Day 149: Golden-winged Warbler

I have a really special bird for you today, and one that took a LOT of effort for us to photograph! The Golden-winged Warbler is a small but beautiful warbler that breeds in eastern North America. Specifically, it breeds in higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains and northeastern and north-central U.S., with another population from southeastern Ontario and adjacent Quebec northwest to Minnesota and Manitoba.

Male birds are stunning, with a black throat, black ear patch bordered in white, and a yellow crown and wing patch. Golden-winged Warblers breed in open scrubby areas, wetlands, and occasionally mature forest adjacent to those habitats. Populations are declining, most likely as a result of habitat loss and competition/interbreeding with the very closely related Blue-winged Warbler (which I will post about later).

Last weekend, we were hiking in western Maryland (close to West Virginia) in an area where Golden-winged Warblers have been seen before. Jared really wanted to see, or at least hear one, so we kept searching. Finally, he heard one call off in the distance - success! Luckily, we were able to find it, and managed to get some great photos before it flew off!