Prothonotary Warbler in July

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Prothonotary Warbler in July

July 16, 2020 by Mike Powell

I was both shocked and delighted to spot this brilliant male Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) on Monday during a trip to Huntley Meadows Park, a local marshland refuge. All of the other times that previously I spotted these colorful little birds were during the early spring and I did not know that they were still around in our area.

It is hard for a bird so brightly colored to hide itself completely, but I am used to seeing only flashes of yellow amidst the foliage high in the trees. In this case I spotted the warbler when it was perched on a wooden fence. As I got a little closer, it dropped down to ground level, but I was able to find a small visual tunnel that gave me an unobstructed view of this beautiful little warbler and was able to capture this image.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, Tamron 180mm, warbler | 16 Comments

16 Responses

on July 16, 2020 at 4:11 pm | Reply joyroses13

So cute!
- on July 16, 2020 at 6:06 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks so much. “Cute” is a perfect descriptor for the bright little bird.
  - on July 16, 2020 at 9:35 pm joyroses13
    
    Very welcome! Loved the bright yellow, brought a smile!
on July 16, 2020 at 4:12 pm | Reply Reed Andariese

Very Bright & Colorful Mike!
on July 16, 2020 at 4:29 pm | Reply Dan Antion

He’s a cute little guy. I’m glad you were able to get this photo, Mike.
- on July 16, 2020 at 6:04 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Dan. I was exited when I saw it and totally psyched when I managed to get a shot of the warbler.
on July 16, 2020 at 4:34 pm | Reply Steve Gingold

What a beautiful little warbler. Nice catch, Mike.
- on July 16, 2020 at 6:03 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Steve. In a pinch, my macro lens can serve as a birding lens–with my crop sensor camera, the 180mm macro has an equivalent field of view of 288mm. 🙂
on July 16, 2020 at 4:49 pm | Reply Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography

Color almost too good to be true LOL. Nice catch.
- on July 16, 2020 at 6:01 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  A few other warblers have a yellow that intense as does the male goldfinch, but none of them seem to have such a large patch of bright yellow feathers. The only other kind of birds come to mind that have a color that looks like I went heavy on the saturation slider are the bluebirds–sometimes the blue of the males is unbelievably intense. 🙂
on July 16, 2020 at 6:50 pm | Reply Lisa Coleman

Great capture! They are not an easy bird to photograph like many warblers they are moving quickly. Wonderful shot!
- on July 16, 2020 at 7:36 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Lisa.
on July 16, 2020 at 7:09 pm | Reply NJUrbanForest

Wow! What a great shot!
- on July 16, 2020 at 7:37 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I was fortunate that the warbler hopped off of the fence down onto the ground instead of flying aways. That gave me a fighting chance to get the shot.
on July 16, 2020 at 7:51 pm | Reply mitzybricker

Aren’t you blessed!!!!

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- on July 16, 2020 at 8:38 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Indeed I am. I am amazed quite often at the number of things that I manage to see and to discover.