Ovenbird in Ogden

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

Mort and Carolyn Somer and I observed an Ovenbird on the Bonneville 
Shoreline Trail above the 29th Street Trailhead in Ogden, Weber County, 
this morning around 11:00.  We got excellent views of the bird and it 
was singing loudly as well.  We watched, listened, and chased it around 
scrub oak for 20-30 minutes.  Mort successfully photographed the bird.  
I'll forward the photos to our webmaster and perhaps they can be posted 
on the Utah Birds website.  

To reach this area from points south take I-15 north to exit 326 at 
Lagoon.  The sign says to South Ogden and US-89.  After you cross under 
I-84 on 89, you'll climb the Ogden bench.  Turn right at the second 
traffic light onto Harrison Blvd (SR-203).  Drive north approximately 4 
miles and turn right (east) on 30th Street.  Drive one block east and 
turn left (north) on Tyler Ave, just past the Ogden High playing fields. 
 Drive north on Tyler for two blocks and turn right (east) on 29th 
Street.  Drive .7 miles east to where 29th Street ends and turn right 
(south) into the trailhead parking lot.  

If you're visiting from points north of Ogden, drive south on I-15 and 
take exit 347, 12th Street.  Turn east at the end of the exit ramp and 
drive to Harrison Blvd (sorry, don't know the distance).  Turn right 
(south) on Harrison and watch the streets count up.  Turn left (east) on 
28th Street and one block later, turn right (south) on Tyler (just after 
passing Ogden High).  Drive south to 29th Street and turn left (east).  
Drive .7 miles east to the end of the street and turn right (south) into 
the trailhead parking lot.  

Now...we ain't done yet!  Walk under the structure labeled 'Ogden Trails 
Network 29th St Trailhead' and turn left (east).  Note the chunky wooden 
trail marker.  The top green sign on the trail marker reads, 'Taylor 
Canyon Trail' and an arrow points left.  Follow this trail.   Be sure 
you stay on the main trail and don't take any of the footpaths that cut 
across switchbacks.  It will take you 5-10 minutes of walking to reach 
the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  You'll intersect the shoreline trail 
RIGHT under the powerline.  From this intersection, look right (south) 
as far as you can see along the trail and you'll probably see my pale 
pink marker tape.  Walk south 100 yards to this tape.  I tied two 
strands of tape on both sides of the trail here, and again on both sides 
of the trail about 60 yards south of the first spot.  This is the 
stretch of trail where we saw and heard the Ovenbird.  

Your best bet to find this bird is to listen for its call, but here's 
the hitch--this bird is not singing, "teacher-Teacher-TEACHER..." as 
you'd expect.  The call still starts out soft and gets VERY loud, is 
still two syllables, but sounds more like, 'ch-wee--Ch-wee--CH-WEE..." 
with the two syllables somewhat slurred together.  This bird is not shy 
at all--we were as close as 15-20 feet at times, but it sits very still 
in the oak canopy and only tips its head up when it sings.  Sometimes I 
couldn't find the bugger when it was singing just 20 feet away.   

If you seek out this bird, please be VERY conservative with the use of 
recordings.  This little guy might be very popular in the next few days 
and it would be a shame if we as a community called it overmuch.  You 
will not find a recording of the Ovenbird on the Stokes Western CD.  
Have a listen from Cornell:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ovenbird.ht
ml#sound

Finally, if you depart the trail while chasing the bird through the 
scrub oak, be aware that in places the poison ivy is looking green and 
lush this season.

Kris

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