Prothonotary Warbler

This is the immature male Prothonotary that has apparently been in Bryant Park outside the NY Public Library for 2-3 weeks. Almost certainly a "wrong way" fall migrant, given that NYC is north of the traditional known breeding range. Prothonotary is very rare as a fall migrant through NYC for precisely this reason - there's no population north of us.

Prothonotary Warbler, April 29th 2010

This male Prothonotary Warbler bucked the usual trend with this classic migrant-overshoot species by singing pretty actively for several days in a row. It even foraged high in the canopy at times, although it usually favored a somewhat lower aspect in the denser wooded areas near the Weather Station. Mostly unconcerned about birders it often came in fairly close, almost invariably hidden by leaves given the early leaf-out in the canopy this year. Nevertheless I snagged a couple of shots.