Indian River Inlet Directions for Nov 18 Osher Birding Class

We will meet in the parking lot on the SOUTH side of the inlet closest to the ocean. This is a change from the initial class description which says the north side. However, in the last class, I believe the south side was described verbally, and that is where we usually meet.

To get to the south side meeting parking lot if you are coming from Rehoboth-Dewey, cross the IR bridge going south, take the first exit to the right, proceed back north and go under the bridge, then enter the first parking lot and go northeast toward the inlet and ocean corner of it

Coming from Bethany, exit just before the bridge and proceed to the northeast corner of the parking lot adjacent to the inlet and ocean. We will be parked there, and will begin birding from the south jetty that runs out into the ocean. Meeting time 8 am

Osher Nov 4 Field Trip meets at Herring Point parking lot at Cape Henlopen

If you are not familiar with Herring Point, just after you pass through the entry pay booths at Cape Henlopen, you make a gradual left turn, and then make a right with signage to Herring Point and Fort Miles. Drive as far as you can and then park in the large parking lot on the right. The weather tomorrow looks like another Indian Summer day, so come out and enjoy, before the arctic vortex takes yet another southward swing this winter.

And as a reminder, Janice Erich has invited us ALL to lunch at her and Rob's home in Cape Shores. She is prepared to serve carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. Hope you can attend.

And above, just a fun add-on pic of the Kalmar Nyckel at the Lewes Ferry Terminal Aug 2, 2015. Much to our surprise, Sally and I again saw the Kalmar Nyckel in Chestertown MD this past Friday, Oct 30. For details about this historic ship, click Captain Lauren Morgens. She and her husband Matt Sarver are both very active Delaware birders, so you may meet them while birding our great birding state...Delaware.

Oct 28 Osher Birding Field Trip - CANCELLED

Per the latest NOAA forecast, the probability of heavy rain tomorrow is 100%, accompanied by 18-20 mph winds, with gusts up to 30 mph, so our Osher birding field trip tomorrow is cancelled.

But do not despair, I will be helping lead a field trip at Prime Hook NWR on Thur, Oct 29 beginning at 8 am at the Refuge Headquarters (where we usually meet). This field trip is part of the Refuge's monthly birding field trip program, and so you are most welcome to participate, and I hope to see you there.

New birds this past week since returning from Utah have been a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in our yard (listen for cat-like meows), plus Northern Gannets and many large scoter flocks headed south around Cape Henlopen point.

Below is the closest we came to Condors out west :)

Bill and Sally at Canyonlands National Park

OLLI Birding Class Oct 21 at Prime Hook

Our class is a GO for tomorrow. Sally and I are back from an awesome experience in the US Southwest, plus weather tomorrow looks good and birding should be excellent.

Below are 2 pics from Bryce National Park where we concluded our SW tour.

WEATHER PLANNING, for Osher Field Trip Birding Wed, Sept 30...5:30 am WED UPDATE

We will have our birding class this morning, as the main area of rain moved north of us last night. But do be prepared for some showers. At Cape Henlopen, we have the pavilion to seek temporary shelter under.

From NOAA at 4:54 am Wed: "Showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 81. Southwest wind around 9 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible."

Radar currently shows some showers southwest of us in tidewater VA.

Bill
5:20 am, Wed

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Bill is on-line early to let you know he is staying tuned to the weather. Click North-east Radar for my main input...... and when you get there, click on the Northeast Loop option for a visualization on how fast the rain is moving toward us....or away from us :)

I will be back on-line this evening with an update....which may include a decision on tomorrow. So stay tuned. If I can not make a decision tonight, I will make one before 6 am tomorrow.

Water for birds when it is dry

Winds have been strongly from the east, but on land, our environment has been very dry. So a good time to add water to your backyard bird "feeding" menu. Details to follow, but below are a few pics from this afternoon in our backyard with our water feature.......and the Bluejays always win the bird bathing contests :)

Wed 9-16-2015 Osher Field Trip to Cape Henlopen

Fall Migration is Peaking!!!

This last cold front has both woodland migrants and raptors moving. At the Hawk Watch at Cape Henlopen yesterday, when I left at 2:15 pm, the tally was 124 raptors, mostly Osprey, but also 2 Bald Eagles, about 1 doz Kestrels and 4 Merlins, plus a few Sharp-shinned Hawks.

At our backyard bird creeks and misters the today, I had 5 warblers......Am. Redstart, Worm Eating, Parula, Nashville and Magnolia, plus several Red-eyed Vireos.....and I was only watching for about 1 hour.

So I encourage you to make our class field trip tomorrow.....The birds are coming, look busy :)

One of Bill's Favorite Gulls

For our Osher class this past Wed, YES, I did make some disparaging comments about gulls in general, but then when asked why? I said my main issue is with BIG "landfill gulls" that often raid the nests of smaller birds, such as Piping Plover, and also poop all over walkers on the boardwalks, passengers on the ferries, customers at MacDonald's, ETC.

So what are some of the gulls I like? Well how about this juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake? It is a sharp looking small gull that as far as I know does not harass other birds. Pic taken by me in Alaska, but they do occur in DE.....and I almost forgot to add, my boat is named the Kittiwake :)

OLLI Birding Field Trip Report for 9/9/15 at Prime Hook NWR

Some really good birds today, but boy was it hot and humid!!! My favorites today were the group of about 8 Wild Turkeys as we left the Headquarters area, the very close 10 or so Glossy Ibis along Prime Hook Road, and the distant 10 White Pelicans along the same stretch of road. We also saw as many Snowy and Great Egrets as I have seen recently. My estimate viewed from the Boardwalk trail was 1,200+ of the two combined.

Our shorebird count was good with Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs (the last being very distant), Spotted Sandpiper, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover and Black-bellied Plover.

Also excellent views of Caspian and Forster's Terns very successfully catching fish. My total species count was 36 species. And please remember that our goal is learning about the birds we encounter, and not recording a big list.

As I said, next week will be different. We will have a greater variety of terns and gulls, so if you are inclined to do homework, study Forster's vs. Common Terns, Caspian vs. Royal Terns, and Ring-billed vs. Herring vs. Great Black-backed Gulls.

Looking forward to seeing most of you next Wed at Cape Henlopen.

PS - To photographers in the class: If you get some good photos on our field trips, I am happy to post them on this blog site with credit to you. Scroll down to July 23, 2015 for some in-flight photos of the same White Pelicans we saw today.

Antarctica

The above is vicariously any group you love. Cadbury, Osher Lifelong Learning, the Sussex Bird Club, Friends of Prime Hook, Friends of Cape Henlopen......

Very special pelagic birds on 8/29/15

The above White-faced Storm-Petrel is a highly sought after bird for dedicated North American bird listers. We saw 4 on Sat morning, 8/29/15, while offshore fishing on the Snow Goose with Captain Ed Sigda, and anglers Michael Fritz, Mike Sigda and me.

Even more unusual, but too far for photos was a White-tailed Tropicbird and 2 Long-tailed Jaegers, one of which was chasing a White-faced Storm-Petrel. Other good pelagic birds included Bridled Terns, Red-necked Phalaropes, and Red Phalaropes. Below are two more White-faced pics, plus a pic of the White Marlin we caught and carefully released.

OLLI Fall 2015 Birding Class Schedule

We will spend all our class time birding in the field. On any day when the weather does not permit a field trip, the class will be cancelled. For the latest information on class status see Bill’s blog at http://billfintel.blogspot.com/ . This will be updated by 6 am on any field trip day with questionable weather. Also more detailed directions and trip info will be added as needed.

