As spring arrived in the swamp, Prothonotary Warblers weren’t far behind! March 25th marked the official return of Prothonotary Warblers to Francis Beidler Forest. Thank you to all those that participated in our First Sighting Contest!  We’re happy to announce that the winner this year is Richard Hernandez. Not only did he guess the correct return date, he was also the first to capture a photograph this year!

With the return of the Prothonotaries, there was one chore that still needed to be done: cleaning out their nest boxes. Although it’s common to see Prothonotary Warblers nesting in cypress knees, we also have over 20 nest boxes scattered throughout the swamp. Every year we have a dedicated group of volunteers and employees that take a morning stomp through the swamp to clean out these boxes. They need to be cleaned out of last year’s nesting material, so that new nests can be made this season. If you’re interested in volunteering at Beidler, please email beidler@audubon.org to find out what opportunities we have available.