Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2026-97
| Common name: |
Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Scientific name: | Setophaga pensylvanica |
| Date: | 26 October 2026 |
| Time: | 5:21 pm |
| Length of time observed: | about 6 minutes (based on photo time stamps) |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | Immature |
| Sex: | ? |
| Location: | On Blue Lakes Road about 6.5 miles NW of Last Chance Road. |
| County: | Tooele |
| Latilong: | 40.40168, -114.00153 |
| Elevation: | 4290 feet above mean sea level |
| Distance to bird: | Ranging between 40 to 100 feet |
| Optical equipment: | Leica 10x42 Trinovid binoculars |
| Weather: | Partly cloudy |
| Light Conditions: | Low angle sun coming from behind us and to the west (left) |
| Description: Size of bird: | Standard New World wood-warbler size |
| (Description:) Basic Shape: | Standard New World wood-warbler shape |
| (Description:) Overall Pattern: | Lime-yellow/green above, whitish with hints of soft gray wash below |
| (Description:) Bill Type: | Insectivorous gleaner -- thin, fairly short |
|
(Description:)
Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics: |
As soon as I saw this bird fly across the road and land in a greasewood
bush, I called to Lauri to grab the cameras (in a selfless effort to
make the Committee's work easier... ahem). I am therefore going to rely
mostly on my photos to prove the case. But here also are some notes from
my eBird list, supplemented by some photo observations: -- lime-yellow-green above [from cap to rump, very subtly streaked dark on the back] -- whitish gray below [though photos show some faint yellow wash on the flanks behind the legs -- complete and prominent pale eye ring [on a face that was gray below the eye and greenish above] -- two strong yellow-infused wing bars [on dark wings] -- much white under the [dark] tail -- [legs dark gray] -- [bill mostly dark with some pale tones along the edges and base of the lower mandible] -- foraging in the greasewood/saltbrush 6.5 miles NW of Last Chance Road, tail often cocked almost wren-like -- not very shy (see photos) |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | Silent |
| Behavior: | Foraging (gleaning) in the greasewood, sometimes hopping onto the ground. |
| Habitat: | Sparse greasewood bushes growing in a salty silt mudflat next to a gravel road. |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
Outside of the tropics, there really isn't anything very similar on this
continent. But I'll throw in some vaguely similar oddities just so I am
not accused of laziness: Verdin: wrong shape, juvenile lacks wing bars and is not this brightly green Empids: don't glean or skulk, not lime green, posture more vertical Hutton's vireo: too drab, lacks pale gray-white undersides, bill too stubby Kinglets: ditto Other green-above, pale-below vireos: most have pale eyebrow stripes, gray crowns, thicker bills |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
According to eBird, I've seen this species on
35 occasions in various corners of this hemisphere. |
| References consulted: | At the time, nothing but the memory of all the times I reviewed this species on the Committee. After we got back to the car, we double-checked my memory with the National Geographic guide. |
| Description from: | Notes made later |
| Observer: | David Wheeler |
| Observer's address: | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Observer's e-mail address: | ** (for another couple months) |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | Lauri Taylor |
| Date prepared: | 30 October 2026 |
| Additional material: | Photos |
| Additional comments: | Apologies to Milt and Vernon for adding to their already daunting pile of October records. Courage, November is nearly upon us... |