All classes will begin at 8:00 am at the meeting locations noted below. Also note that while some meeting locations are the same, the routes we take from them will be different, and will be based on what good birds are being found nearby. Be sure to bring binoculars. Also check the weather forecast and dress appropriately with a rain resistant windbreaker and footwear suitable for walking about one mile. Insect repellent, sunscreen, water and a snack are recommended. Classes will end by 11 am at the meeting location.

Sep 9 - Prime Hook NWR Headquarters (HQ).  Woodland migrants, wading birds and shorebirds. High tide 6:44 am.

Sep 16 - Cape Henlopen Nature Center (park sticker required). Shorebirds and early raptors.

High tide 11:12 am.

Sep 23 – Prime Hook NWR HQ. This is about the peak of fall migration, so today we will try to observe as many species as possible and give you a feel for what doing a “Big Day” is like.

Low tide 10:31 am.

Sep 30 - Cape Henlopen Nature Center. This is prime time for migrating falcons, and also excellent for shorebirds. We will look for shorebirds first, and falcons plus other raptors later.

High tide 10:54 am.

Oct 7 & 14 – NO CLASS

Oct 21 - Prime Hook NWR HQ. Today we have low tide at 9:03 am, so we will focus on shorebirds, terns and waders.

Oct 28 - Prime Hook HQ. This is a prime time for early waterfowl and migrant sparrows. High tide 9:43 am.

Nov 4 - Cape Henlopen Herring Point parking lot. We will bird the new trail to Rehoboth. This will involve the most walking of any field trip. Low tide 8:40 am.

Nov 11 – Veteran’s Day, OLLI Closed

Nov 18 – Indian River Inlet Marina on north side of Inlet (park sticker required). Our targets will be Gannets, scoters, loons and marsh birds. Note that it can be cold and windy at the inlet, so dress warmly with a good windbreaker. Low tide 6:40 am

American White Pelicans at Prime Hook

On today's Prime Hook field trip we had a rare treat of 9 White Pelicans. Noreen first spotted them at some distance, we all got on them, and then slowly but surely they came closer and closer, almost passing directly overhead as we stood on the east end of Prime Hook Road. A super treat for all.

 

Recently Fledged Eastern Screech in Our Yard

Just had a wonderful encounter with a recently fledged Eastern Screech Owl. The neighborhood birds were having a fit out front, so I went to see what they were having a fit about and spotted this little guy "perched" on the side of a large oak.

Sally came out to see him, and we quietly watched for about 3 or 4 minutes before he flew off into the woods next to our house with many small birds in pursuit. Then much to my surprise, the owl flew right past my office window into a Rhododendron just to the left of the window, again with some small birds in pursuit. After a minute or so there, he flew up to a small shelf on the front porch. There he was about 10 ft from one of our hummingbird feeders. A male Ruby-throat showed up, fed without appearing agitated, and so apparently did not see the owl.

Pelagic Birding in the Wilmington Canyon

On June 16, 2015, five of us went offshore fishing, and three of us being birders, enjoyed the pelagic birds,  most of which were attracted by the chum we put out. I began the trip taking the Cape May-Lewes ferry to NJ the evening before we left (first pic), and ended it taking the ferry back to Lewes (last 2 pics). And yes, we did catch some fish...10 Yellowfin Tuna.

If you have the desire to go pelagic birding, but do not care to fish, there are offshore trips dedicated to just birding. One experienced company that has trips going out of Lewes, is See Life Paulagics, run by Paul and Anita Guris.

 Lighthouse on outer breakwater at Lewes

 Long-tailed Jaeger

 Pomerine Jaeger

 Cory's Shearwater

 Great Shearwater

 Mike Fritz taking underwater video of Great Shearwaters diving for our chum

 Osprey on nest at Lewes ferry terminal

Baby Osprey in nest

Spring 2015 Osher Birding Class Check List

Our cumulative check list for all 6 class field trips was 116 species observed, and 2 more heard. Birds are only counted if at least one student observed the bird.

To view the check list as a pdf, click CLASS LIST.

