Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2025-29
| Common name: |
Cape May Warbler |
| Scientific name: | Dendroica tigrina |
| Date: | May 25, 2025 |
| Time: | 9:30 am |
| Length of time observed: | Approximately 30 minutes |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | Adult |
| Sex: | Male |
| Location: | Sand Island Campground, Bluff, Utah Loop A campsites 5 and 6 |
| County: | San Juan |
| Latilong: | |
| Elevation: | 4350 feet |
| Distance to bird: | 30 feet but slightly variable |
| Optical equipment: | Swarovski EL 10x42; Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42; cameras with telephoto lens |
| Weather: | Sunny, warm, slight breeze |
| Light Conditions: | Mid-morning full sunlight |
| Description: Size of bird: | Approximately 5 inches |
| (Description:) Basic Shape: | Warbler |
| (Description:) Overall Pattern: | Mix of black, yellows, chestnut, white |
| (Description:) Bill Type: |
Short, sharp, thin |
|
(Description:)
Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics: |
Chestnut cheek patch; Yellow throat and breast with bold black streaks;
black top of head; yellow eyeline; yellow neck; white wing patch; some
white on undertail coverts (see photo) |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | Very high pitched chips |
| Behavior: | Flitting about foliage mostly. Appeared to be feeding on something on the leaves and perhaps seeds of cottonwood |
| Habitat: | Riparian cottonwood |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
Only similar species that originally came to mind was a Blackburnian warbler, but the yellow throat with streaks and the bright yellow neck seemed to rule out the Blackburnian which has no streaks on the throat and has orange about the head |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
Cape May warbler seen once in Minnesota 12 years ago. Blackburnian warbler seen twice(Ecuador, 2012; Minnesota, 2013). Another 44 North American wood warbler species seen over the last 18 years or so. |
| References consulted: | National Geographic "Field Guides to the Birds of North America" |
| Description from: |
From memory From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting |
| Observer: | Philip Kemp |
| Observer's address: | 17562 Road 27.7, Dolores Colorado, 81323 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | ** |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | Taylor McKinnon (SW Director Center for Biological Diversity); |
| Date prepared: | May 28, 2025 |
| Additional material: | Photo |
| Additional comments: | My wife first heard the bird and also clearly observed it. Taylor McKinnon's wife (?) also photographed the bird with a telephoto lens. |