eBird Check Lists for May 22 Field Trip to Mispillion and nearby

Many thanks to Rob Blye for helping lead this field trip and for compiling 4 eBird check lists for the 4 locations we birded. Folling are links to these check lists in chronological order:

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56614405

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56614931

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56620835

https://ebird.org/pa/view/checklist/S56657222

May 22, 2019 OLLI Field Trip to Mispillion

This was our last class field trip for spring 2019, and it was a good one. The highlight for me was a field with an estimated 2,500 Black-bellied Plover along Prime Hook Road. We also saw many shorebirds from the observation deck of the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Inlet. Unfortunately that consisted of only about 5 Red knots, that were also far away. Perhaps the main numbers have yet to arrive on their way north. Rob Blye's eBird check list links will be in the next post, and after that I will try to compile one class checklist for this spring.

On the visual side, Steve Walker again got some great bird pics from this past field trip.

A summary of our last OLLI field trip on May 27, 2018

We had a great morning birding with so many special local birds cooperating and being viewed very well. Some immediate highlights that come to my mind are Grasshopper Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark. I think most in the class got to see both birds through the scope. Both are declining due to habitat loss....grasslands....and Prime Hook NWR is doing a great job to maintain grassland habitat in the fields just before the Refuge Headquarters where we saw these two species.

Other highlights that pop into my mind were excellent views of Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting. Both these birds favor edge habitat, which equals grasslands bordered by secondary growth and wooded areas.

In the shorebird category, we had our first views of Dunlin, now in breeding plumage with the reddish back and black bellies, along with Semi-palmated Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs. Our best location for these was a flooded field just off Fowler Beach Rd. Other waterbird highlights were about 50 Black Skimmers and about a dozen Least Terns along Prime Hook Road just before Prime Hook Beach.

Among the woodland bird highlights were excellent views of Prothonotary Warbler and Ovenbird. Both of these were seen very well along Deep Branch Rd. Many also had good views of Scarlet Tanager and Eastern Towhee.

I plan to publish a cumulative class list after our last class, which is May 30, meeting at Prime Hook NWR at 8 am and then car pooling to the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion River. If you wish to go directly to Mispillion, just send me an email. Our target birds are shorebirds feeding on Horseshoe Crab eggs, and of course our main target bird is the Red Knot........Best, Bill

A Pic of our Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird visitor

RE the video, I will try again, but I am guessing the video file was too large. So for now here is the latest pic after I set up a mister to get her bathing and fanning her tail.

Previous - Many of you saw this Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird on the field trip to our house about 2 weeks ago. Hopefully the below linked video of this little darling taken today works for you. She really does bring a smile to Sally every time she arrives.

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.

Summary, Oct 11, 2017 Field Trip to Cape Henlopen State Park

In spite of the forecast of showers, we had 12 hardy birders meet us at 8 am at the Nature Center. It did rain some, but everyone was prepared....or hardy. Following are the highlight birds from today:
American Oystercatcher
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Great Blue Heron 
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Eastern Towhee
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Peregrine Falcon
Merlin
Our total species count was 23 species, which is low, but okay for the weather we had. I will compile a combined checklist for our 5 field trips, and we will review it in our last class.

The major highlight today was a second Peregrine Falcon flying by us at Herring Point with a bird in its talons. Incredibly, this bird escaped letting out a shriek, and it turned out to be a Merlin. The Merlin was VERY mad, and started attacking the Peregrine. Both birds eventually departed looking healthy, although with a few ruffled feathers. The Peregrine was an immature. Below is a picture of an adult Peregrine taken by John Long on a Sussex Bird Club field trip at Cape Henlopen in 2015.

As promised, the link to Delaware Birds
You can access the postings without becoming a member. If you join, the postings arrive in the email address you provide. I have set up a separate email address to receive these, as they are quite numerous.

This is the link to the Wedge-tailed Eagle attacking drones in Australia

Status - Osher Field Trip on Wed, May 24, to Mispillion Inlet

Wed 5:30 am - Radar shows the rain is mostly past so we are a GO this morning. The winds are pretty stiff from the northeast and temps will only be in the mid 60's so DRESS WARMLY..... and just in case, be prepared for a sprinkle.

Reminder, meet at the Prime Hook headquarters at 8 am. We will then carpool to Mispillion and the DuPont Nature Center. We will make a few stops along the way at Slaughter Beach.

