LATE AUTUMN BIRDING IN EASTERN
DELAWARE
2-4 December 2020
Mute Swans loaf on Gordon's Pond with the WWII Watch Tower in background (Cape Henlopen State Park)As November turns to December, it
is time to pack the car and head to the western shore of Delaware Bay in search
of Snow Geese and other winter specialties. I watched the weather, waiting for
a rain-free and not-too-cold three-day stretch, and found that 2-4 December fit
the bill (also being mid-week, meaning quiet landscapes and fewer people
afoot). This was the ideal time to test out a new zoom lens and fresh camera
body, as well as a novel spotting scope.
Great Blue Heron landing on shore at Prime Hook NWR
One of the joys of early winter
Delaware birding is the lovely peaceful solitude while walking or biking in the
abundant open spaces of the Delaware shore. Many sites are blessedly empty,
leaving nature to dominate.
Hooded Herganser drake with two hens near Prime Hook NWR
I planned two nights based out of
Lewes, Delaware, which is ideally positioned for visiting an array of natural
places. The Hotel Rodney, in downtown Lewes, also is central to all the fun
dining localities in town. Lewes in early December is festively decorated with
an abundance of seasonal lights, and the storefronts are bright with special
Christmas displays. The drive to the shore is a bit over two hours. I broke my
drive with a stop for a hearty birder’s breakfast at the Southern Grille in
Ellendale. This would power me through a long day in the field without a stop
for lunch.
Sanderlings race the waves at Indian River Inlet, DE
My first birding stop was Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. This
is about 20 miles north of Lewes. Among Delaware coastal birding hotspots,
Prime Hook is overshadowed by the more famous Bombay Hook NWR. But it
definitely has its charms. I visited Broadkill Beach and Prime Hook Beach, but spent
most of the day in and around Fowler’s Beach, walking the shore. I focused on
three bird species in particular.
Short-eared Owl searching for voles
Because it was gloomy and cool,
the Short-eared Owls were still active when I arrived at the beach. This lovely
crepuscular owl is the main reason birders visit Fowler’s Beach. These daylight
owls when in flight have the look of a large moth, fluttering over the marsh
with distinctive cadenced wingbeats. Bird photographers show up every evening
in hopes of a close-approach of this photogenic species.
Short-eared Owl showing its dorsal patterning
What I found was the a pair of Short-ears
apparently was roosting in the dune grass along a fence line at the back of the
beach, where it gave onto the interior marshland. This was also good sparrow
habitat, so I ended up flushing the owls 3-4 times during my peregrinations.
Short-eared Owl showing its pale ventral patterning
The challenge was, with these
silent birds, reacting quickly enough to get a photograph before the startled
bird shot away, zigging and zagging.
Short-eared Owl taunting the photographer
I was able to get some evocative
images, though no close-up, sharp-edged, killer shots.
Savannah Sparrow of one of the common dark-plumaged subspecies
The beachline is prime habitat
for wintering Savannah Sparrows. Most are dark individuals, one of several
subspecies that winter in the East.
Here is the very pale subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow known as the Ipswich Sparrow
Then there is the very pale and
large race, known as the Ipswich Sparrow, which nests only on Sable Island, off
Nova Scotia. It winters in coastal dune dunes along the Atlantic shore.
Ipswich Sparrow-large and pale and beach-loving in winter
Fowler’s Beach is a good spot to
see the Ipswich Sparrow sharing the dune grass with the smaller and darker
birds. The differences are considerable.
Three Snow Buntings hiding behind the shell of a Horseshoe Crab
The broad sandy shoreline
includes a bare inner “plain” that lies between the beach dune next to the
water and the fenced sandy rise that gives on to the marshlands. This inner
plain is flat and barren and beloved by Horned Larks and Snow Buntings. The
Horned Larks move about in small parties, whereas the Snow Buntings move about
in a flock of 25 or so.
Snow Bunting flock racing up the beach
Snow Buntings nest in the Far
North and winter southward to the Mid-Atlantic states. They are generally
uncommon, and are best looked for along the open shoreline of the Atlantic
shore.
Snow Bunting flock showing white ventral plumage
These flocks are nothing if not
restless. They are continually exploding up off the sand and wheeling wildly
about in the sky, turning this way and that...
The Snow Buntings disappear when on the ground
While on the ground, the foraging
birds creep about like mice, and stay very low to the ground, nibbling at
seeds. Their pied coloration—white,
buff, black, actually makes them difficult to pick out while on the ground, but
the white flashes in their wings stand out when in flight.
