Here’s an interesting article from the Xerces Society:

Signs of hope for western monarchs? Reports from overwintering sites in coastal California indicate western monarchs are returning in greater numbers than last year, with hundreds at some sites and thousands at others, giving hope for the struggling population. More than 9,000 monarchs have been recorded at a pair of sites that last year hosted less than 300 between them. Additional smaller estimates and observations from volunteers and the public have started to pour in from elsewhere, with numbers ranging from a few to dozens to hundreds, of monarchs. Altogether, there appear to be over 10,000 monarchs easily accounted for at the overwintering sites. This year’s official count has not yet begun (that starts in mid-November), yet these early reports signal the possibility of a rebound in numbers. Click here to read the complete press release.