In lowland environments and close to water, the beautiful Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is not hard to find once migration season gets under way. Up here on the Turrialba Volcano slope it’s a different story, and just one day after ash from the erupting volcano fell for only the second time ever in my village of San Antonio (1300 m) I find a handsome male Prothonotary in the first bottle-brush tree across the road from my garden gate.

Yellow breast contrasting with grey wings is the hallmark of the Prothonotary Warbler

The photo above is by courtesy of Allan Beer and comes from one of our bird-banding mornings at CATIE, Turrialba.

Migration is now in full swing throughout our area with first arrivals here in San Antonio of old friends from the north such as Summer Tanager, Tennessee Warbler and Red-eyed Vireo.