Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Tennessee Warbler
Scientific name:	Oreothlypis peregrina
Date:	9/5/18
Time:	9:23 AM
Length of time observed:	10 seconds
Number:	1
Age:	first-cycle
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Bountiful Pond
County:	Davis
Latilong:
Elevation:
Distance to bird:	40 feet
Optical equipment:	8x42 Leica Ultravid HD
Weather:	Sunny and clear
Light Conditions:	sun had cleared the mountains behind me lighting up the subject
Description: Size of bird:	A small warbler
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Very compact with a small very sharply pointed bill, long wings, and very short tail
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Yellowish green upperparts, dull yellow throat and flanks, whitish buff belly, bright white undertail coverts
(Description:) Bill Type:	Small, slender, sharply pointed insectivore/nectar gleaning bill
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	I was specifically looking at Oreothlypis warblers because I had seen two very dull OCWA that seemed to be good candidates for eastern OCWA. I was trying to judge the amount of variation in yellow in OCWA when this bird popped into view. In the brief glimpse I got the yellow of the underparts and the greenish of the upperparts didn't match any subspecies of OCWA, then it turned and I saw the white undertail coverts and very short tail, followed a moment later by it popping into full view in the sun and it was clear that it was a Tennessee. I grabbed the camera and got off four shots before it took off, calling as it went, moving south. In the brief views I had I observed the small, extremely sharply pointed bill, small size, long wing, very short tail, white undertail coverts, uniformly greenish yellow upperparts, and yellowish supercilium. My photos are crap and the head is obscured in all but they are still diagnostic showing: 1. White undertail coverts 2. The odd and utterly distinct narrow wing bars that many 1st cycle TEWA show in fall 3. The long wing projection 4. The whiteish buff coloration on the belly seen on many 1st cycle TEWA 5. The lack of the dull flank streaking of OCWA (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	Very high thin single note flight call give two or three times as the bird took off, thinner, sharper, and clearer than that of OCWA
Behavior:	Flitting and gleaning quickly high in a willow tree following a steady trickle of warblers that were all working their way south down the treeline
Habitat:	A small, gross treelined canal with scrubby mixed deciduous
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Short tail, long wings, and white undertail coverts are all major strikes against OCWA along with a number of other supporting traits. No other Oreothlypis warblers have a similar color scheme. Structurally and by call it was clearly a Oreothlypis so all other warblers are eliminated
Previous experience with this & similar species:	I have observed truly obscene numbers of TEWA, though far more in spring than in fall. Still many thousand in the fall and have a good grasp of the variation shown by fall TEWA. I've also seen many thousand of OCWA of all four subspecies though by far the majority have been the eastern celata.
References consulted:	None
Description from:	From memory From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Cameron Cox
Observer's address:	1479 S 35 E, Farmington UT 84025
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	None
Date prepared:	9/5/18
Additional material:	Photos
Additional comments: