MonarchWatch

Looking to protect a rare and beautiful creature? Love Butterflies? Join MonarchWatch!

Follow the Monarch Migration with Us

Each fall, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo invites volunteers to take part in the internationally acclaimed Monarch Butterfly tagging project, managed by the University of Kansas. After attending a single virtual training session, participants can work alongside Zoo staff to tag these remarkable pollinators during their annual migration south to Mexico.

2025 Season Recap

Staff member holding a monarch butterfly and showing it to kids.

Upcoming Events

AUG19

Monarch Watch Training
Date
August 19, 2026 · 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location
Virtual on Zoom
Category
Monarch Watch
MonarchWatch is a Citizen Science program that teaches volunteers to tag and record Monarch Butterflies. Your contribution will help scientists collect very valuable data to study the population and its migration patterns down to Mexico for the winter season.

Click here to register for the August 19th session at 7pm via Zoom.

7:00 PM

Virtual on Zoom

AUG27

Monarch Watch Training
Date
August 27, 2026 · 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location
Virtual on Zoom
Category
Monarch Watch
MonarchWatch is a Citizen Science program that teaches volunteers to tag and record Monarch Butterflies. Your contribution will help scientists collect very valuable data to study the population and its migration patterns down to Mexico for the winter season.

Click here to register for the August 27th session at 7pm via Zoom.

7:00 PM

Virtual on Zoom

SEP4

Monarch Watch Training
Date
September 4, 2026 · 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location
Virtual on Zoom
Category
Monarch Watch
MonarchWatch is a Citizen Science program that teaches volunteers to tag and record Monarch Butterflies. Your contribution will help scientists collect very valuable data to study the population and its migration patterns down to Mexico for the winter season.

Click here to register for the September 4th session at 7pm via Zoom.

7:00 PM

Virtual on Zoom

MonarchWatch training has concluded for the 2025 season. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Monarch Watch Success Story

Exciting news from our 2020 Monarch Watch program! One of the butterflies tagged at Beardsley Zoo traveled an incredible 2,657 miles and was recorded in El Rosario, Mexico.

"Cass, one of our amazing docents and fellow Monarch Watch volunteers, discovered that a monarch she tagged on our Zoo grounds in Bridgeport completed this incredible journey to El Rosario. Congratulations, Cass! Here’s a photo of the butterfly and the recovery data sheets. Words can’t capture how remarkable this is, and especially this year, it’s such welcome news." — Jen Farrell, Zoo Educator