North Arm Good News/Bad News

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

The good news I learned while birding The North Arm Natural Area at 
Pineview Reservoir in Ogden Valley, Weber County today is that all The 
North Arm "specials" are in--YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, GRAY CATBIRDS, 
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS, CASPIAN TERNS, MacGillivray Warblers, FOX 
SPARROWS and more.  The bad news is that the footbridge over the North 
Fork of the Ogden River is still out and probably will be for some time. 
 In addition, the nature trail is still flooded with water as deep as a 
foot in places with current that reminded me of my old whitewater 
rafting days. 

Most of the 'good' birds could be seen from the 
dry-and-heavily-perfumed-by-Chokecherry Pineview West trail that runs 
down the west slope into the natural area.  The exceptions were the 
Calliope Hummingbirds.  To see these hummers, you need to be equipped 
with a.) a snorkel, b.) a rubber raft and paddle, or c.) a pair of 
knee-high rubber boots.  I chose the latter and found the hummingbirds 
by looping south, then west, then north or south at a "T" in the nature 
trail rather than by the most direct and deep-water route--west, then 
south.  I still had to ford through water that was 8-9 inches deep in 
places. 

Both hummers seem to be on territory at nearly the exact same places as 
last year.  "My" Calliope is using a tree about 50 yards further south 
on the trail than last year's lookout.  The "Jack Binch" Calliope seems 
to be in approximately the same place where Jack found him last year.  
Directions to these spots will be a challenge because of the flooding, 
but if you reply I'll give it the college try.  If you're a gadget guru 
I'll give you the GPS coordinates of both birds. 

As I made my way down Pineview West and through the flooded nature 
trail, I'm pretty sure I went through two distinct Yellow-breasted Chat 
territories, six distinct Gray Catbird territories, and four distinct 
MacGillivray Warbler territories.  All the birds seemed to be in the 
same places when I passed again, multiple times.  Other birds present 
today included:

Canada Geese
Western/Clark's Grebes
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Herons
Turkey Vultures
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Spotted Sandpiper (audible)
Wilson's Snipe (winnowing in the field east of the river)
California Gulls
Broad-tailed Hummingbirds
Black-chinned Hummingbirds
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Warbling Vireos
Black-billed Magpies
Bank Swallows
Northern Rough-winged Swallows
Black-capped Chickadees
American Robins
Cedar Waxwings, Cedar Waxwings, Cedar Waxwings!
Yellow Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and a thousand more 
Yellow Warblers!!!
Western Tanagers
Spotted Towhee (audible)
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeaks
Lazuli Buntings (audible)
Red-winged Blackbirds
Brown-headed Cowbirds
Bullock's Orioles
House Finches
Pine Siskins
American Goldfinches

My last birding impression of the day was nearly heart-stopping.  I was 
making my way back up Pineview West through the corridor formed by 
Chokecherry on either side of the trail.  I could hear a Broad-tailed 
Hummingbird zinging his way toward me ahead.  All of a sudden two 
hummingbirds rounded a curve about 15 feet in front of me at eye-level.  
My last impression before I threw my arms up and squeezed my eyes shut 
tight was a freeze-frame image of a female hummingbird about 3 feet in 
front of my face.  The collision never came, but I think the old ticker 
skipped a few beats on that one.  I wondered how I would look had I been 
impaled by a hummingbird through my forehead...an interesting hood 
ornament. 

The North Arm Natural Area of Pineview is located at approximately mile 
3.5 of SR-158 (this state highway begins at Pineview Dam, accessible 
from I-15 exit 347 and east through Ogden Canyon).  However, parking at 
the main North Arm parking lot right now will only allow you access to 
the eastern side of the area where trails lead down toward the Osprey 
platforms.  I parked at the Angler's Access at mile marker 3 of SR-158 
and walked down (north) Pineview West from there.

Kris

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