I hold the Snow Bunting in some
esteem and nostalgia, because my first act as an ornithologist was getting a
photograph of a flock of Snow Buntings published in the local bird journal Maryland Birdlife—I think this was in
1970, fifty years ago...
Bird's know this as a "Gas Hawk" - probably a C5A from nearby Dover AFB
By mid-afternoon, I had checked
into my hotel, and unloaded my bike for a ride through Cape Henlopen State Park, adjacent to Lewes town. I biked the Henlopen
Loop Trail to the Gordon’s Pond Trail all the way south to verge of Rehoboth
Beach.
Peaceaful marshlands of the Gordon's Pond bike path
Down and back is a circuit of
about 12 miles, which was a great way to end the day. I watched the sunset over the beautiful marshlands surrounding
Gordon’s Pond.
Adult Peregrine Falcon
This relatively new bike path is
an excellent transect through a mix of pinelands, dunes, and marsh. It was
relatively quiet birdwise, but I had encounters with Cooper’s Hawk and—surprise—a
stunning adult Peregrine Falcon.
After a long hot shower, I had an
early (but superb) dinner of mushroom soup and seared sea scallops at Heirloom
Restaurant, a perfect way to end a long day of walking, birding, and biking.
The next day I was up before dawn
and on my bike again. I did the Gordon’s Pond Trail again and watched the sun rise
over the marshlands. Jumbled skeins of Snow Geese passed overhead, heading out
to their feeding sites. A Northern Harrier worked the marsh grass.
I then biked north to the Henlopen
Point parking lot. From here I walked the Atlantic beach to the Point, and then
back along the bayside, watching foraging Red-throated Loons, and flushing
clots of loafing gulls—Great Black-backs and Herrings mostly, with the
occasional Lesser Black-backed.
Lesser Black-backed Gull adult winter plumage--note the yellow legs
After biking back to Lewes town I
had a delicious hot breakfast at an outside table at Eggscellent (the name
unfortunate, the breakfast excellent), then hopped in the car and drove south to
Indian River Inlet. This break in the Atlantic barrier shore is, like Ocean
City Inlet, a great spot for winter waterbirds, and today was no exception. I
worked both the south side of the inlet as well as the north side.
Great Cormorant at Indian River inlet
A Great Cormorant perched atop a
light pole on the south jetty.
Common Loon in winter plumage, working over a flatfish
A Common Loon worked over a small
flounder in the shorebreak on the north side.
Drake and hen Common Eiders
And a group of Common Eiders
foraged for shellfish on the rocks of the seawall right under the tall high-tech
bridge that carries the highway over the inlet.
Short-eared Owl at Fowler's Beach at the day's end
From the Inlet I drove north to
spend the afternoon and early evening back at Prime Hook National Wildlife
Refuge. I lingered about Fowler’s Beach, waiting for sunset and the Short-eared
Owls. As the sunlight began to fail, the owls appeared and began to course over
the marshes, occasionally crossing paths with a Northern Harrier.
At one point I saw four owls and
a single harrier all come together in the gloaming, and one of the owls sent
the harrier off.
WinterFest--Milton, DE
Driving south after dark on Route
1, I came to a field filled with seasonal lights. I stopped to photograph them.
Apparently this is part of the festival of lights that is a feature of the area—Winter
Wonderfest... I finished the day feasting at Raas, a fine Indian Restaurant a
short walk from my hotel.
On Friday morning I rose before
dawn and packed up and headed an hour north to Leipsic, Delaware, home of Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. This
is a birding hotspot I have visited over the years, though it has been quite a
while since I was last there... this was my last birding stop on my Delaware
tour.
Snow Geese flocks
I was hoping to find Snow Geese
in numbers, which I did. On the drive up I was treated to large flocks passing high
over Route 9 pre-dawn.
Then I found birds foraging in a
cornfield adjacent to the Refuge.
Snow Geese in the corn stubble
Bombay Hook is all about swans, ducks,
geese, and shorebirds. I found flocks of Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, many duck
species, Greater Yellowlegs, and even American Avocets. And of course the
obligatory Bald Eagles, which take advantage of the abundant wildfowl and the
hunting “by-catch”—wounded birds that are easy pickings...
The big surprise of the morning
was a flock of perhaps 100,000 Common Grackles. I have never seen such a flock.
They swarmed over the road, darkening the sky and filling the tall oak trees. The
noise the flock produced was prodigious. What excitement! As I looked at the
trees absolutely filled with birds, I wondered why? How do these birds manage
to feed themselves in such a vast and unruly flock? I’ll never know.
