Well, it took over 4 hours this afternoon - over 3 actually waiting on and searching for the bird around Fuch's Pond, and ~1 spent hiking elsewhere in Makamah Preserve as a break - but I finally saw the male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER at 4:20, shortly after returning to the area of the pond from my hike. A couple of non-birders were standing in the spot I'd staked out earlier (where Norm Klein had told me the bird most reliably appeared) and where I intended to spend the little time left before I had to leave. So I decided to bide my time by walking down the main trail, just as far as there were wetlands bordering it. It was a lucky choice because that's where I encountered the bird (approximate coordinates are: 40.916185, -73.330032). Over the next ten minutes the bird was often in view, moving through branches hanging low over the water or the stalks of emergent aquatic grasses/reeds. It did disappear for short periods, flying to the far side of the water and into the dense vegetation there. I heard the bird give a few low call notes, but it never sang, odd for a bird that has been in the area for 3 weeks and has apparently set up a territory. Other spring migrants were relatively scarce (other than Yellow-rumps), with only a few Palm Warblers, 1-2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Hermit Thrush of note.
-- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
