Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Northern Cardinal
Scientific name:	Cardinalis cardinalis
Date:	2/29/2020
Time:	10:35am
Length of time observed:	5 minutes
Number:	1
Age:	adult
Sex:	male
Location:	Strawberry Reservoir--Strawberry River
County:	Wasatch
Latilong:	40.127729, -111.027191
Elevation:	7450
Distance to bird:	100yd
Optical equipment:	Vortex Diamondback 10x42
Weather:	~30º
Light Conditions:	good light (bright, diffused from clouds)
Description: Size of bird:	8-10 inches long (bill to tail tip)
(Description:) Basic Shape:	round body; prominent crest; rectangular tail
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	color pattern: red with black mask and orange bill
(Description:) Bill Type:	thick, triangular
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:
Song or call & method of delivery:
Behavior:	perched in thick brush, foraging, flew away after a few minutes
Habitat:	thick brush in snowy conifer forest
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	There are no similar species in the area (bright red songbirds). They are pretty hard to confuse with anything else.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	I grew up in Texas, where northern cardinals are probably the most common backyard bird. Many pairs have nested in my yard and I've seen them countless times around where I lived.
References consulted:	none
Description from:	notes taken at time of sighting + memory
Observer:	Audrey Horn
Observer's address:	552 N 500 E Provo. Utah 84606
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Emily Thueson Francis
Date prepared:	9/23/2024
Additional material:	none
Additional comments:	I apologize for my lack of evidence besides my memory, though Emily remembers seeing the bird too. At the time I was still new to Utah and official birding records which is why it's taken me so long to submit this sighting, but obviously it was striking and strange enough that I still remember it years later!