Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Western Flycatcher
Scientific name:	Empidonax sp.
Date:	January 15, 2006
Time:	0850-0915 hours
Length of time observed:	20-25 minutes
Number:	one
Age:	adult
Sex:	unknown
Location:	Red Hills Golf Course, St. George, Utah
County:	Washington
Latilong:
Elevation:	approximately 2700 ft.
Distance to bird:	20-100 ft.
Optical equipment:	8x30's (Webb) and 10 powers (Rick and Tim)
Weather:	Cool and clear
Light Conditions:	Good
Description: Size of bird:	Approximately 5.5 to 5.75 inches
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Flycatcher shape
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Olive to gray
(Description:) Bill Type:	Flycatching
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Head: olive-gray Face: grayish Bill: upper mandible was dark, lower mandible was yellowish-orange entirely Back: olive colored Tail: slightly notched; dark with outer 1-2 feathers cream-colored. Flipped the tail upwards frequently. Eye: dark; light colored eye-ring, slightly tear-drop shape posteriorly Belly: light colored as was the neck Flanks: olive-gray Primaries: dark and short, only reaching to base of tail Size: noticeably larger than both the Common Bushtits and Lesser Goldfinches that occasionally shared the same bush--not as yellow as the female goldfinches and more olive than the gray of the bushtits.
Song or call & method of delivery:	None heard while we were watching it.
Behavior:	Actively fly-catching from creosote and mesquite bushes and cottonwood tree at edge of golf course green.
Habitat:	Typical golf course with greens lined with desert-type vegetation.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Gray Flycatcher- More gray overall rather than olive. Gray moves the tail downward rather than upward. Also has an inconspicuous eye ring rather than tear-drop shaped. Dusky Flycatcher- Has a bicolored bill, narrow white eye-ring, thinner bill; winter bird shows much more yellow than the one we were watching. Hammonds Flycatcher: has a slight, tear-drop shaped eye-ring like the one we were observing, but has a differently shaped head, shorter tail and smaller bill. Bill is also darker in Hammond's than on the one we were observing.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	A lot of experience with the Cordilleran Flycatcher--not much with the Pacific Slope species.
References consulted:	Field Guide to the Birds of North America (National Geographic) and Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of the Western United States.
Description from:	Notes taken at time of sighting
Observer:	Merrill Webb
Observer's address:	1063 East 400 North, Orem, Utah 84097
Observer's e-mail address:	merrill_webb@yahoo.com
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Rick Fridell and Tim Avery
Date prepared:	January 17, 2006
Additional material:	Tim Avery took a photo
Additional comments:	Rick, Tim and I observed the bird for 20-30 minutes. It was agreed that at leasst two of us would write up a description of this bird and submit it eventhough the exact species is unknown. the time of the sighting (January) is unusual for this genus in Utah.