Prothonotary Warbler (TX2)
This is the second nest attempt from the Heard Museum this year.
Species: Prothonotary Warbler (
Protonotaria citrea)
Location: Heard Nature Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, McKinney, TX
Status: On hatching day a storm came blew down a tree
very near the cam box. The eggs and one lone hatchling were gone,
presumably eaten by predators.
2006 Daily Highlights
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July 3 - Still only one chick, as of this morning.
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July 2 - HATCHING! One chick hatched this morning!
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The mother nudges the chick into place before settling down to incubate.
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July 1 - The eggs should start to hatch tomorrow!
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June 29 - A couple more days before we can start looking for chicks!
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June 27 - It's another day of incubation. The male comes by with food once in a while.
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June 22 - The male feeds the
incubating female and checks in on her periodically, though she also
takes time to forage for herself.
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June 21 - Still four eggs, and the
female is definitely incubating. The incubation period is 12-14
days, so we can expect these eggs to hatch around July 1-3.
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June 20 - The fourth egg appeared this
morning, and the female spent most of the day incubating on the
nest. This may be the last egg.
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June 19 - The third egg! Prothonotary warbler clutches usually range from 3 to 5 eggs.
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June 18 - The female laid the second egg today. She will lay one egg a day until her clutch is complete.
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June 17 - The first egg was laid today at around 8 AM!
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June 16 - The female is still working on the nest and hasn’t laid any eggs yet.
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June 14 - The female starts work
early. Nest building usually lasts 3 to 8 days, though this one
seems to be taking a little longer.
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June 13 - The nest is looking good. Maybe we will see some eggs soon!
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June 12 - The female forms the nest cup by pressing her chest down into the nest material.
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June 11 - The female returns with a
leaf to add to the nest. Prothonotary warbler nests are unique
among cavity-nesting species in that they contain a lot of moss, which
may enhance hatching success.
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June 10 - The female returns with some
more nest material. The male does not help with the nest-building
process, though he does usually put down the first layer of moss.
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June 9 - The prothonotary warblers are making progress on their nest.
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June 8 - This pair has been busy all
day. The female is inside the box arranging nest material while
the male looks on from the entrance.
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June 5 - This looks like a female prothonotary warbler
in the box! Only the female builds the nest--you can see the new nest
material that has appeared since the box was emptied.
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