Prothonotary Warblers arrive every April to the swamps of the southeastern US. As you can imagine, it has been a bird in decline due to the destruction of it’s preferred wetland habitat. They have one of the loudest, most recognizable calls in the woods and are most often heard and not seen. They will stay with us for the next three months while nesting and rearing their young before heading back to central america to relax for the winter.
Prothonotary Warbler in nesting mode
Here at left – After hearing the call and waiting probably 10 minutes, this photo was taken after one emerged briefly from deep cover.
The photo was cropped a bit for presentation and was taken from about 30 feet away. It is really rare to get one to pose for a photo this way so consider yourself lucky if one does.
Baby Prothonotary Warbler leaves the nest
In the photo at left (three weeks later) a baby PW had dropped from the nest and was walking down the trail as the dogs and I almost stepped on him. Luckily the dogs never saw the bird or it would have certainly been puppy chow. I guess he’s not allergic to poison ivy!