Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Blue-winged Warbler
Scientific name:	Vermivora pinus
Date:	7/15/26
Time:	8:25am
Length of time observed:	~25 seconds
Number:	1
Age:	unknown
Sex:	probably female
Location:	Sand Hollow Reservoir, eastside
County:	Washington
Latilong:
Elevation:	3000 ft
Distance to bird:	20-25 ft
Optical equipment:	Swarovski 8.5 x 42 binocs
Weather:	sunny, warm, no wind
Light Conditions:	Optimal: well lit from behind and beside me
Description: Size of bird:	warbler size
(Description:) Basic Shape:	warbler shape
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	yellow below, darker above
(Description:) Bill Type:	warbler bill
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Overall yellow (fairly uniform yellow below to vent, about the shade I would expect from a young or female Yellow Warbler; darker shades above) with thin dark/black eyeline; white or whitish undertail coverts; undertail predominantly if not totally white. Black eye; pointy black bill roughly same size/shape as Yellow Warbler; lower throat and upper breast each kind of "bracketed" by faintly diffuse smudges (very subtle) toward the outside (clear/unsmudged yellow in center), shaped roughly like curved arcs/crescents/semi-circles -- no straight streaking/smudging evident in underparts. Wings largely grayish with indistinct wingbars, like they were ruffled or smudged.
Song or call & method of delivery:	silent
Behavior:	Flew in close in response to my pishing
Habitat:	Willow and cottonwood near the edge of the lake, separated by a swath of lakeside reeds
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Yellow Warbler: (1) thin dark/black eyeline; (2) no obvious eyering; (3) white or whitish undertail coverts; (4) undertail predominantly if not totally white; (5) no black-yellow-black-yellow pattern in wing. Common Yellowthroat: ditto Orange-crowned Warbler: (1) black bill, probably larger; (2) white or whitish undertail coverts; (3) undertail predominantly if not totally white. Tennessee Warbler (hatch-year): (1) black bill, probably larger; (2) undertail predominantly if not totally white; (3) overall impression: structure not as compact, longer tail. In the moment I also briefly entertained Prothonotary Warbler, but I think the black eyeline rules it out.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Species: It's been 15+ years since I've seen Blue-wings. Yellow, Orange-crowned and yellowthroat frequently observed. Very limited experience with Tennessee.
References consulted:	Sibley illustrations, All About Birds photos
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Paul Hicks
Observer's address:	1630 E 2450 S #26
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	none
Date prepared:	7/15/26
Additional material:	No_additional_Materials
Additional comments:	Given the prolonged dry and hot weather I was alert to birds coming to the lake to drink. A Yellowthroat was singing from the reeds that lie between the shoreline and a single row of two willows and a larger cottonwood. Looking and moving that direction I noticed additional movement, so I assumed these would be birds coming in to drink. (Turned out later that two of these were probably Black-throated Sparrows.) So I started pishing long and insistently, fully expecting whatever birds would eventually respond. This warbler flew toward me and perched about 20-25 feet away just above eye level in a thinly leafed willow in optimal light. It stayed for several seconds to check me out, moved a couple times to a different branch, then finally flew in an inland direction where I could not relocate it. Meanwhile I got great looks at the head and underparts including undertail coverts; not the greatest look at the upperparts except I was focused on what was happening in the wingbars. (I never registered a leg color.) When it flew I got a good look at the undertail and was struck at the amount of white along the entire length. As best as I could tell, the tail appeared entirely white beneath.