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Has a bird ever reminded you of something obscure
and unrelated to the bird...like food? Well, the purpose of this post is
to report that the cheesecake heads have arrived in Ogden Valley in Weber
County. Vivian Schneggenburger, Hal and Cathy Robins and I saw eight male
cheesecake-headed Bobolinks in Ogden Valley yesterday afternoon between 3 and 4
pm. We were at the tail end of a Great Salt Lake Bird Festival field trip
and we had lagged behind the other participants on the way home. A
little detour into the Bobolink field and a lot of long-distance study of
fenceposts finally confirmed the presence of the cheesecake heads. There
is no truth to the rumor that we were hungry while searching for the Bobolinks
yesterday.
The males perched on fenceposts, vigorously
pursued each other low over the fields, "larked" in fluttering
displays narrated by their fast, complex
"plinky-deedle-inky-plinky-bobolinky" song, and utterly disappeared
into the low grass. I noticed an occasional flight behavior that served as
a warning that they were about to end their flight and disappear. The
Bobolinks flew in a fairly straight path with flashing wingbeats, and then
begin to coast. When they positioned their wings in a deep dihedral like
Rock Pigeons do when floating to a perch, the Bobolinks were about to
land in low grass. One male finally graced a fencepost
within 50 feet and piroutted in super-slow motion so we could enjoy views from
all sides. Later, the Bobolink flew down into the grass and periodically
popped up his cheesecake head so we could see that he was still
there. We didn't see any females, but we really didn't look for them,
either. They might not have arrived yet from their wintering grounds
in South America.
We also saw a couple other species you'd expect to
find in this habitat--a cooperative Wilson's Snipe on a fencepost, Savannah
Sparrows singing from barbed wire and offering us GREAT views while
foraging along the edge of a little pond, Sandhill Cranes, Red-winged
Blackbirds, Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, Canada Geese, and a Swainson's Hawk.
Two Spotted Sandpipers along the edge of a pothole pond were a nice surprise.
To reach the Bobolinks' field, take UT 39 east
toward Huntsville and around Pineview Reservoir. UT 39 is accessible
either from I-15 exit 347 or from I-84 through Weber Canyon, exit 92 (Mountain
Green), UT 167 and over Trapper's Loop. East of Huntsville, UT 39 takes a
90-degree east turn toward Monte Cristo, but don't do that! Continue
north on 7800E. for a half mile and DON'T bear left when the main road
does. Turn right (east) on the next dirt road into the field.
The road is unmarked and is not restricted by either 'No Trespassing' or
'Private Property' signs. It's intended for farm-vehicle access to
the fields and is not really suitable for passenger cars. Drivers
will find sporting opportunities to execute a three-point turn far down the
road in the field, but there's good news--I've done it several times and haven't
yet run my truck off into the ditch.
Kris
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