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Tue 3:30 pm - Right now this trip looks like a GO. We are forecast to get a lot of rain overnight, and some may linger past 8 am, but since we will be in our cars a lot, and also have the shelter of the DuPont Nature Center, I really think we will be okay.....BUT please check this blog site just after 6:00 am tomorrow for the latest update in case the weather is not as forecast right now. Bill

Osher Field Trip Summary for May 10 at Cape Henlopen

Today we had a very fortunate good sighting of a Piping Plover at the inside of Cape Henlopen Point. The bird was seen well by all through our 20-60x telescope. No doubt even more amazing was a Red-throated Loon feeding right along the beach just in front of us....no more than 20 ft away. We could see the speed with which its well adapted webbed feet propelled it, and it caught a tasty fish right in front of us. A rare birding super-treat I have never seen this well before.

After the Point, we walked the Point road, and the visited the Hawk Watch. Highlight birds were super looks at Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Field Sparrow. We then went to Herring Point and had good looks at an immature Lesser Black-backed Gull. In the woods at Herring Point we had great looks at an Eastern Towhee, and for some a female American Redstart.

Next week we will bird Gordon's Pond.  Shorebirds, Brown-headed Nuthatches and neotropical migrants are our target birds. Hope you all enjoyed today. Bill and Sally

Prime Hook NWR Birding Field Trip Sun, 2/26/17

We had a good, but COLD field trip with 12 participants. Winds were out of the NW at 20+ mph and temps were in the 30's when we began. Highlights were 110 American Avocets in the impoundment on the right of Broadkill Beach Rd, a drop dead view of a male American Wigeon just off the Boardwalk Trail, an adult Bald Eagle chasing a Snow Goose, 24 E. Meadowlarks with most being along Cods Rd., and amazing views of 2,500+ Snow Geese NW of Cods Rd. Come to find out later, in among them was a lone Pink-footed Goose...a vagrant from Europe.

Many thanks to Sue Gruver for compiling our below list for 2/26/17:

From: ebird-checklist@cornell.edu
To: srgruver@aol.com
Sent: 2/26/2017 12:33:02 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: eBird Report - Prime Hook NWR, Feb 26, 2017

 

Prime Hook NWR, Sussex, Delaware, US
Feb 26, 2017 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
12.0 mile(s)
Comments:     walk for the Refuge, at HQ's, Broadkill Beach Rd., Prime Hook Beach Rd. Fowler Beach Rd.
52 species (+1 other taxa)

Snow Goose  2500
Canada Goose  20
Gadwall  6
American Wigeon  3
American Black Duck  95
Mallard  2
Northern Shoveler  1000
Northern Pintail  112
Green-winged Teal  85
Greater Scaup  30
Surf Scoter  9
Bufflehead  14
Red-breasted Merganser  6
Great Blue Heron  5
Turkey Vulture  10
Osprey  1     flew over our heads on the Boardwalk trail
Northern Harrier  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Bald Eagle  10
American Avocet  110
Killdeer  2
Sanderling  1
Dunlin  45
Greater Yellowlegs  20
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Ring-billed Gull  30
Herring Gull  25
Lesser Black-backed Gull  1
Great Black-backed Gull  4
gull sp.  75
Mourning Dove  2
Northern Flicker  1
American Kestrel  1
Peregrine Falcon  1
American Crow  5
Carolina Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  3
Carolina Wren  2
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  35
Brown Thrasher  1
Northern Mockingbird  2
European Starling  65
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Dark-eyed Junco  16
White-throated Sparrow  12
Song Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  2
Northern Cardinal  14
Red-winged Blackbird  85
Eastern Meadowlark  24
Common Grackle  12
American Goldfinch  2

Tomorrows OLLI Field trip to Holt's Landing and the Delaware Botanic Gardens

6 am Wed: The forecast has deteriorated, so we are CANCELLING today's field trip. 
From NOAA: Showers, mainly after 8am. High near 59. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. 

This decision is reinforced by the current radar image showing a large band of steady rain currently just west of the Chesapeake Bay and headed this way arriving between 8 and 9 am. Click Northeast Loop to see movement over the past hour.  http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/northeast.php

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From 5 pm Tue:
The weather does look a bit questionable, so please check back here after 6:00 am tomorrow to see if the class/field trip is still a go. If we just have to endure a few showers, we will do the class, BUT be sure to bring some water repellent clothing.

