Prothonotary Warbler

Table

Prothonotary Warbler – Accepted
1. 25 May 1953	ASY	Mission Canyon SBA	1984-068	9	SBMNH 160
2. 22 May 1963		Shandon SLO	1984-201	10	MVZ 151085
3. 02–06 Oct 1966		Morro Bay State Park SLO	1986-059	10
4. 03–07 Dec 1967		Willow Creek mouth MTY	1977-124	4	ph., Roberson (1980, 1985)
5. 30 Aug 1969		San Francisco SF	1987-232	14
6. 27 Sep 1969		Pt. Loma SD	1986-130	11
7. 05–06 Sep 1970	AHY	Deep Springs INY	1981-012	7	SDNHM 37621, San Miguel (1971)
8. 12 Sep 1971		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1987-341	14
9. 25–28 May 1974		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1974-062	3	ph., Roberson (1980)
10. 09 Jun 1974		San Nicolas I. VEN	1980-143	6
11. 28 Sep 1974		Santa Cruz SCZ	1975-038	3
12. 03 Oct 1975		Pt. Reyes MRN	1975-039	3
13. 01–08 Jun 1977		Tijuana R. valley SD	1978-048	5
14. 11 Jun 1977		Oasis MNO	1977-069	4
15. 17–18 Aug 1977		Oasis MNO	1978-037	4
16. 12 Oct 1977		Zuma Canyon LA	1978-030	4
17. 29 Oct–05 Nov 1977		Stovepipe Wells INY	1978-016	4	ph., Roberson (1980, in silhouette)
18. 19 May 1978		Tijuana R. valley SD	1980-072	6
19. 27–28 Aug 1978		Kelso SBE	1987-351	14	ph.
20. 29 Sep 1978		McKinleyville HUM	1986-305	14	HSU 7226
21. 06 Oct 1978		Pt. Loma SD	1980-076	6
22. 30 Dec 1978–10 Mar 1979		Santa Barbara SBA	1979-041	5
23. 23 May 1979		Oasis MNO	1979-060	5
24. 01 Jun 1979		Pt. Loma SD	1980-158	6
25. 20–28 Sep 1979		Gaviota SBA	1980-117	6	ph.
26. 08–16 Oct 1979		vic. Palo Verde RIV	1988-101	14
27. 10 Oct 1979		Pt. Loma SD	1986-369	12
28. 23 Oct 1979		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1980-022	6
29. 03 Nov 1979		Año Nuevo State Reserve SM	1980-195	7
30. 16–21 Sep 1980		Tijuana R. valley SD	1980-184	7
31. 17–21 Sep 1980		Rodeo Lagoon MRN	1981-027	7	ph., Binford (1985)
32. 27 Sep 1980		Morongo Valley SBE	1987-329	14
33. 10 Oct 1980		Pt. Loma SD	1988-232	17
34. 18 Oct 1980		Carmel R. mouth MTY	1987-234	14
35. 18 Oct 1980		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1987-227	14
36. 20–23 Oct 1980		Golden Gate Park SF	1981-028	7	ph.
37. 28–29 May 1981		Oasis MNO	1981-067	7	ph.
38. 12–16 Sep 1981	HY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	1987-109	14	ph.
39. 19 Sep 1981		Morongo Valley SBE	1983-024	8
40. 03–04 Oct 1981		Westwood Village LA	1982-021	8
41. 08–11 Oct 1981		Doheny State Park ORA	1986-256	11
42. 24–25 May 1982		Santa Barbara I. SBA	1982-067	8
43. 02–03 Jun 1982		Goleta SBA	1982-053	8	ph.
44. 14 Sep 1982		San Diego SD	1982-083	8
45. 18–19 Sep 1982		southern Samoa Peninsula HUM	1986-167	12
46. 30 Sep 1982		Pt. Reyes MRN 1983-034/1986-186	8,14	ph.
47. 03 Oct 1982		Baker SBE	1983-015	8
48. 08 Oct 1982		Pt. Loma SD	1982-115	8
49. 09 Oct 1982		San Diego SD	1986-267	12
50. 24 Nov 1982–06 Mar 1983		Loleta bottoms HUM	1986-427	12
51. 18 Sep 1983		Malibu LA	1983-063	9
52. 23 Sep 1983		Lanphere Dunes HUM	1986-476	12	ph.
53. 19–20 Oct 1983		Morro Bay State Park SLO	1984-039	9
54. 19–20 May 1984		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1984-097	9
