Monarch butterflies are migrating through the mountains on their way to Mexico for the winter, and volunteers are needed to help catch, tag and release them.

A Monarch day will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Macon County. Volunteers can also help with bird banding of neo-tropical migrants, which will be conducted at the same time.

Data gathered will help shed light on butterfly and bird migrations in the Little Tennessee River migration corridor.  Over 42 species of butterflies have been found at Tessentee Bottomland Preserve and 119 species of birds.

The event is being hosted by the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, Southern Appalachian Raptor Research and the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research program.

Nets will be provided. All ages welcome. 828.524.2128 x 113 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..