Warren Ferry, Virginia 5/25/2021

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Prothonotary Warblers are one of my favorite warbler species. I try to see one at least once a year. My two most reliable locations are at the Dutch Gap Conservation Area south of Richmond, and Warren Ferry south of Scottsville. Dutch Gap is the most reliable site as there are many Prothonotary Warbler boxes at that site, as well as many other avian species to see. However, Dutch Gap is a 105 mile, 1 hour and 40 minute drive each way. Warren Ferry is only a 37 mile, 45 minute drive each way. Warren Ferry is a great location to not only find a Prothonotary Warbler, but Yellow-throated Warblers also nest there. The only drawback about Warren Ferry is that dense leaf cover makes it tough to see birds by the end of May, and it as a favorite spot for recreation companies and individuals to launch kayaks, canoes, and tubing once the weather gets warm.

There were reports of a Prothonotary Warbler seen at Warren Ferry last Friday, Sunday, and Monday (yesterday). With it being a weekday, mostly cloudy skies, and temperatures in the low 70s this morning, I thought it might be worth a try. I didn't see one at all last year becuse of not driving long distances due to Covid, and Tink Moyer hadn't see one for at least five or six years. So Tink met me at my house at 9:30, and we got there at 10:15.

Oh, no! There were multiple kayakers and canoers waiting for others to show up before they launched into the James River, and there weren't many birds with all that commotion. We saw a couple of Cardinals and Indigo Buntings, and heard a Yellow-throated Warbler high up in one of the trees, but couldn't see it with all the leaf cover. We decided to wait to see if the kayakers would leave and it might quiet down, but that didn't happen, so we spent most of the time about 50 feet away from them hoping for a Prothonotary Warbler to show up.

Around 11:10, we heard a Prothonotary Warbler singing nearby, and it flew across the road and then back to where it was first singing. Just as we were walking over to where we heard it, a woman kayaker walked up and loudly asked if we were birders. Well, that scared the Prothonotary Warbler away. Bummers!

We decided to wait until noon, and call it quits after that. At 11:27, we heard it again, and this time got a few looks at this beautiful warbler.

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

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Prothonotary Warbler

The Prothonotary was my 30th warbler species photographed in 2021.


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