Sarah

My parents have been lucky enough to have a pair of migratory prothonotary warblers nest on their back porch the last two years.  Prior to their first visit, we didn't really know anything about these birds, other than to expect to hear their distinctive call and flashes of yellow feathers in early spring.  Both birds are quite tolerant of our presence (flying back and forth from the nest even when we're in the yard or on the porch), so I've been able to observe them closely and learn a lot.  The nest is situated so I can do most of my watching from a window without disturbing them, but I venture outside occasionally to photograph them.  I did have an incident once with the male, similar to the kingfisher story that Melissa describes in her video, in which dad warbler arrived to the porch area with an insect to feed the nestlings, but saw me waiting with my camera and decided to fly away before delivering the food.  I thought I had placed myself far enough away so as not to bother him, and I was really disturbed at how my presence obviously impacted the bird's behavior in a potentially negative way, so I think I've become more reflective and aware of bird behavior in general since that moment.  I'm still pretty new to all of this and learning a lot!  Here are a few shots of our warbler family this spring: