To all registered participants,
Below is the class schedule, which you should also receive by email. I have tried to add some new locations, and also visit some very reliable older locations. Feel free to email me with any questions.
Bill
billfintel@gmail.com
OLLI Spring 2013 Class Schedule
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 will
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.
March 27 - Prime Hook
NWR Headquarters. We will bird all types of habitats, such as
woodlands, fields, marshes, impoundments and bay beaches. Osprey will be back
by now, and many waterfowl should still be present.
Apr 3 - Cape Henlopen
State Park Nature Center (sticker
required). Northbound raptor migration will be underway, sea ducks should still
be present along with Northern Gannets, and we will of course search for two
resident specialties, the Piping Plover and Brown-headed Nuthatch.
Apr 10 - Prime Hook
NWR Headquarters. On this field trip we
will visit several areas we did not visit March 27. Some of our target birds
will be early shorebirds, and early woodland migrants like Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
and Brown Thrasher.
April 24 – Redden
State Forrest. We will meet at the
Headquarters just north of Georgetown. For directions see http://www.delawarebirdingtrail.org/cp3.html . We should have a mix of resident and transient
neotropical migrants. Summer Tanager, Worm-eating Warbler and Red-headed
Woodpecker are some species we will search for.
May 8 – Milford Neck
Wildlife Management Area. Meet at Prime Hook Headquarters for carpooling
to Milford Neck. We will search the woodlands for species like Scarlet Tanager,
Acadian and Great-crested Flycatchers, and several species of thrushes, all of
which should be in full song. We may also try for the elusive Virginia Rail and
Marsh Wren where the road crosses some extensive marshland.
May 15 – Prime Hook State Wildlife Management Area.
Meet at Prime Hook Headquarters for carpooling to the State Area. Walking is
easy and tick-free along a gravel road through some very old forest. This is an
excellent woods for migrants warblers, and for Yellow-throated Vireo, Pileated
Woodpecker and Barred Owl.
May 22 - Gordon’s
Pond (access from Rehoboth Beach going north up coast) -
This area hosts a small but productive maritime forest, and excellent mud flats
for shorebirds. We will take an easy walk to an elevated overlook of the pond.
May 29 - Mispillion Nature Center, either
meet at Prime Hook at 8:00 am for carpooling to Mispillion, OR meet at the
Mispillion Nature Center at 8:30 am. This is our annual spring pilgrimage to
witness Horseshoe Crabs spawning and the thousands of shorebirds that feed on
their eggs. It is also the best time and place to see the endangered Red Knot.
The real highlight for me was approximately 10 Piping Plover (above) very close on the bay side of the Point. Other birds observed there were American Oystercatcher, Brant and distant Black and Surf Scoters.
From the Hawk watch we had many Northern Gannets (above), and a very close Northern Harrier. At Herring Point we eventually had good looks at a Common Loon feeding in the surf, plus some distant looks at Red-throated Loons. We finished the morning back behind the Nature Center where most got excellent looks at a beautiful male Pine Warbler (below). Our total species count for the morning was 39.
We will meet at 8 am next week, April 10, at Prime Hook NWR Headquarters.
