From Jeff Ellerbusch:

Now that it’s out there here’s a recap of the Glenhurst Prothonotary Warblers…

On June 1st there was a very actively singing male Prothonotary- at the largest, back pond of Glenhurst- which was clearly acting as if on territory. I am very attached to and protective of all things Glenhurst, it’s where it all started for me, and since this bird was so obviously setting up a territory I told only a few locals. This was an easy decision seeing as if anyone really wanted a local or in County Protho they could simply go to Lord Stirling and see and hear the multiple birds there… and not disturb my “precious”- Gollum’s voice- Glenhurst protho. In the next few weeks the Glenhurst bird could be heard and seen each time I and the few others went back to see it, the chances of it finding a mate were admittedly slim but the Lord Stirling succeses left some hope so the sightings were kept pretty quiet. On June 13th, while looking for Mike Newlon’s White-eyed Vireo, I stumbled upon an adult female type Prothonotary on the Brookside trail- I’m not sure what a 1st year male would look like at this stage so I didn’t rule it out, the bird looked like every other adult female I’ve seen. The bird was very, very actively feeding but in the 5 minutes I watched it consumed every insect it caught, no signs of nesting behavior… being pressed for time I had to leave it. Now I haven’t been back since but a male and female at Glenhurst at the same time would suggest breeding but since I haven’t put in the effort I can’t prove it.

I may be being a bit over protective of my local patch but it would be nice to have Prothos breeding here so if going in to see them please do not disturb them!

On a related, and belated note, Mike Hiotis had an adult Little Blue Heron on the morning of the 3rd while looking for and getting the Prothonotary. I tried for it in the afternoon but could not refind it, don’t believe it was seen again… a darn good bird for Glenhurst and the area.

Jeff