Prothonotary Warbler Occurrence In Texas

Central Texas draws the western line for the Prothonotary Warbler range. This species occupies much of eastern North America up to the southern boarder of Ontario Canada.
Prothonotarys' nest in natural cavities but also readily use nest boxes located on or near water. Flooded swamps represent ideal habitat but they will also nest along rivers or small bodies of water.
In May 2007 I saw a brightly colored male Prothonotary Warbler at Pedernales Falls State Park bird blind. After some research I learned male birds have been seen building nests in neighboring counties to Blanco County. Further research revealed a pair of Prothonotary Warblers successfully nested at Heard Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney, Texas.
In December 2007 I decided to undertake a nest box study at the park. January through February 2008 I hiked the entire Pedernales River and tributaries within park boundaries, in an effort to choose the best sites. Habitat selection proved a challenge do to high flood levels along the river.
Five sights were eventually selected where two nest boxes each were placed. Most boxes were attached to trees however two were attached to metal poles. These boxes were monitored from March through June 2008 on a weekly basis. A Breeding Bird Study was conducted at each nestbox location in 2008 and will be continued in 2009.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Louisiana Waterthrushes On Territory


Today I saw and heard Louisiana Waterthrushes at all nest box locations. This includes the Tobacco, Twin Falls and Hackenburg creeks. Red-eyed Vireo was the only new spring arrival for today. They were singing vigorously at all locations along with the White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos.

Northern Parulas, which nest in Canada, are still present and very vocal down by the river. Summer Tanagers are setting up territories along the river at all nest box locations.

Today I saw four species of wren within the park: Carolina, Canyon, House and Bewicks. The Bewicks is the only wren whose habitat does not include the river.
Todays photos include Twin Falls from the overlook and some ferns growing on a vertical rock near nest box 3 in Twin Falls Creek.
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