Field Trip Sept 12, 2018

Today's Field Trip is CANCELLED due to inclement weather.

Dense Fog has entered the picture, in addition to drizzle and potential thunderstorms. It was a tough decision, but birding in the fog is very difficult, and fog also makes getting to Gordon's Pond potentially hazardous. Next week we meet at Prime Hook NWR at 8 am.

OLLI Fall 2018 Field Birding Class Scgedule

We will spend as much time as possible 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 will be added as needed.

All classes are on Wednesday, and begin at 8:00 am at the meeting locations noted below. 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 5 - Prime Hook NWR. Meet at the Refuge Headquarters at 8:00 am. We will bird all types of habitats, such as woodlands, fields, marshes, impoundments and bay beaches. Some of our target birds will be shorebirds, and early woodland migrants. (Low tide 10:50 am)

Sep 12 – Gordon’s Pond -  Meet at 8 am at the Gordon’s Pond parking lot just north of Rehoboth Beach. We will walk the trail to the pond observation platform and hopefully see many good fall migrants along the way. (High tide 11:20 am)

Sep 19 – Prime Hook NWR. Meet at the Refuge Headquarters at 8:00 am. We will search the woodlands for migrant warblers, tanagers and thrushes. We will also check the impoundments for shorebirds. (Low tide 11:04 am)

Sep 26 – Fintel’s Yard and Oyster Rocks Road. Meet at the Fintel’s home at 8 am for a guided tour of their birding habitats, feeders and water features. Oyster Rocks Road is an excellent road that goes through marshland habitat to the Broadkill River. (High tide 10:07 am)

Oct 3 - Cape Henlopen State Park Nature Center  (sticker required). South bound raptor migration will be underway, some shorebirds will still be present, and we will of course search for three resident specialties, the Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher and Brown-headed Nuthatch. (Low tide 9:30 am)

OLLI Birding Field Trip, Nov 8, 2017

The current radar looks good. The chance of rain is listed as 40% by NOAA. So our field trip is ON and I will be at Gordon's Pond parking lot just north of Rehoboth at 8 am. Rob Blye will be assisting me. Sally will be home recovering under the care of a Cadbury home caregiver.

It will be cool and windy, with perhaps a sprinkle, so dress appropriately.

OLLI Fall 2017 Birding Class Schedule

OLLI Fall 2017 Birding Class Schedule

General – Wear comfortable walking shoes as we may walk on level ground up to 1 mile. Bring binoculars, a scope if you have one, a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, a snack and something to drink. Also come prepared for windy cool weather and a shower. If significant rain is forecast the class will be cancelled. See http://billfintel.blogspot.com/ for any last minute notices. If the weather looks iffy, Bill will post the class status at the latest by 6 am on the day of the class.

All classes begin at 8 am at the location specified below. A State park sticker or entry fee is required for Cape Henlopen, Gordon’s Pond and Indian River Inlet.

Climate Change as it affects birds will be covered on our walks, plus Bill’s blog.

Oct 11 – Cape Henlopen State Park Seaside Nature Center

We will bird the feeders and trail at the Nature Center, then go to the Point parking lot, then the Hawk Watch, and if time permits, Herring Point.

Oct 18 – Fintel’s Home, Mill Pond Acres, Lewes

At the Fintel’s home we will review plantings for birds, water features for birds, and bird feeder designs, plus choosing birdseed and suet. Next we will go to Oyster Rocks Road, and perhaps one or more other seldom travelled back roads.

Oct 25 – Prime Hook NWR Headquarters

This is a prime time for early waterfowl, late shorebirds, and sparrows.  All can be challenging, but also lots of fun, and a great beginning to winter.

Nov 1 – NO CLASS

Nov 8 – Gordon’s Pond

Meet at the Gordon’s Pond Pavilion. This is accessed by going north through the town of Rehoboth Beach at the end of Ocean Drive. There is about a one-mile long trail that borders the pond and ends at an elevated observation platform. The trail also passes through some unique maritime forest.

Dec 13 – Indian River Inlet, Main parking lot just south of the inlet.

Park as close to the inlet and the ocean as you can. This is one of our favorite destinations for winter birding, BUT it can be cold and windy so come dressed warmly. We will be looking for sea-ducks, loons, Gannets, Bonaparte’s Gulls, Purple Sandpipers, and others.

