper-colored Monarchs stream by at the rate of two or three per minute.

But every now and then you get lucky and you'll see Monarchs by the hundreds -- perhaps the thousands. A few years ago a cloud of the beautiful butterflies descended on the Burnet County village of Silver Creek. One resident described the scene as resembling a heavy snowfall -- except the snow looked like flakes of dark gold swirling against the deep blue October sky. Silver Creek sits on the eastern side of Lake Buchanan and it seems the Monarchs like to follow a path down the Colorado River and Highland Lakes on their trip south. I lived on Lake Travis for a number of years and for the last ten have resided on Lake Buchanan, and most years there have been days when I've seen streams of the graceful insects flitting steadily over the water.

The best time to find the insects are the warm sunny days between cold fronts. On those gorgeous Indian Summer afternoons, I've seen dozens of Monarchs visiting the Cosmos and Lantana plants in our backyard. Some mornings, before the sun is high enough to warm butterfly wings, I've seen hundreds of the burnt orange beauties draped on Evergreen Sumac shrubs.

If you're out looking for butterflies keep you eyes open for other migrants as well. We're in the flight paths of many varieties of warblers, ducks, hawks, and many other species. My favorite bird and butterfly watching spots include all the LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority) lands and boat ramps around the Highland Lakes as well as our numerous state parks

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