Pelagic Birds Out of Lewes, DE, May 29, 2015

On an offshore fishing trip today, we* observed many pelagic birds rarely seen from land in Delaware. More or less in order of appearance they were:
Manx Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Pomarine Jaeger, and Arctic Tern.

We also had delightful views of the following marine mammals: Pilot Whales, Common Dolphin, Rizzo's Dolphin, as well as good views of Mako and Hammerhead Sharks, Mola Mola (Ocean Sunfish), and over 50 Portuguese Man-of-War Jellyfish.

And yes we also caught some tasty fish, but as this is a bird blog........I will limit my comments to saying the sushi will be great :)

* Our fishing/birding team was Ed Sigda (boat owner), Mike Fritz (from Cape May) and me.

Field trip 5/20/15 to the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion

Yes we were racing the incoming tide today, and I feel most did see our target bird, the Red Knot. Plus for sure, all saw the shorebird migration spectacle, where the shorebirds are feeding heavily on the Horseshoe crab eggs to make their final journey to their Arctic breeding grounds.

My rough estimate of the total numbers of shorebirds we saw, including distant and in flight is 20,000+ . Numbers of Red Knots??? An impossible question from our vantage point. What did I see and was confident they were Red Knots? Maybe 50. But based on extrapolating that up to a % of 20,000 shorebirds, I would estimate there were well over 1,000 Red Knots there. Your homework assignment is to research this years Red Knot migration, and see what the dedicated professionals (mostly volunteers) are seeing.

Now a final exam question: Is the best quote: "thin as a rail", or "clean as a rail"...???

Thanks to John Long for a great photo of a Clapper Rail today.

Misting for Warblers and Hummingbirds

Misters are one of the first water products developed by Avian Aquatics back in the early 1990's. Avian Aquatics was sold to Backyard Nature Products in 2003 and they still offer the original Avian Aquatics designs of misters and drippers. My favorite is the Leaf Mister, which is designed to go in a low tree or shrub and wet the foliage, as well as provide a gentle rain shower. This is especially attractive to small songbirds, such as warblers and hummingbirds. Below are two pictures taken yesterday of a Blackpoll Warbler bathing in the mist from a Leaf Mister.

 Beginning to bathe

Dripping wet after 15 minutes of bathing

Class 4 Field Trip to PH State Wildlife Mgt Area

On this May 6, 2015 field trip, I recorded 68 species, so it was our most productive field trip so far, and not unexpected, since we have entered peak migration time. This coming Wednesday's trip to Milford Neck should also produce migrants seen only briefly in spring and fall.

Highlights from our May 6 field trip include: Glossy Ibis - a flock flying over the Grasshopper Sparrow field, 3 Flycatchers: E. Wood Pewee, Acadian and Great Crested........Horned Lark, and best of all, a good variety of "wood warblers": N. Parula, Black-throated Blue, Yel-rumped, Yel-throated, Pine, Blackpoll, B&W, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, and Com Yelthroat.

Probably our best highlights were excellent views of the drop dead gorgeous Scarlet Tanager, and the super elusive Grasshopper Sparrow. We also had many fantastic views of the "Blue guys"....Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting.

Looking forward to this upcoming field trip to Milford Neck.....It is back woods Sussex at its best, and warbler plus shorebird migrations should still be near peak.......

Hope to see you Wed,
Bill

Piping Plover and Sage Grouse... Saving their habitat is essential for their survival

Saving Piping Plover habitat in Delaware has been instrumental in halting their decline here, and even in helping them re-establish a healthy local population. Sage Grouse in the western states have faced the same loss-of-habitat problems. So on this LINK to my Finbliz climate blog, I think you will appreciate what Secretary Jewell and the Department of the Interior are doing to correct the loss of Sage Grouse habitat .....and also to help define and protect the rights of Native Americans to resources on their lands.

