Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Winter Wren
Scientific name:	Troglodytes hiemalis
Date:	13 Feb 2023
Time:	ca. 1:20 pm
Length of time observed:	ca. 5 minutes, on/off
Number:	1
Age:	? presumed adult
Sex:	?
Location:	A couple hundred feet above the gate in City Creek Canyon
County:	Salt Lake
Latilong:	40.79264, -111.87718
Elevation:	4700 ft
Distance to bird:	ca. 40 feet
Optical equipment:	Leica 10x42 trinovid binocs
Weather:	Sunny
Light Conditions:	Good.
Description: Size of bird:	Small wren
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Troglodytes wren - plump body with short tail held upright
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Brown above (with some barring), pale tan below, with some speckling
(Description:) Bill Type:	Thin and dark--typical Troglodytes shape
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	I've seen a lot of Pacific wrens, but never one with so few rufous tones to the eyebrow, throat, and upper breast. The throat especially was very pale. Frankly, I think this is on the pale half of the spectrum for a Winter wren. The photos taken by us using Lauri's Nikon camera sometimes appear more rufous than was apparent to the eye (as modern cameras love to "fix" the image automatically, especially when snow is present), but other photos captured the pale buffy color we saw. -- Undersides pale tan, with slight rufous wash on the upper breast below the throat. There were dark marks on the flanks that seemed to be trying to form bars but were mostly more like elongated spots/dashes. -- Uppersides were rufousy brown with black and white barring/speckling -- Lower edge of folded wing had a white wing bar with black barring -- The vent area below the tail (very aft on this species) was whitish with black barring/spotting -- dark iris (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	Calls matched that of Cornell's Winter wren recordings better than that of the Pacific wren. Both single and double chinks
Behavior:	Skulky, in the manner of the genus. Flitting among the dense undergrowth along the banks of the creek, usually within inches of the ground, but occasionally coming up onto higher branches. Never more than about 6-7 feet from the ground. Oddly, it stayed perched still on a branch, where it was visible for several minutes, while we tried to take photos of it that didn't focus on the branchlets in front of it.
Habitat:	Dense undergrowth and tangles along a creek bank. There was an overhead woodland canopy of trees (Maples??), but that was fairly open.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Only species around here (especially in the winter) with this shape and similar coloration is the Pacific wren. I realize this is a tricky ID. I also know a Pacific wren was reported in the area a couple of days earlier (not that the two can't coexist in winter), and indeed we were seeking that species when Lauri spotted this bird. Pacific wren should have displayed a more rufous wash to the eyebrow, upper breast and throat. Also, the bird call matched Cornell's Winter wren recordings better than those of the Pacific wren.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	According to eBird, I have seen/recorded the Winter wren 13 times, in this state an back East. I have seen/recorded the Pacific wren 28 times, the Eurasian wren 37 times (in Europe).
References consulted:	National Geographic guide, Sibley guide, and internet photos (all after the fact, in the car and at home). Also used human references, sending photos to a couple folks I consider experts --they were either noncommittal or agreed with our ID.
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	David Wheeler
Observer's address:	2196 S 1000 E, SLC, UT
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Lauri Taylor
Date prepared:	18 May 2023
Additional material:	Photos
Additional comments:	[I wish we had recorded it in retrospect, now that I know how easy that is to do.]