Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)

Golden-winged Warbler [lateral view of male]: Photograph Credit: Rickey Shive; Pulliam Hollow, Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 16 September 2018.

Abundance: Very Uncommon Transient; Rare Summer Resident; recorded in 22 Regional counties, 7 in Kentucky and 15 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); Regional data quite thin but suggest a highly negative trend in the very small remaining Regional breeding population, while data regarding the migratory population in the Region are insufficient to determine a trend, though that trend, if available, would likely be highly negative as well (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during spring and fall; currently, a Rare Summer Resident on the plateau, much reduced from numbers present there prior to 1970; formerly, an Uncommon to Very Uncommon Summer Resident on the Cumberland Plateau; .

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 22 (7–8 May 1966; Cumberland County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.; Note: a 2-day "count"); Highest Recent SBC/SBB High Count: 4 (13 May 1995; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.; FBC/FBB High Count: 3 (15 September 2007/20 September 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC in each case]; m. ob./m. ob).

Historical Records (through 2000):

x

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually complete by 5 May; fall departure largely complete by 25 September.  In counties where this species does not breed, the date by which spring departure is complete is about 15 May, while the date by which fall arrival is widespread is about 10 September. Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: x

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 0 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 1 (of 206 possible) check-list during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Rare for the latter year; it appears that the Golden-wing is even less likely to be encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: x

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited