BSBO
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    • Birding Ohio
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Mission and Vision Statement
    • Equality and Diversity Policy
    • BSBO Board of Directors
    • BSBO Staff
    • New Brand Launch
    • Visit BSBO >
      • Directions
      • Building Improvements
      • Anna Macke Mikolajczyk Window On Wildlife
      • John Gallagher Memorial Birding Trail
    • eNews
    • BSBO Blogs >
      • BSBO CONSERVATION BLOG
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
      • BSBO Education and Outreach Blog
    • Contact Us
  • Support BSBO
    • Donate
    • Join or Renew
    • BSBO Swamp Shop
    • Education Center
    • Sponsor A Mist Net
    • Help BSBO while you shop
    • Birds and Business Alliance
    • Birder Tea Fundraiser
  • RESEARCH
    • Peer-Reviewed Publications
    • Songbird Research >
      • Migration Monitoring >
        • Migration Tracking
      • Prothonotary Warbler Research
      • Building Collision Study
      • Oak Openings
    • Morning Flight Count
    • Project SNOWstorm >
      • About Project SNOWstorm
      • Meet Buckeye
      • Meet Wolverine
    • Research Highlights >
      • Gray-Cheeked Thrush from Colombia, South America
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
    • Past Research >
      • Colonial Wading Birds
      • Ohio Winter Bird Atlas
      • Shorebirds
    • Reports >
      • Annual Project Reports
      • Navarre Marsh Annual Banding and Survey Data
    • Research Volunteer Form
    • Research Volunteer Page
  • EDUCATION
    • Bird Migration Profiles
    • Family Activities >
      • Free Online Resources
    • Young Birders >
      • Ohio Young Birders Club
      • Youth Birding Camps
    • Teachers >
      • Songbird Banding and Migration Programs
      • Students Against Balloon Releases
    • Group Programs >
      • Presentations by Request
    • BSBO Bird Knowins
  • Conservation
    • BioBlitzes
    • Bird-safe / Birder-friendly Communities
    • Responsible Wind Energy
    • Conservation Updates
    • Position Statement on Feral and Free-Ranging Cats
    • Habitat Designations
    • Easy Ways for YOU to Support Conservation
  • EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
    • Birding with BSBO >
      • BSBO's Biggest Week In American Birding
      • Frequent Flyer Birding
      • Lake Erie Pelagics
    • Birds at Home
    • Highway Clean-up
    • Calendar of Events
  • NW OHIO BIRDING
    • Responsible Owl Viewing
    • Regional Bird Checklist
    • Timing of Spring Migration
    • Timing of Fall Migration
    • Timing of Fall Shorebird Migration
    • Spring Migration Wave Theory
    • ABA Code of Birding Ethics
    • Birding Ohio

The Status of Prothonotary Warbler

Over the last 60 years Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) (PROW) has experienced range-wide population declines and has been designated a priority species by Partners in Flight with the goal of reversing population declines (Carter et al 1996). In the State of Ohio, PROW is listed as a species of concern (Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife 2020) where the breeding population “has changed substantially during the 20th century” (Rodewald et al 2016). Additionally, PROW is listed as a species of concern in Michigan and is federally listed as endangered in Canada, which encompasses the entirety of PROW’s range due north of Ohio (Michigan Natural Features Inventory 2020, COSEWIC 2016).

