Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2022-40
| Common name: |
Tennessee Warbler |
| Scientific name: | Orethlylpis peregrina |
| Date: | 9-7-2022 |
| Time: | 8:00AM |
| Length of time observed: | less than a minute |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | Adult |
| Sex: | Male |
| Location: | Irrigation ditch off Castleton - Gateway Road, near Beaver Creek. |
| County: | Grand |
| Latilong: | 38.577554,-109.174554 |
| Elevation: | 8150ft |
| Distance to bird: | ~40ft |
| Optical equipment: | 10x optically stabilized binoculars |
| Weather: | Clear, sunny, slight breeze, mid 60's temp F |
| Light Conditions: | Clear, light coming from behind us. |
| Description: Size of bird: | Warbler sized |
| (Description:) Basic Shape: | Warbler shaped |
| (Description:) Overall Pattern: | Olive Green back, gray head, white underneath |
| (Description:) Bill Type: | warbler - thin |
|
(Description:)
Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics: |
We first saw this bird foraging in a scrub oak, 40 or less feet away, at
or just below our eye level. It was smaller than nearby Yellow-rumped
Warblers. It foraged in the scrub oak and flew across the ditch to an
Aspen, where it continued to move through the foliage. The initial view was from the rear. The combination of olive-green back and bright white underside indicated to me that this was not a typical bird for the area. Field marks noted verbally at the time: Olive-green back, gray cap with white supercilium extending behind the eye, all white underneath, including the undertail coverts which we had good views of. The bill was relatively thin and straight. There were no wing bars. |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | No vocalizations were heard. |
| Behavior: | Foraging in scrub oak and aspen trees, from about 4 feet to 15 feet off the ground. |
| Habitat: | Mixed, scrub oak, aspen, pine. |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
Vireos: Small size and bill shape, along with lack of wing bars eliminate
Vireos. Orange-crowned Warbler: Olive-green back with white underside and white undertail coverts eliminate Orange-crowned warbler. Other warblers: Combination of olive-green back, white underside and white undertail coverts eliminate other warblers. |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
I have seen this species several times in California. |
| References consulted: | Sibley bird App; National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America 7th Edition; Birds Of The World, Cornell Ornithology Lab |
| Description from: | From memory |
| Observer: | Glenn Kincaid |
| Observer's address: | 238 Miller Lane, Castle Valley Utah 84532 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | ** |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | Stephen Heinrich |
| Date prepared: | 9-7-2022 |
| Additional material: | |
| Additional comments: |