55. 26 May 1984		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1986-236	11
56. 01–07 Sep 1984		Oceano SLO	1984-267	10
57. 16–18 Sep 1984		Oxnard VEN	1984-268	10
58. 19 Sep 1984		Pt. Fermin LA	1986-297	12
59. 25 Sep 1984		Pt. Loma SD	1984-239	10
60. 03 Oct 1984		Scotty’s Castle INY	1984-241	10
61. 13–14 Oct 1984		Baker SBE	1987-352	14	ph., one of two reported
62. 20 Oct 1984		Stovepipe Wells INY	1986-232	11
63. 14 May 1985		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1985-109	10
64. 02–18 Sep 1985		Carpinteria SBA	1985-150	11
65. 15–21 Sep 1985		Carpinteria SBA	1985-149	11
66. 15 Sep 1985		Lee Vining MNO	1987-305	14
67. 13–19 Oct 1985		Cambria SLO	1986-003	11
68. 18 Oct 1985		Inglewood LA	1986-079	11
69. 27 Oct 1985		Oceano SLO	1987-255	11
70. 17–24 Nov 1985		Smith River DN	1985-164	11
71. 11–16 Sep 1986		McKinleyville HUM	1986-434	12,14
72. 13–20 Sep 1986		Pacific Grove MTY	1986-367	12
73. 18–21 Sep 1986		Pt. Reyes MRN	1986-380	12	ph.
74. 16–25 Oct 1986		Wilmington LA	1986-439	12	ph.
75. 17–22 Oct 1986		Oceano SLO	1986-423	12
76. 25 Jan–20 Mar 1987		San Diego SD	1987-185	13
77. 10 May 1987		Butterbredt Spring KER	1987-135	12
78. 28 May 1987		California City KER	1987-144	12
79. 28 May 1987		Oceano SLO	1987-161	12
80. 03 Sep 1987		Whitewater R., Salton Sea RIV	1987-281	13
81. 05 Sep 1987		Red Hill, Salton Sea IMP	1988-053	13
82. 05–11 Sep 1987		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1987-284	13	ph.
83. 02–03 Oct 1987		Galileo Hill KER	1988-048	29	ph.
84. 09 Oct 1987		Harper Dry Lake SBE	1990-207	15	SBCM 51702
85. 22 May 1988		Oasis MNO	1988-146	13
86. 04 Sep 1988		Morro Bay State Park SLO	1988-236	13
87. 29 Sep 1988		Pt. Reyes MRN	1988-217	13
88. 12 Nov 1988		Oceano SLO	1989-072	13
89. 01 Sep 1989	HY	La Jolla SD	1992-099	15	SDNHM 46026
90. 12–16 Sep 1989		Mojave KER	1989-187	15
91. 15–27 Sep 1989		Carpinteria SBA	1989-158	15	ph.
92. 27–29 Sep 1989		Westminister ORA	1990-040	15
93. 29–30 Sep 1989		~3 mi. s Half Moon Bay SM	1989-159	15
94. 30 Sep–04 Oct 1989		Oceano SLO	1989-160	15
95. 23 Oct 1989	HY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	1989-175	15	ph.
Prothonotary Warbler – Not accepted, identification not established
27 May 1967		off San Diego SD	2004-571	14,30	in Baja California waters; see Jehl (1977)
30 Sep–11 Oct 1979		Malibu LA	1987-152	16,30
05 Oct 1983		Goleta SBA	1983-129	10
23 Oct 1986		Tijuana R. valley SD	1987-037	14
18–30 Aug 1988		San Nicolas I. VEN	1989-026	17
Prothonotary Warbler – Not submitted
13 Jan 1951		El Monte LA			Long (1993)
06 May 1963		Morongo Valley SBE		14	AFN 17:435
04 Nov 1967		Pt. Loma SD		14	Unitt (2004)
25–27 Oct 1972		Coronado SD			AB 27:123
29 May–02 Jun 1978		San Diego SD		14	AB 32:1056
21 Sep 1981		San Pedro LA		14	AB 36:219
27 Sep 1981		Pasadena LA		14	AB 36:219
29 Sep 1983		Pacific Palisades LA		14	AB 38:248
13–14 Oct 1984		Baker SBE			AB 39:104, see table entry 61
18 May 1985		Pt. Loma SD		14	AB 39:351
20–21 Sep 1986		Pt. Loma SD			AB 41:146
25 Oct 1987		Pt. Loma SD		14	AB 42:138