Osher Spring Birding in the Field and Classroom

All classes will begin at 8 am and end by 11 am. The meeting locations are shown below. We are trying to arrange for a suitable meeting room at the locations, but in some instances we may have the classroom session outdoors, and on some days we may not have a classroom session. Be sure to check Bill’s blog for any last minute instructions or change in plans. He will update it by 6 am on the day of a class.   https://billfintel.blogspot.com/

April 12 – Cape Henlopen Nature Center (park tag req’d)

April 19 and 26 – NO CLASS

May 3 – Prime Hook NWR Headquarters

May 10 – Cape Henlopen Nature Center (park tag req’d)

May 17 – Gordon’s Pond Parking Lot (park tag req’d)

May 24 – Prime Hook NWR Headquarters. From there we will carpool to the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion . If you wish to join the group at Mispillion, please make prior arrangements with Sally.

Be sure to bring binoculars, a hat and rain repellent jacket. Water, a snack, insect repellent and long pants are all recommended.

If you are unable to attend a class, please contact Sally or Bill so we can contact someone on the Wait List.

OLLI Fall 2016 Birding Schedule, Revised 11/4/16 to include Delaware Botannic Gardens

OLLI Fall 2016 Birding Schedule – Revised 10/21/16 and 11/4/16

Bill Fintel, cell 302-727-3273

Sally Fintel, cell 302-682-0300

Their home 302-645-5561

General – Wear comfortable walking shoes as we may walk on level ground up to 1.5 miles. Bring sun screen, insect repellent, a snack and something to drink. Also come prepared for windy cool weather and a shower. If significant rain is forecast the class will be cancelled. See http://billfintel.blogspot.com/ for any last minute notices. If the weather looks iffy, Bill will post the class status at the latest by 6 am on the day of the class.

Oct 19 – Assawoman Wildlife Management Area (completed class)

We met at 8 am at the Ocean View Town Hall and Community Center and decided to go to Assawoman because of the favorable weather. We observed 34 species. The check list is available on Bill’s Blog (link above).

Oct 26 – James Farm and Assawoman Canal Trail

Meet at 8 am at the Ocean View Town Hall and Community Center. See the map on the back of an OLLI Catalog, or visit lifelonglearning.udel.edu/lewes/locations. From this location we will walk to the Assawoman Canal Trail and spend about an hour walking the trail. We will then drive to the James Farm. The James Farm has several trails through a mix of woods and fields, plus several overlooks on Indian River Bay.

Nov 2 – Gordon’s Pond (a part of Cape Henlopen State Park)

Meet at the main parking lot for Gordon’s Pond. This is accessed by going north through the town of Rehoboth Beach at the end of Ocean Drive.  See this link from Google maps  https://goo.gl/maps/y38z8QYaDEq  There is about a one mile long trail that borders the pond and ends at an elevated observation platform. The trail also passes through some unique maritime forest.

Nov 9 – Holt’s Landing and the Delaware Botanic Gardens

Meet at Holt’s Landing at 8 am. See this link to Google Maps for directions 

https://goo.gl/maps/iqtX1XEfomk   We will bird Indian River Bay and adjacent woods for about 45 minutes and then depart for the Delaware Botanic Gardens (DBG),  which is about 15 minutes away just east of Dagsboro on Piney Neck Road.  At DBG, Gregg Tepper and Janet Point will give us a short presentation of what is planned, then we will bird the woods, fields and waterfront of this outstanding 37 acre property on Pepper Creek.

Nov 16 – Indian River Inlet, Burton’s Island and Silver Lake in Rehoboth

Meet at Indian River Inlet parking lot just southeast of the inlet. Park as close to the inlet and the ocean as you can. This is one of my favorite destinations for winter birding, BUT it can be cold and windy so come dressed warmly. We will be looking for seaducks, loons and Gannets.

Road Scholar Bird Checklist, Sep 27-30, 2016

The checklist can be accessed by clicking HERE. Note that there is a Magnifier button to enlarge the text located in the lower right hand corner. This check list also includes birds seen Friday with the group of 11 at Gordon's Pond.

Field trip locations and highlights are below:

Tuesday, 9/27 - Cape Henlopen State Park in the morning, a cruise south for about 3 miles on the Lewes Rehoboth Canal on the Cape Water Taxi in the afternoon. Weather cloudy with occasional drizzle. Highlights were both Yellow and Black-crowned Night Herons, and on the cruise, 10 Belted Kingfishers and many raptors, including 2 Adult Bald Eagles, a Merlin and a Kestrel.

Wednesday, 9/28 - Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge until after lunch, then Mispillion Inlet and Prime Hook Road in the afternoon. Windy, with one period of heavy rain. Highlights were 18 species of shorebirds including 3 Marbled Godwits and 1 American Golden Plover. Also several Bald Eagles and at least 2 Peregrines were seen.

Thursday, 9/29 - Indian River Inlet, Ocean off Rehoboth Beach, and the Ferry Terminal. Gale force winds all day with light to moderate rain in the morning, and heavy afternoon rain in the afternoon. We stayed indoors for programs during the afternoon. The only bird of note was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull seen very well mixed in with a flock of Great Black-backed gulls for comparison.

