VENTURA COUNTY WEEKEND : OUTINGS : JAUNTS : Good Viewing of ‘King’ of Butterflies Expected : Beautiful orange monarchs will stop in the area in greater numbers this year as they migrate south, an expert says.

For monarch butterfly fans, the last couple of years have been a bust. The orange beauties just haven’t been flying south in droves as they used to.

The drop-off has puzzled scientists who study these intrepid travelers. But, whatever the reason, the butterflies may be making a comeback this year, they say.

All the more reason to go on one of three monarch butterfly walks offered by Ventura’s recreation department. The first one will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Camino Real Park. The cost is $3.

These naturalist-led family-style walks are a good chance to see clusters of butterflies that laze away the winter in the barranca that borders the park. And this year the viewing should be greatly improved.

“From all accounts, it looks like a much better year than the last two,” said Walter Sakai, a Santa Monica College biology instructor who tracks butterfly colonies in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Early estimates at spots farther up the coast show higher numbers than the past two years, Sakai said. If it’s a good year, the butterflies at Camino Real Park could number more than 10,000.

The park is traditionally one of the best viewing spots in Ventura County, but only about 1,200 butterflies were wintering there last year at this time. Why the drop and now the increase? No one knows for sure.

One theory about the dwindling numbers is that a protozoan spore infected a large percentage of the butterflies. Another is that heavy spring rains wiped them out, or that development has stripped away the milkweed plant that is the favored cuisine of the monarch caterpillar.

“It could be that we finally had a good wet soaking year, the milkweed did well, and so the butterflies had a good year,” Sakai said.

Whatever the case, the monarchs still have astounding survival skills. During the summer, they can be spotted all over the country and even in southern Canada. Then, in late October or early November, they start their migratory trek south, flying up to 80 miles a day at speeds that approach 30 m.p.h.

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In a typical year, millions flutter to Southern California and Baja. Those east of the Rocky Mountains target a small spot of mountains in Mexico. They winter in the same coastal spots every year, even returning to the same groves of eucalyptus trees. But what has scientists baffled is that, since the butterfly’s life cycle is only a few months, the offspring know where to go despite the fact that they’ve never made the journey.

Camino Real Park is one of a dozen layover sites in Ventura County, but most are on private property.

Another good viewing spot is Sycamore Canyon in Point Mugu State Park. The Green Meadow fire scorched a big chunk of the park in October 1993, driving out the butterflies for two years. But they seem to be coming back this year, according to Sakai.

For those who go on Ventura’s butterfly walks, naturalist Susan Williams will supply binoculars and spotting scopes for viewing the butterflies. Even though the groups will be as close as 20 feet to clusters, sometimes they aren’t that easy to see.

“You can be looking straight at them, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for they look like a bunch of leaves,” Williams said. “Their wings are folded when they’re in clusters, and their underside is brownish-gold.”

But there should be plenty fluttering around, for easy sighting.

During the walk, Williams doles out tidbits about the monarchs--everything from how to tell the males from the females to what makes them toxic to birds. She asks participants to be on the lookout for butterflies that have been tagged by Sakai and other scientists who want to learn more about their habits.

For the last 10 years, Sakai and his students have tagged thousands of butterflies, mainly at a clustering site near the coast in Goleta. They painstakingly put tiny stickers on the edge of the wing. It’s a labor-intensive effort, with only one out of 500 recoveries.

Most are recovered fairly close to where they were tagged, Sakai said. But one winged traveler couldn’t wait to move on. This hearty guy, tagged in Goleta, was picked up hundreds of miles away in Arizona.

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DETAILS

* WHAT: Monarch butterfly walk.

* WHERE: Camino Real Park, Dean Drive and Varsity Street, Ventura. Group meets between the tennis courts and the barranca.

* WHEN: Saturday, 10 to 11:30 a.m. (Other walks scheduled Dec. 2, 2:30 to 4 p.m.; and Dec. 9, 10 to 11:30 a.m.)

* HOW MUCH: $3 per person; children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult registered in the session. This outing is geared for families with children 5 or older.

* FYI: 658-4733. Preregistration is required.