Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2024

I was alone at the time, but some other birders got some nice photos after I reported him:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S176822703
https://ebird.org/checklist/S176911536
https://ebird.org/checklist/S177835136
It looks like he was observed for 4 days at this location.

10x42 Zeiss Victory

I spent quite a few years in MO, AR, LA, and FL where I became quite familiar with this species. This is probably the 3rd RSD for this species for me for VT.

Flooded bottomland hardwood

I only saw him briefly at which time he was foraging in the lower canopy of a silver maple. Most of the time he was singing farther from the parking area where it was hard to get a clear visual.

He was singing the typical "swee, swee, swee, swee, swee, swee, swee" song, with each "swee" generally rising in pitch.

On the recording at 05:08, the best examples of his song are at 1, 24, 34, and 46 seconds and on the recording at 05:19, the best examples are at 6, 23, 33, and 44 seconds. (Easiest to listen on the eBird checklist). If you compare the sonogram in the recording to one on Merlin, you can see the slight little hiccup at the beginning of each "swee" phrase, something I hadn't noticed before.

I don't get up to this part of the state as much as I would like, but when I do, I always stop here. In 2012, we found a singing male Prothonotary Warbler on a Big Day, and I always listen for another when I stop at the fishing access. Sure enough, 12 years later, another one shows up! The habitat is really perfect - flooded bottomland forest with lots of older trees with cavities.

When I first arrived, I was fairly sure I was hearing a Prothonotary, but there were both American Redstarts singing their mated song without the accented ending, and a very loud Northern Waterthrush. I made a couple recordings and was satisfied that I could make out his song. I searched for quite a while and finally got some nice visuals. At one point he was about 25 feet away but I choked on getting a picture and he flew further back into the forest.

From my eBird checklist, on which cursory notes were made at the time: "Bright yellow-orange head, throat, breast, and belly with white undertail coverts. Large black eye and blue-gray wings."

When I finally saw him, it was clear this was a Prothonotary Warbler. The yellow-orange plumage is a very different color than a yellow warbler, and the blue-gray wings completely rule out that species. The most similar vocalization is that of the mated song of the American Redstart, which is most easily eliminated because there are typically only 3-4 syllables, compared to the 7-9 of the Prothonotary. The introduction to the Northern Waterthrush's song can sound similar, but when he breaks into the accented, descending end notes, it is obviously a different song.

Male. I couldn't say if it was an SY or ASY individual.