[Brian Taber has invited me again this year to post info about the Prothonotary Warbler project at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake.]
Prothonotary Warblers continue to show strong fidelity to
the nesting habitat at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake, VA.
Under the supervision of Dr. Bob Reilly, CVWO’s Master
Bander, Steve Living and I are monitoring these cavity-nesting birds again this
year. This is one of the songbird research projects sponsored by CVWO.
Steve Living is a Terrestrial Biologist with the VA Department
of Game and Inland Fisheries. I am a CVWO volunteer, Certified VA Master
Naturalist and avid birder in Williamsburg Bird Club. Both of us are licensed
to band songbirds as subpermittees working under Dr. Bob Reilly. Each of us
relies on volunteers to help with the project.
After the 2011 nesting season, Bob Reilly repositioned over
20 of the 100 boxes to more suitable habitat.
We observed the first PROW eggs April 24 and banded the
first nestlings May 16. As of May 22, 18 PROW nestlings have been banded and at
least 55 of the 98 boxes have nest activity. We’ll be monitoring these boxes
through mid-June at least and expect that we’ll band in excess of the 133
nestlings we banded last year. Prothonotary Warblers often have two clutches in
one season.
The first females were trapped May 10. So far we have banded
13 adult females. We have “recaptured” 11 adult females [banded in previous
years], four of whom were banded as adults in 2009, one was banded as an adult
in 2010, and four were banded as adults in 2011.
Here is a photo of a nestling on the scales! He’s ambitious
– trying out his wings already!
