By Sally Siko

In North Carolina our wintering birds have quietly moved out and our spring migrants are trickling in.
This means that I’ve got to work just a little harder to see something new for the year so I decided to head into the east central part of the state since I haven’t birded much in this region.
Today I rolled out at 5am and 3 hours later found myself standing in the woods of the Croatan National Forest listening to the sweet songs of my first of 2023 Prothonotary Warblers.
And what a chorus it was!!
Although I managed to capture only one close up photo of a singing Prothonotary, I ended up counting 13 of these bright yellow beauties by the end of the morning which was pretty cool.

Prothonotarys are best found in moist habitats like swamps, bogs and marshes. They can also be seen in the brush and hardwood trees alongside streams, ponds and lakes.I found this beauty flitting through the trees along the shore of a swampy stream near Catfish Lake.There were plenty of insects flying around the water so it turned out to be good spot to sit and wait for the birds to show up. These lovely feathered gems usually arrive in North Carolina during spring migration in mid April so I was a little surprised to see so many early in the month.

As cavity nesters (one of only two species of Warbler that do this) Prothonotarys raise their young in unused Woodpecker nests or in other holes in trees.The male bird will start the process by building several starter nests in different locations to expand his territory and provide optional choices for his future mate.When the females come along a few weeks later, the male will show the her his array of nests then allows her to choose the one that suits her needs best.
Soon eggs will be laid with the next generation to follow.
For now though, the season has just begun and since the Prothonotarys will stick around through September you’ve got plenty of time to get out and see one this year.

*Big thanks to NC photographer Gray Whitley @grayphotojournal for the location recommendations!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5