A decent week of new arrivals with 10 new species being found putting us at 123 species for the season. Over half of the new arrivals this last week were warblers with Blackpoll, Canada, Golden-winged, Orange-crowned, Wilson’s, and Prothonotary Warblers all being sighted. The Prothonotary Warbler is of particular interest and a rare find in Kleinstuck with less than 15 sightings over the last 50 years during our surveys. Unfortunately, I was not the one that located this bird it was found by a volunteer covering for me while I was away leading a bird walk in a different location. Anyways the Prothonotary Warbler is a species that is strongly associated with water and is much more common in flooded woodlands or along the Kalamazoo River where you could easily find a few with a float down the river. Prothonotary Warblers are one of two species of warbler that nest in cavities with the other species being found in the Southwest (Lucy’s Warbler). They have a loud distinctive song that can be heard from some distance. There has also been a Olive-sided Flycatcher hanging out at the tops of some dead tree snags near the metal bench this past week and I finally saw my first Swainson’s Thrush which seems to be in short supply in our area this year. This upcoming week has some really warm temperatures coming , so I expect a few more late season migrants and a few more Flycatchers and the cuckoos to more common.