Figures

Figure 286. After many years on the Committee’s review list, the Prothonotary Warbler was removed in 1989 after 95 records had accumulated, most pertaining to fall vagrants. A distinctive bird, the Prothonotary maintained a healthy acceptance rate of 95%. This first-spring female was photographed in April 1993 at Corn Spring, Riverside County (Brian E. Small).

Figure 408. Distribution of 95 Prothonotary Warblers accepted through 1989. Most were found along the southern and central coast with an inland concentration at Furnace Creek Ranch, Inyo County. The species is extremely rare north of Marin County.

Prothonotary Warbler

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER Protonotaria citrea (Boddaert, 1783)

Accepted: 95 (95%)	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 5	CBRC review: records through 1989
Not submitted/reviewed: 12	Large color image: see Figures

This warbler breeds in lowlands from southeastern Minnesota and eastern Kansas east to New Jersey in the north, and from south-central Texas east to central Florida in the south. The range extends locally north through the Midwest to extreme southern Ontario and south to southern Florida. Migration is mainly across the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to wintering grounds in coastal areas from southern Veracruz and the Yucatan Peninsula south to northern South America. The species winters casually as far north as the southern United States, with exceptional records from Illinois and Bermuda. Vagrants occur casually across the West, mainly along the Pacific coast between southern British Columbia and northern Baja California Sur. The northernmost records come from Labrador, northern Ontario, southeastern Manitoba, and southern Saskatchewan; southerly vagrants have reached Clipperton Atoll, the Galapagos Islands, and Brazil.

California’s first Prothonotary Warbler was an adult male collected on 25 May 1953 in Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County (Hillman and Erickson 1954). From 1977 to 1989, records averaged 6.3 ± 1.9SD annually in California, prompting cessation of CBRC review in 1989. Most records come from the southern and central coast, and very few come from the state’s northern third (Figure 408). Surprisingly, for a species with a largely southeastern breeding range, only one-fifth of the accepted records (19 of 95) involve spring vagrants (10 May–11 June). Spring records currently extend from 1 May (Orick, Humboldt County in 1992; Harris 2006) to 18 June (Vista, San Diego County in 2005; NAB 59:656). Fall vagrants account for three out of every four accepted records (73 of 95); bracketing dates are 17 August and 7 December, with a peak from mid September through mid October. The post-review period has produced two summer/early fall records of single birds: 22 July–19 August 1993 in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County (Lehman 1994), and 4–5 August 2005 at the Cosumnes River Preserve, Sacramento County (NAB 60:137). A bird present from 12 to 15 December 2003 in San Diego, San Diego County (Unitt 2004), may have been a late fall vagrant.

Five records, three reviewed by the CBRC, involve known or likely overwintering: a female in Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, 30 December 1978–10 March 1979; Loleta bottoms, Humboldt County, 24 November 1982–6 March 1983; a female in San Diego, San Diego County, 25 January–20 March 1987; Pacific Grove, Monterey County, 29 March 1994 (Roberson 2002); and a male in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, 24 February–24 April 1996 (FN 50:225, 334).