A boldly marked warbler with a color pattern all its own, Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are slim, silvery gray birds with golden flashes on the head and wings. Females are similar, but lack the male’s black mask and bib. They breed in wet, shrubby tangles of the Upper Midwest and Appalachians, and spend winters in open woodlands and shade-coffee plantations. Golden-winged Warblers have suffered one of the steepest population declines of any songbird species in the past 45 years, but partners in the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group have a conservation plan to stop the decline, and grow the population 50% by the year 2050. They often hybridize with Blue-winged Warblers can producing a mostly light gray form (“Brewster’s”) or a mostly golden form (“Lawrence’s”). The Blue-winged Warbler has been expanding its range, and hybridization has been one element in the sharp decline of Golden-winged Warblers. Food items include caterpillars, moths and other insects, and spiders. Leafroller caterpillars appear to be an important food source. Golden-winged Warblers feed among the foliage by probing with their sharp bills into rolled-up leaves to find hidden prey. They only rarely catch insects on the wing. Females probably select the nest site, which is typically on the ground in a grassy opening or along the shaded edge of a field near a forest border. The nest is typically well concealed by overhead grasses and leafy material.
When I went to place the cache, there was a Yellow Warbler singing nearby, but since I already have a cache called Yellow Warbler, I noticed that the area on the other side of the ditch was typical Golden-winged Warbler habitat, hence the name. The container is a camouflaged pill bottle with enough room for a log, and maybe a couple of very small trade items, so you will need your own writing tool. I would prefer to put out larger sizes, but the pill bottle fit perfectly. There is a business across the road, so stealth may be required. Plenty of parking is available on the road shoulder. Please do not park on the paved turn lane.