Bobolink by jnaffy, license CC-BY-NC. (click on image to enlarge)

Ogden Valley Nature: Bobolinks
By Leslie Loeffel - 24 April 2026

One of the things that makes Ogden Valley special is that we get to live beside incredible wildlife. Remember the Bald Eagles that amazed everyone last winter as they fished at Pineview dam? Less obvious but equally intriguing are the Bobolinks that should be returning soon to our farm fields. 

Bobolinks are not found in many places in Utah and are known to breed in even fewer. Ogden Valley is one of those special places where Bobolinks still appear. However, the species is declining, and the birds have not been seen often in the last few years. 

Male bobolinks are striking black and white birds that look like they are wearing a tuxedo backwards. They have a liquid, melodious song that they sing in flight or from fence posts in our Valley hay fields. Having migrated up to 6,000 miles from South America, they should be arriving in our area by mid-May. They nest and stay into July.

Last spring, I went out searching for Bobolinks in Ogden Valley. They used to be reliably seen in a certain field in Middle Fork but hadn’t been reported there in years. I took my bicycle and spent time scanning likely-looking fields with high grass. 

Success! I found four locations with singing Bobolinks! One place even had two male Bobolinks circling each other, likely vying for territory. Unfortunately, that Bobolink field was for sale, so unless it remains a farm, there’s no telling how long it may remain suitable for the birds. 

Development of their habitat is a leading threat to Bobolinks, which are on the Utah sensitive species list. Nevertheless, it’s great news is that, at least as of last year, we still had multiple Bobolinks in Ogden Valley. Their locations ranged from Huntsville to Middle Fork to Eden.

Bobolinks were historically common in northern Utah, but now their numbers are dwindling. A major factor in their decline is that they nest on the ground in moist fields and pastures. 

Wetlands have been filled in, and farmers cut hay earlier than they used to. Late spring and early summer mowing coincides with the Bobolink nesting period. One study found that every nest with eggs and young affected by mowing was abandoned or destroyed.

To allow Bobolinks to finish nesting, it’s essential to delay haying in a field being used by Bobolinks until the young have fledged. That is after mid-July. 

If taking only one cut of hay late in the season is not possible, another approach is to take a first cut of a known Bobolink field early in May before the birds begin nesting. Then leave the field undisturbed, taking the second cut after July 15.  

In addition to delayed haying, farm management practices like rotational grazing can also benefit Bobolinks, according to Jim Spencer, Area Wildlife Biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

If you grow hay or have a wet meadow, look for Bobolinks in your fields. If you find them, you have something special. Consider managing your land in a way that will help the species to survive here in the Valley.

For an overview on Bobolinks, go to allaboutbirds.org. For another personal, local perspective, see the “Wild About Utah” essay online about Bobolinks in Cache Valley. 

If you’ve seen Bobolinks or want help finding them on your property, I would love to know about it.  You can email me at [email protected].

Note: The name Bobolink comes from England where people thought the bird's song sounds like "Robert of Lincoln" which subsequently got shortened to "Bob of Lincoln" and eventually "Bobolink."  There's a 19th century poem by William Cullen Bryant in which he refers to the bird as “Robert of Lincoln.”