Prothonotary Warbler, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio

We found a very cooperative Prothonotary Warbler along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area on the Erie shore in Ohio. One of those ones that starts out close and comes closer…all but too close for my 4 foot close focus. When processing the images I was struck with how much a Prothonotary Warbler in certain poses looks like one of those marshmallow candy chicks…Peeps. And of course I had to share that profound insight…which made a Day Poem.

Going through my photos from the morning

I came to a series of shots of a Prothonotary

Warbler, doing that thing where it sits on a

branch facing you and puffs its feathers out

so it is perfectly round, and it’s beak is all

forshortened against its face, and it has those

big black eyes like candy buttons and I thought,

“it looks just like one of those marshmallow

chicken chicks…” Peeps, I think they are

called. Prothonopeep? Peeponotary Warbler?

Something like that. I shared it with the

ZEISS crew and Melissa and Catherine

burst out laughing. I said, “you will never

be able to eat a Peep again.” Melissa said,

“I don’t eat Peeps anyway.” And Catherine

said, “Yes but you will never be able to

unsee that.” Prothonopeep or Peeponatary

Warbler, either way, either one. Indelible.

Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ ISO 160 @ f4. Processed in Polarr.