ONE DAY MANY years ago when I drove into my driveway, I was greeted by just about the most beautiful bird I had ever seen.
Perched on the bare branches of my fig tree was a brilliant yellow-orange bird with a grayish back. The first and last prothonotary warbler I have ever seen, it took my breath away.
But Steve Coari was lucky enough to see several prothonotaries, including the one shown here, a few days ago along Washington Ditch in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
"Prothonotary" refers to the bright yellow robes worn by clerks in the Roman Catholic Church.
Prothonotaries are among the sublime treats possible for birders to see, especially in May, as warblers migrate through the area. Another heart-stopper would be a Cerulean warbler, like this one John Kersh happened to photograph in a swampy area in Larchmont in Norfolk. It was his first, too.
But you don't have to find exquisite beauties such as these to enjoy the range of color and songs of many different warblers that are migrating through Hampton Roads this time of year.
You just have to have patience, good eyes, binoculars and, as birder Karen Beatty suggests, a listening ear.
"Knowing bird songs this time of year is SO beneficial to finding those migrants and knowing what they are when they are hidden in the leaves," Beatty wrote recently on the Hampton Wildlife Enthusiasts Facebook page.
Beatty recommends, "Birding by Ear" and "More Birding by Ear," both Peterson Field Guides. She especially likes that the guides give tips for remembering the sounds, such as a black and white warbler sounds like a "squeaky wagon wheel."
Though warblers may show up in your yard and surprise you as my prothonotary did years ago, they are not apt to be at your feeders. Most of them are insect-eaters. They are more likely to be seen in places like the Dismal Swamp refuge, along the North Landing River, say, at Stumpy Lake and in some parts of First Landing State Park.
The cerulean warbler and the prothonotary warbler may be the most elusive of all. Despite their eye-catching color, prothonotaries are harder to see than most warblers, because they are only one of two warbler species to nest in tree cavities, which means they need to find nest holes in dead or dying trees.
Often these trees are found in river bottom area and swampland along the edges of the water or even out over the water. Interestingly, when prothonotary young fledge out over water, the babes are usually able to swim to land.
Cerulean warblers are even harder to see. The deep blue male and the paler blue female travel in the treetops. Their visit is fleeting as they move farther north to nest.
Though you might not see these two beauties, other almost as lovely warblers are more accessible. Like yellow? Look for the yellow warbler with its reddish-brown streaked breast and more. Blue? How about the black-throated blue warbler for starters?
So keep your eyes on the trees next month and, oh, what treats you might see.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Edward Cotton in Portlock in Chesapeake sent a photo of a white robin in the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see if any little white robins show up this summer.
Toni Hedrick in Trantwood Shores in Virginia Beach photographed a mama fox and two babies on her deck. It is the second fox family she has had in her yard in the past four years.
Robert Brown reported that the nor'easter last week blew down "my" osprey nest, the big duplex in First Landing State Park that I was keeping tabs on for Osprey Watch. They are rebuilding on what's left of the tree. Woody Stephens said the storm destroyed a nest in Thalia also. See more on my blog.
Robin Meekins reported a pair of river otters in Lake Smith.
Beverly Robbins near Great Bridge photographed a painted bunting that was passing through.
Don Rosenthal in Chesapeake sent a photo of a gull coming down in a perfect "Two Point Landing" as he described it.
More hummers have returned: Michelle Payne has had five return to her Alanton yard. Bob and Meg Lloyd got their first on the Oceanfront and Pauletta Anglin thinks she has two at her Little Neck feeder.
Bob Wells photographed a seal hauled up on the beach by the Alanton boat ramp.
Reese Lukei has had a pair of screech owls nesting in a box in his Little Neck yard. "I went to check on them today and I found a well fed rat snake and a lot of feathers," Lukei wrote.
Beth Holt in Shorehaven wrote to say she was "surprised to find a female wood duck feeding on safflower seed" in her yard and then saw the male nearby.
Marny Sanders sent a photo of garter snake with a bulge in its body, lying on her walkway in her yard on Sandbridge Road. And Candace Whitehurst photographed a green heron with a big bullfrog in its mouth at the Norfolk zoo. See both photos in Thursday Beacon's Close Encounters.
Kathy Loomis reports that her gray catbird returned to her Kings Grant yard on the exact date that it returned last year.
Sarah Linsly photographed a group of at least 30 royal terns on the beach at First Landing State Park. Most of them were banded, she said.
Don Lancaster has a pair of bluebirds setting up housekeeping in a box in his Hollywood yard in Norfolk. Harvey Seargeant photographed five newly hatched bluebirds in his Portsmouth yard. And Tammy Woodell sent a photo of two tiny newborn robins in a nest in her Pocahontas Village yard.