Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Scarlet Tanager
Scientific name:	Piranga olivacea
Date:	25October2015
Time:	5:00PM
Length of time observed:	15 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	Unknown
Sex:	Male
Location:	Utah State Highway 128 at mile 13.8
County:	Grand
Latilong:	38.681636,-109.4350505
Elevation:	~4,025 feet
Distance to bird:	15 - 30 feet
Optical equipment:	8x42 binoculars and iPhone camera
Weather:	Clear
Light Conditions:	Moderate light/shade because of cliffs on the other side of the road
Description: Size of bird:	Medium sized perching bird
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Stocky
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Greenish/gray/ yellow upperparts, yellow underparts, dark wings and top of tail
(Description:) Bill Type:	Short and somewhat stout
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Medium sized bird. Strong, not bright, yellow underparts throat to tail. Head and back greenish/gray/yellow. Bill fairly large and pale. Dark wings and tail. No wingbars. (see photo)
Song or call & method of delivery:	Was not vocalizing
Behavior:	Gleaning either insects or seeds in the ragweed between the road and the river
Habitat:	Colorado River corridor. Overlook at small side-channel. Riparian.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	American Goldfinch smaller and brighter yellow. Western Tanager slightly larger overall - winter male has dark back, winter female has grayish back. Both have wingbars. Late in season for Western Tanager.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	I have no experience with the Scarlet Tanager. I am quite familiar with the Western Tanager, who is a breeding bird in my area.
References consulted:	Online Birds of N America (Cornell) Nat Geo Field Guide to the Birds of NA
Description from:	From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Stephen J. Heinrich
Observer's address:	177 Shafer Lane HC64 Box 2913 Castle Valley Utah 84532-9136
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Glenn Kincaid saw the photo and alerted me to look at winter Scarlet Tanager. Kenneth Frisch identified the bird from a photo. kenneth.frisch@gmail.com
Date prepared:	13December2015
Additional material:	Photos
Additional_Comments:	I first saw the bird at 30'. Good views with 8x bins for 10 minutes - full frontal perspective. I could see the wings were dark, but the bird didn't change position enough to see if there were wingbars. It disappeared in the brush, then several minutes later reappeared at <15'and I took a snapshot with an iPhone. I initially thought it was a late Western Tanager, and sent the photo to Glenn. His first call was Western Tanager, and I submitted the observation as such to eBird. It was after that when I saw another note from Glenn suggesting winter Scarlet Tanager. After the bird showed on eBird's Utah Rare Report, I received a note from Kenneth, who saw the report and noted the lack of wingbars pointing to a Scarlet ID.