"Blue (Great Blue Heron)"

Oil on board

48 x 32

Available

Robert spotted this Great Blue Heron at Presquile National Wildlife Refuge while volunteering with the VCU Rice Center’s Prothonotary Warbler Project. Long-term studies on the migratory patterns and breeding habits of the Prothonotary Warbler along the lower James River is a major ongoing research focus for the VCU Rice Center.

Populations of the Prothonotary Warbler, the only eastern warbler to nest in tree cavities, are declining over much of their historic breeding range in response to degradation and destruction of lowland forests and associated wetlands. In Virginia they are most commonly found nesting along tidal tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay.

More than 450 nest boxes have been installed in appropriate habitats in the tidal freshwater region of the James River, including in the vicinity of the VCU Rice Center. The boxes are monitored annually during the warbler’s breeding period and provide invaluable information on the breeding biology of this species.

It is likely the nest box program has increased the numbers of Prothonotary Warblers nesting in eastern Virginia. Over the life of the project, more than 50 undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members and volunteers have participated in this ongoing research, which has produced more than 14 peer-reviewed publications and has received national
scientific and media attention.