The NOAA forecast for Wed where we are going is:  
Showers, mainly after 11am. High near 60. Light west wind becoming northwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

With temps forecast to be warm, and winds light, a few showers should be no problem, BUT do check here just after 6 am in case there are any changes overnight.

Bill

Shorebirds Observed on May 18 Osher Field Trip to Mispillion Inlet

Our group of twelve today observed our target bird, the Red Knot, as well as 10 other species of shorebirds, plus delightful views of a Clapper Rail and singing Seaside Sparrow. The shorebirds we observed (in taxonomic order) included: Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, American Oystercatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin and Short-billed Dowithcher.

If you add to this the 7 species of shorebirds we saw on other Osher field trips this spring, we had a very respectable total of 18 species of shorebirds for our spring class. The additional 7 species includes: Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Least Sandpiper.

6 am UPDATE - Wed, May 11 Osher Field Trip

We are a GO.....Radar shows most of the short term rain will be south of us, and the next rain to approach the Milton area, where we will be, is about 5 hours away. Take a look at the Sterling radar loop  from 5:45 am (and refresh for latest loop). Showers are possible, so bring light rain gear, and as I said, we can do a lot from the cars........and we will have a walkie talkie for each car.  Meeting time and location: Prime Hook HQ parking lot at 8 am.


Tue 5 pm: My latest analysis of the NOAA forecast for tomorrow morning indicates our Osher field trip should be a "go"............BUT as you know, the weather has zero allegiance to NOAA forecasts. So please check this blog just after 6 am tomorrow, in case there is a major change in the forecast during our planned field trip from 8 to 11 am.

And for a few more details on where we plan to go....We plan to take you to new good birding areas that are not well known. We can do a great deal of this in cars without rain creating a problem. Three areas we will definitely visit include The Nature Conservancy's 2 preserves of McCabe and Ponder's, plus the Delaware Wildlife Management Area on Little Neck Rd just off Prime Hook Rd. All 3 are great woodland habitats, and woodland migrants are now coming through in excellent numbers.

Osher Spring 2016 Field Birding Schedule

Our first class will meet at Cape Henlopen at the Point parking lot. Our target species for this class is the endangered Piping Plover. Checking the Point out this morning, Sally and I had 4 Piping Plovers. The below pic is from a couple years ago at Cape Henlopen.

Osher 2016 Spring Field Birding

Meeting time for all Classes is 8 am at the designated location. We will not have a class if major bad weather, like heavy rain, is forecast. If the weather looks questionable, check Bill’s blog, http://billfintel.blogspot.com/ for last minute go-no go decisions. He will post a decision at the latest by 6 am on the day of a class. Also be sure to dress appropriately, as it can be windy and cool along the coast, plus a few showers will not deter us.

April 13 -  Meet at Cape Henlopen Point parking lot. This is the lot farthest north on the ocean and Bay. Our goal will be to find and observe Piping Plover, N. Gannets, Scoters, Loons, and migrating raptors. Inland we will search for Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pine Warbler and other woodland birds. Park entrance fee required. Low tide 8:29 am.

April 20 –   Location TBD - Check Bill’s Blog, http://billfintel.blogspot.com/  by noon April 19 to see where we are meeting, where we will bird, and what we hope to see. The locations we visit will be based on our scouting, plus the most recent birding reports from Delaware Birds and other local sources. Hi tide 8:29 am.

April 27 – Meet at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters just off of Route 16. We will spend the morning exploring the Refuge for both woodland migrants and shorebirds. Low tide 6:44 am

May 4 – No Class

May 11 - Meet at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. Today we will bird some on the Refuge, and some on little used back roads. This will probably include exploring the Nature Conservancy’s McCabe Preserve near Milton. Our primary targets will be woodland migrants, such as Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, Prothonotary Warbler, etc. Low tide 7:07 am.

May 18 – Meet at Prime Hook NWR Headquarters. From there we will car pool directly to the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion. Our primary target bird will be the Red Knot, but many other shorebirds should be evident, such as the colorful American Oystercatchers and Ruddy Turnstones. From Mispillion we will slowly bird our way south to arrive back at Prime Hook Headquarters by 11 am. Hi tide 7:12 am.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.