Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Painted Redstart
Scientific name:	Myioborus pictus
Date:	9 June 2007
Time:	3:00 -3:20 pm
Length of time observed:	20 minutes
Number:	2
Age:	Adult pair
Sex:	male & female
Location:	Zion National Park, Riverside Walk
County:	Washington
Latilong:	unknown
Elevation:	> 4,000 feet
Distance to bird:	6-40 feet
Optical equipment:	Wind River 10X42 binoculars/ Canon E0S 8.0 w/75-300 Canon zoom
Weather:	sunny, clear, 84 degrees F
Light Conditions:	shady. under riparian canopy
Description: Size of bird:	wood warbler size, longer tailed than similar-size to Yellow Warbler
(Description:) Basic Shape:	warbler -shaped
(Description:) Overall Pattern:
(Description:) Bill Type:	small, pointed, thin
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	black on top, red belly, broad white wing patches, black tail w/wide white outer tail feathers, white eye line under the eye, sexes similar
Song or call & method of delivery:	They were silent during my observation period, but I heard them singing on the way back down the trail 30 minutes later.
Behavior:	Nest building. Gathering leaf material from the ground, stripping thin bits of bark from limbs and carrying them to hollow in a clump of grass clinging to a cliff face; about 3 feet above ground surface. Gathering material at my feet and from limbs from 3 feet to 8 feet above the ground. They took turns gathering material and going into the hole with material in their bills.
Habitat:	Riparian. Along the Riverside Trail about 100 to 200 from the end of the paved path along the Virgin river just before the Narrows begins.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	It was warbler-sized; smaller than the Warbling Vireos. The only other wood warbler with red, Red-faced, has a red face and gray back. I will send 3 photos.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Three trips (May 1976, March 1996, and April 2003) to Arizona where I have seen Painted Redstart in Madera Canyon and other similar streamside settings.
References consulted:	David Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Western North America in my room in Springdale after the walk.
Description from:	Notes taken at time of sighting
Observer:	Steve Gordon
Observer's address:	1140 W. 24th Ave., Eugene, OR 97405
Observer's e-mail address:	sgordon03@earthlink.net
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	My wife, Susan accompanied me. She also saw the birds and recognized them instantly from previous experience in Arizona.
Date prepared:	6-13-07
Additional material:	Photos, I will send hard copies and electronically
Additional comments:	This was an unexpected treat. I saw that it was rare on the Zion checklist. When I got home, I checked your Utah list and saw that you requested reports for this species. It was fun to watch them gather nesting material. I have 33 years birding experience. I am a past editor of OFO's Oregon Birds. I have contributed to Birds of Oregon: Status and Distribution, 1994, and Birds of Lane County, OSU Press, 2006. I will also send a note and photos to Zion N.P.