Friday, 9/30 - Gordon's Pond Trail by foot. Windy but only a light drizzle in the first hour. New birds on Friday included Sanderling, Northern Bobwhite, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Indigo Bunting.

Tuesday, May 13 OLLI Field Trip to Gordon's Pond

Great morning weather-wise after some overnight rain concerns, AND some great looks at gorgeous birds, like an almost iridescent male Indigo Bunting in early morning sunlight (thanks to Terry Sohl for above pic), and male Blue Grosbeaks also in great light. Other good birds at Gordon's Pond were Yellow Warbler, scope views of a male Common Yellowthroat about 30 feet away, Eastern Kingbirds, and last but not least, 8 species of shorebirds, of which the Dunlin seemed to rate the highest reviews by our group.

Then out to the ocean beach, for a good look at tracks and a few burrows of Ghost Crabs (above), plus some flyby Black Skimmers and many diving DC Cormorants. After that we went to the wooded park in Rehoboth where some did get to see an American Redstart and a Magnolia Warbler, but admittedly, the park was tough birding.

Our class has now enjoyed 4 field trips from 4/22 to 5/13, and observed 103 species of birds. I am certainly pleased with the birds we have experienced, because we have seen so many very well, and shared a great learning experience.

Next week we meet at Prime Hook HQ at 8 am, and from there we will car pool to the State Wildlife Management Area at Prime Hook.

Road Scholar Gordon's Pond bird walk 5/2/14

Our walk this morning was in mostly sunny and only a bit cool conditions, and during it we observed 5 very nice birds we had not seen previously this week. The new birds were: Belted Kingfisher, Blue Grosbeak, Stilt Sandpiper, American Oystercatcher and Red-throated Loon. That brought our group list total to 123 species for the week.

My highlights for today were the male and female Blue Grosbeaks, as they were absolutely awesome viewed through the scope, probably no more than 30 ft. away (I am sure Neal got some great photos which I will post when I get them). I also really enjoyed the Stilt Sandpiper, which we all got to study at some length. It is an uncommon shorebird, which I do not get to see every year.

And from this afternoon, here are 2 pics in our backyard. (You get to do the id :)

These pics were shot through our kitchen window, so they are not real sharp, but they do prove that moving water works.

Our best to all who were on this week's Road Scholar birding program. You were a hardy group, and consequently we all enjoyed many special birds in spite of the adverse weather conditions.

Bill & Sally Fintel, Ed Crawford, John Hoyt, and David Weber

PS - A post of links I promised comes next.

OLLI 5/22/13 FT to Gordon's Pond

Blue Grosbeak, photo by Chuck Fullmer, Georgetown, DE

Almost everyone drove to our meeting point at the Gordon's Pond parking lot, except for 3 hardy soles who biked there from Lewes via the Breakwater-Junction trail. We all had good looks  at the many shorebirds in the shallow water of Gordon's Pond. These included Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs (mostly lesser), Semipalmated Plover, and Willet.

From a land bird perspective, we had excellent views of some very colorful birds, like Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and Common Yellowthroat, plus a very unique year-round resident, the Brown-headed Nuthatch.

We concluded our field trip by checking out the Atlantic Ocean beach, where all saw distant Black-bellied Plover and American Oystercatcher. Our total species for this FT was 51.

Next week we will meet at Prime Hook to carpool to the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Inlet. There we should get good looks at spawning Horseshoe Crabs and shorebirds feeding on the eggs they lay. Shorebirds should include the endangered Red Knot.

PS - Chuck Fullmer, who took the above photo, is a good friend and member of the Sussex Bird Club. You can view his other bird photos at All Season Shooter.

Road Scholar FT to Gordon's Pond and Rehoboth Woods, 5/3/13, Plus Summary Checklist

Red-headed Woodpecker, Bill Fintel photo

The last morning we started at the Gordon’s Pond area of Cape Henlopen State Park. It was cold and blowing about 20 mph out of the East, so land birding was next to impossible. Also, for unknown reasons, shorebirds were scarce, and waterfowl were non-existent. Thus, we promptly returned to the bus and went into Rehoboth to a small wooded park there.

This proved to be a good move, as we encountered a very cooperative (and rare for this region) Red-headed Woodpecker, as well as a Blue-headed Vireo. Also seen by many who tried for it was a colorful Parula Warbler.

Our tally for 3 and ½ days of birding was 120 species. This is about average for visiting the locations we visited, and actually is good considering the unusually cool spring. The following link is to a pdf of our summary checklist for 4/30 to 5/4/13. (Use the + tab to enlarge if needed for readability.)