Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Prothonotary Warbler
Scientific name:	Protonotaria citrea
Date:	Sep 29, 2021
Time:	11:50 a.m.
Length of time observed:	Four times across an hour or so
Number:	1
Age:	Adult
Sex:	Male
Location:	Bountiful Pond
County:	Davis
Latilong:	40.90482 111.92777
Elevation:	4196
Distance to bird:	20-30 feet
Optical equipment:	8 x 42 binoculars
Weather:	Sunny, 60 degrees
Light Conditions:	Bright; bird in dappled shade
Description: Size of bird:	Small passerine
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Small songbird
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Bright yellow head and breast; slate blue wings and tail
(Description:) Bill Type:	Insect-gleaning
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Size in similar range of other small birds that were hopping in ground-level brush including sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Bright yellow unmarked head and breast through belly. Bill somewhat longer than most warblers' bills. Black eye. Greenish tinge to nape. Blue-gray unmarked wings and tail. White under tail coverts. Did not see tail spot pattern or inner webs of retrices.
Song or call & method of delivery:	None heard.
Behavior:	Hopping in mature trees and brush along a shady canal with shallow water in it. Seen first in olives at about 15 feet high, then hopping in ground-level brush with other small birds, then flying into upper canopy of olives.
Habitat:	Shady, swampy canal lined with mature Russian olives and brush.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Bird was solid blocks of colors with no patterns in any of the colors, which eliminates all other species. Blue-winged Warbler would show a black eye line and white wing bars. American Goldfinches are raggedy and molting at this time and would show the remnants of a black beret and/or dull non-breeding plumage with wing bars. Yellow-throated Vireo would show yellow spectacles and white wingbars. Yellow Warblers would not have blue-gray wings and tail or white under-tail coverts.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Four or five previous Prothonotaries in Utah and lots of time with goldfinches and Yellow Warblers. None with Blue-winged Warbler or Yellow-throated Vireo.
References consulted:	Sibley, at home
Description from:	From memory
Observer:	Kristin Purdy
Observer's address:	Ogden, Utah
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Pomera Fronce, who spotted the bird
Date prepared:	Sep 29, 2021
Additional material:
Additional comments:	Reported in two eBird checklists today.