Each of the last few years, prothonotary warblers have shown up during Spring migration at the Dyson Tract along the Delaware and Raritan Canal. It took me a few visits, but today I struck gold, so to speak.
As I arrived at the parking lot, I turned on the Merlin app and hoped it would hear the golden yellow bird with the grayish wings, black eyes and beak. As I walked up the canal towpath, Merlin signaled one nearby. I neither heard nor saw it.
I continued my walk and recorded several species, including a first-of-the-year green heron. I turned back toward my car and turned on Merlin, which quickly picked up another prothonotary warbler. Again, I didn’t hear or see it, but I decided to stay a while in hope that it would show itself.
A young woman birder arrived, also looking for the prothonotary warbler. With our backs to the canal, we peered into the swamp. A Northern yellow warbler flew by and we followed it to the trees lining the canal bank.
Then it happened — a prothonotary warbler winged its way past us and briefly settled in a tree on the bank. I was able to get a couple of grab shots, including the one topping this post, before the bird flew off.
We turned our attention back to the swamp, and a minute or two later we spotted the bird land on the top of a snapped-in-half bare tree. The bird was visiting its nest in a cavity atop the snag.
The bird made a few dashes to and fro before flying off. I wasn’t able to get any further shots of it.
While I would have preferred a sharper photo, seeing the bird was reward enough. Watching it zip back and forth from its nesting cavity was an added thrill. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 