Prime Hook Turkeys...and other good birds

What a great site this was just this past week. Bill Jones, Prime Hook Staff,  had not seen this leucistic "white" Turkey. It was along the entrance road before the 90 degree curve approaching the Headquarters on 4/21/15.

Below is a Snowy Egret in full breeding plumage, with plumes and red lores.

Our next field trip meets at Prime Hook, and from there we will go to the State Wildlife Management Area next to Prime Hook. Woodland migrants will be our target birds.

Cape Henlopen Field Trip Summary, Apr 22, 2015

For our OLLI class field trip today, both the weather and the birds cooperated. We saw 46 species, but best of all we saw some really good birds, really well. Highlights were 3 Piping Plover, which we had missed on our first field trip to Cape Henlopen, an American Oystercatcher up close, and my top bird, a Peregrine Falcon, incredibly close and with multiple views from several locations.

Now many thanks to John Long for getting excellent pictures of the Peregrine Falcon and American Oystercatcher, plus a very nice pic of the singing Field Sparrow by the Point parking lot.

Our next field trip will be primarily for woodland migrants...during the peak of spring migration.

OLLI Firld trip April 22, 2015

For tomorrow's field trip to Cape Henlopen, weather looks good in morning....as of right now....BUT it will be windy.

So for those of you with a lot of hair, you may look like the attached Snowy Egret.

Me?.... of course I have no worries....and look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow....and hopefully spotting a Piping Plover and Brown-headed Nuthatch.

Bill

Today at Prime Hook NWR

I have been bringing my camera on our OLLI class field trips, but I rarely get time to use it. So today just me and my camera went to Prime Hook. Because of the high east winds, followed my a lot of rain last night, water levels were very high, and had actually been over Prime Hook Rd overnight. Even so, I got a few good bird pics to share with you, with a few more still to come. (Click on photos for larger image).

 Why is my blog called My Tern? Why not? Foresters Tern

 Yellow slippers??? Hey these are yellow boots! Snowy Egret

So what is the problem with Greater vs Lesser Yellowlegs???

Safe Haven feeder and up-side-down thistle feeder

These are 2 of my favorite feeders. Blackbirds generally can not deal with either of them, but as you can see, desirable birds such as Purple Finches, Goldfinches and even White-throated Sparrows love them. Again for details on the Safe Haven feeder, click on feeders under Labels (left index). The up-side-down thistle feeders are available at most bird feeder suppliers.

The next post will be about bird baths .......that really bring in the birds....especially the birds that do NOT eat seed....like thrushes, warblers, tanagers etc.

Birding Apps, and a book for beginning birders

This Nature Conservancy Blog by Timothy Boucher has a very thorough article on choosing a birding app for your smart phone. Also be sure to read the comments, as they add some good perspective. As I mentioned today, I finally selected the Sibley app, mostly because it presents more than just one song example, and because I really think Sibley drawings are the best.

A very good book some of you got to review today is the Young Birder's Guide by Bill Thompson III. In it you will find a whole host of tips for beginning birders, from selecting binoculars, to finding birds in the binoculars, to identifying birds, etc, etc. It is also a very useful field guide covering most bird species you are likely to encounter, and under each species, it contains unique "WOW" facts not found in conventional field guides. Available through Amazon and elsewhere.

SUMMARY - OLLI Field Trip, 4/15/15, and Bird Feeder Tips

First, we discussed bird feeding and grackle problems. I said I thought on this blog I had posted some detailed information about my home made feeder that excluded Grackles......and yes I had. It is HERE. Also note that I found my own posts by using Labels (on the left) and clicking on feeders. Try it for other topics of interest. Upcoming, will be some today-photos of my Safe Haven Feeder with photos of Purple Finches...so you can compare to more common House Finches.

Today was a productive day, and even an exceptional day compared to last week. Our cumulative class list is now up to 53 species observed, and 6 more heard. Highlights today were certainly the Yellow-throated Warbler, Ovenbird and Pine Warbler (all warblers), plus the large number of American Avocets (my estimate is 300+). Also noteworthy was the Great Horned Owl with chick, the large numbers of Northern Shovelers, good looks at a Hairy Woodpecker, and many very attractive male displaying Red-winged Blackbirds.

