Photo Study Of Prothonotary Warblers At Peace Valley Park (Bucks County), May 28 and 29, 2011

      Ray Hendrick found and reported a Prothonotary Warbler near the Chapman Bridge in Peace Valley Park earlier this week. It turns out that there are actually two of
    them and, lo and behold,  they are nesting in a stump near the bridge. Several of us were fortunate enough to watch their antics yesterday and again this morning which
    included singing, carrying nesting material into a hole in the stump and finally mating. Both the male and female flew across the impoundment towards us a few times and
    even perched in the trees right above us but, alas, I was only able to capture the male once.

Male Prothonotary Warbler Near Chapman Bridge At Peace Valley Park

    The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World Warbler family. The Prothonotary Warbler is 5.5 inches long with a 9 inch wingspan.
     It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. The adult male has a very bright yellow head; females and
     immatures are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern that is white at the base and dark at the tip. It breeds
     in hardwood swamps in southeastern Ontario and eastern United States. It is the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities, sometimes using old Downy
     Woodpecker holes. The male often builds several incomplete, unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest. It lays 3-7 eggs. It winters in the West Indies, Central
     America and northern South America.The preferred foraging habitat contains dense, woody streams, where the Prothonotary Warbler searches actively in low foliage, mainly
     for insects and snails. These birds are declining in numbers due to loss of habitat. They are also parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater),  or outcompeted
     for nest sites by the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). It is listed as endangered in Canada. The Prothonotary was named after an official in the Roman Catholic Church known
     as the protonotary apostolic, who wore golden robes. It was once known as the Golden Swamp Warbler. (Cornell BNA; Wikipedia; Sibley Guide To Birds)

And while staking out the Prothonotaries, I was able to photograph a few passersby:

A Family Of Canada Geese

A Common Merganser Hen Swims By

A Very Smart Woodie Hen Certainly Has Her Ducks In A Row

     To see a larger image of any of the photos below, please click on either the thumbnails or the captions...thanks! 

     © Howard B. Eskin 2011      Please email your comments to hbeskin@voicenet.com    Please click here to go back to Bird Webpage Index