For the past couple of years we have been fortunate to have a pair of
Prothonotary warblers nesting at Fort
Snelling State Park. Last year I spent several days trying to get pictures of them but I was not very successful. So this year I headed over to the park on June 7
th to give it another try.
This time my luck was a little better. When I first spotted the bird flying low over the wet marshy ground I thought that it was a goldfinch, but then it sang, its call was loud and
piercing and I knew that it could not be a gold finch.
Prothonotaries are exciting because southern Minnesota is the northern edge of their range so we do not see them that often.
The
prothonotary is one of only two warblers that are cavity
nesters, the other type is the Lucy's warbler. The parks department has placed two nest boxes in a swamping area near to the Minnesota River to help attract this particular type of warbler. The flooded
bottomland forest along with a
nestbox make this area the perfect habitat for these birds.
This time my luck was a little better. When I first spotted the bird flying low over the wet marshy ground I thought that it was a goldfinch, but then it sang, its call was loud and piercing and I knew that it could not be a gold finch.
Prothonotaries are exciting because southern Minnesota is the northern edge of their range so we do not see them that often.
The prothonotary is one of only two warblers that are cavity nesters, the other type is the Lucy's warbler. The parks department has placed two nest boxes in a swamping area near to the Minnesota River to help attract this particular type of warbler. The flooded bottomland forest along with a nestbox make this area the perfect habitat for these birds.
2 comments:
Such a magnificent yellow - golden color on this bird - you captured it well!
What a beautiful warbler!!
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