Support Our Research Today

Prothonotaries and BSBO

BSBO has conducted long-term monitoring of neotropical migrants since 1991 in the Navarre Marsh Unit (Navarre) of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ottawa County, Ohio. We have documented PROW nesting in the buttonbush swamp and beach ridge habitats and observed family groups during MAPS banding work throughout BSBO’s bird banding research station. Navarre is an important breeding site for this species, but it is also likely an important migrant stopover site, evidenced by annual influxes of PROW during the peak of spring and fall migration according to BSBO’s banding data. In recent years, PROW encounters in Navarre have increased during both spring and fall migration indicating a possible expansion of the local population or populations to the north.​
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Research Goals

BSBO's Prothonotary Warbler research will help illuminate our understanding of the species' springtime migratory movements and population dynamics near the northern end of their range. Using banding techniques and automated Motus tracking technology, we will collect data on stopover duration in the Navarre Marsh and where tagged individuals travel when they leave. Of particular interest is identifying what routes to more northerly breeding grounds are employed (trans-Lake Erie, circum-Lake Erie, island-hopping, etc.) along with identifying other PROW movements and breeding locations within the local region. Results of this project will be published in a peer-reviewed ornithological journal, shared with land management agencies, and communicated with members of the general public, the birding community, and the bird banding community.
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Funding

We are deeply grateful to the Kirtland Bird Club, Inland Bird Banding Association, and the Ohio Ornithological Society for awarding BSBO $1,000 each for our upcoming research into Prothonotary Warblers. We are working towards our goal of an additional $7,500 to cover the scope of the project. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to be part of helping us achieve this goal. 
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Thank You for your contribution!

Mark and Cheryl Klimek 
Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman
Frank Merritt
Craig Caldwell 
Gloria Bando 
Bernice Jackson 
Lisa Brohl
Marie Rust
Erica Reese
Kris Reutzel
Debbie Vessels
Carolyn Garber
​Bev Walborn
Pamela Ciccone
David Descutner
Bob Scott Placier
Donna Schulman
Linda Rockwell
Louanne Koch
Kay Darnell
Jim Sloan
Paula Lozano
Doug LeVasseur
Kristi Luzader​​
Tina Frey

​Erik Bruhnke
Kevin Loughlin
David Johnson
Mary Eyman
Jeff Cox
Nancy Bogart
Cindy Steffen
Allison Hilf
Carrie Jones
Jo-Anne Bellemer
Bryan Smith
Julie Wittmer
Jennifer Rycenga
Peggy Macres
Katie Andersen
Joyce Stefancic
Anita Manzeck
Katie Ware
Brian Parsons
Liz Copeland
Mike Parr
​​Johanna Hull
Paula Goldberg
Chad Williams
Jeremy Efroymson
Amy Girten
Nancy Hawley
Lillian and Don Stokes
Jill Noll
Christine Manzey
Tyler Connell
Priscilla Morrill
Stephen Ingraham
Larry Wilson
Anna Dissanayaka
Kathy O’Connor
Shawn Graff
Liz McQuaid
Joyce Penny
Marsha Penner
Thomas Kuenzli
Beth Cooper
Lisa Velasquez
​​Linda Cherkassky
Alan Green
Melissa Wales
Monica Essenmacher
Carlton Schooley
Mindy Sykes
Trudy Aleksander
Paula Reich
Janet Baker Hughes
Betsy McCaskey
Deanna Lammie
Pat Folsom
Nancy Andersen
Stella Hansen
Mindy Kaufman
Diane Friedman
Vince Capozziello
Michelle Schisler
David Lewis
Deb Schelling
Daniel Parsons
Barbara Eshbaugh
Lance Woodworth

Progress:

Prothonotary Tagging Spring 2023 - 6 tags deployed

Prothonotary Tagging Spring 2022 - 11 tags deployed

Prothonotary Tagging Spring 2021 - 14 tags deployed

BSBO Installs its First Motus Tower - 2021

Other Data Gathered from BSBO

Based on BSBO 30+ years of bird banding data, we have been able to generate detailed timing graphs for many migrant species traveling through the marshes of Northwest Ohio in spring and fall. These graphs and accounts have been assembled into one location for the first time ever and made public through our BSBO Bird Migration Profiles. From this data, our research department is able to approximate when Prothonotary Warblers will be migrating through the region and the peak times to perform our research. 
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We are located at the entrance of the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area
| 13551 W. State Route 2  |  Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449  |  419.898.4070  |