So next week at Cape Henlopen, maybe the weather and birds will cooperate, and hopefully we will get to see Piping Plover and Brown-headed Nuthatch, 2 specialties for the Park that we missed on our first trip there.

American Avocet from today's class

Feels Like 36 deg F......Today's Field Trip Summary

Yup, that is what my iPhone weather said when I got home, which jibes with what I observed.... namely 44 deg F and 20+ mph winds, with a smattering of misty drizzle.

So if you were one of the 14 on this morning's field trip, you deserve a medal for toughness. We did see some good birds, but my count total was only 20 species observed and called out by me, and observed by at least some of you. (My personal species count would have been about 30...but for instance with gulls, I decided to hold off on them for a future class when we are closer to them and less stressed by the weather).

Okay, 20 species makes it easy to focus on the highlights. Mine was certainly the number of Gannets so close to shore. It appeared they were flying north over the surf line at a rate of approximately 10 per minute. So had we watched for only them for 2 1/2 hrs, we would have counted roughly 1,500 Gannets....not bad.

Other highlights were: 2 Brant seen close through the scope by all, about 20 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5+ Osprey with 2 calling close overhead, a single Sharp-shinned Hawk and Northern Flicker, and vocally - singing Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and House Finches.

Our 2 primary missed target birds were Piping Plover and Brown-headed Nuthatch (although at least I heard one of the later at the end of our trip).

Next week we meet at the Prime Hook Refuge Headquarters at 8 am, Wed, 4/15....if your taxes are done. Will we see more birds next week?...Most probably....But a spring Northeaster could make today's weather seem not so bad.

Have a great week, and do enjoy birding, as new birds are arriving every day...... Bill

April 8 OLLI Field Birding Class Weather UPDATE

I'll be at the Cape Henlopen Nature Center at 8 am today.

It is presently 5:30 am Wed, and IT IS A TOUGH CALL!!!

First of all, NOAA and Weather Underground do not agree. Neither has a good forecast, but Weather Underground's is not too bad, and my read of the radar images and rain forecast agrees with them.

So lets leave it this way.....I'll be there at 8 am. If you are up to birding in some rain, and wind, please join me. We will probably end on the early side. Our travels will be mostly in our cars, and we will bird mostly via telescope, protected by umbrellas. It is quite cold.....44 degrees right now, so dress warmly if you do decide to be adventuresome.

Your choice.........Bill


---------------Following from 3 pm Tue......................

I am following the weather, and presently I think we are still a GO for tomorrow.

From NOAA at 3 pm Tue, Wed forecast is:    
A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 51. Northeast wind around 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. 

I will decide go/no-go before 6 am tomorrow (4/8), and post the decision here by 6 am. Looks like we will have some rain, but light. Even so bring at least a rain repellent jacket....plus 51 degrees with 17 mph winds is COOL, so dress warmly.

6 Piping Plovers at Cape Henlopen Today

What a treat! They were all more or less together on the exposed sand flats north east of the Fishing Pier at low tide (about noon today). This area is south west of the area closed to provide them with breeding habitat. 

In taking the following photos with a 400 mm lens, I never flushed them, although several times they got flushed by Turkey Vultures and Gulls flying over. If you go to see them, as our first OLLI birding class on April 8 will do (and use a 20x telescope), I strongly recommend that you too keep your distance so you too do not flush them. They are an endangered species, and they just endured some very unusual below freezing weather 2 days ago.

It is COLD here in Delaware...but the birds are still good

Sally and I are just back from 2 months in Africa...specifically Ethiopia and South Africa. Yes we are having a real time adjusting to the COLD here........but many of the birds we missed while we were away are greeting us here in late Feb. So a few pics of our local friends.....and one of a special bird in South Africa.