I live in Cornwall, and I experienced this same strange phenomena on Monday (April 16) evening. It occurred about 6 p.m. and I happened to look out on my balcony and saw many butterflies flying around the side of my building, some resting on my balcony. I live on the 9th floor (facing westward) of a highrise in the downtown core, so this was pretty unusual. I went outside and wasn’t exactly sure what they were. They “looked” like Monarchs, but I knew they weren’t. Although I thought they might have been the Question Marks you spoke about, looking at photos, I believe they were Red Admirals. There were at least a dozen, probably more of them. They darted back and forth individually so sometimes seemed to play games in groups of 3 or 4. It was totally magical!! I made me feel as if I was in a butterfly garden. I have never experienced anything like this here before!! They were really brave, too. Some would land close to me, and even seemed to think about landing on my arm, but they didn’t go that far. Absolutely wonderful!!
Location: Cornwall
Observer: Kathleen Hay
