My fiancee, Lisa, and I were birding Battle Creek Cypress Swamp in Calvert
County on Sunday morning May 24. No sooner had she complained that the birds
were being uncooperative, wishing  they would come down and play with us,
when a Prothonatory Warbler flew in and began singing on a branch not 5 feet
away. To our astonishment, it hopped closer, on a railing about 3 feet away,
and began signing. It stayed there for 20 seconds, so close we could see its
little chest rising and falling. We were frozen to the spot. A second
Prothonatory Warbler began flying in from deeper in the woods. I raised my
arm (stupidly) to point it out to Lisa (who had already espied it) and off
they both flew.

        From the songs, I would guess there were 4-5 Prothonatories in the woods
around us.

        Due to the heat, the emphasis was on quality rather than quantity.

        Also seen:

        Yellow-billed cuckoos (2, feeding on grubs or caterpillars)
        White-Eyed Vireo
        Chipping Sparrow (2-3)
        Blue Grosbeak
        Canada Goose (5, flyover)
        Tufted Timouse (pair)

        Other wildlife:

        Painted Turtle
        White-Tailed Dragonfly (along with 4-5 other species we could not identify)
        Florida Leaf-Footed Bug

        Good birding!


  Warren P. Strobel

Cape St. Claire, MD

2004 Year List - 131
U.S. Life List - 208
World Life List - 301