Monday, May 11, 2009

Prothonotary Warbler Building A Nest




A Prothonotary Warbler was spotted building a nest in an old gourd hung on our morning glory trellis. We believe it's a female. From our search, we know that our garden is really at the edge of their habitat / range. Their common habitat is in the swamp, marsh, and America's southern bayous, in tree cavities or manmade nesting boxes. They are also known as Golden Swamp Warbler.

They're named 'prothonotary' for their brilliant golden feather that resembles the robes of the papal clerks ('prothonotaries") in old Roman Catholic Church. They are migratory birds that winter in the tropics and eat insects. Prothonotary Warbler was chosen as Bird of The Year 2008 by Wake Audobon due to its slow decline in its overall population. We have spotted this bird building a nest in the same gourd for two years in a row now, but we didn't follow up on eggs development (if any) last year.

On the other hand, as of yesterday (i.e. Mother's Day), we counted five bluebird's eggs. Related posting: Blue Birds' Eggs. One egg a day has so far been followed.

Source of info:
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/prothonotary.htm
http://www.wakeaudubon.org/boty_prow.htm

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