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.

Winter Pelagic Birding Trip out of Lewes

I am posting this for our OLLI birding class participants because several of you asked me about local pelagic birding.

I have been on many of these winter trips, and have enjoyed them immensely. My personal highlight has been the thousands of Dovekies encountered. Concerned about winter cold? Don't be, because the sea is actually keeping temps well above 32 deg F. Concerned about rough seas? If it is too rough the trip will not go, and usually you will be notified 24 hrs in advance..... and you will get a full refund. If you are prone to motion sickness, but still want to go, check with your doctor for his recommendations. "The patch" works very well for Sally, but does require a prescription.

The trips are run by long time pelagic birder Paul Guris of See Life Paulagics . His web site has an abundance of information on pelagic birding, but for a quick easy read about the upcoming Jan 31, 2015 pelagic trip, following is Paul's post on de-birds:

"We have scheduled a pelagic out of Lewes, DE aboard the 110' Thelma Dale V
on Saturday, January 31.  The trip is scheduled from 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM and
the cost is $175.

Target species include Dovekie, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Common &
Thick-billed Murres, Northern Fulmar, Red Phalarope, Black-legged
Kittiwake, Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, all of which
have been found on past trips.  We also expect to see more common birds
like loons, cormorants, sea ducks, Gannets, and Bonaparte's Gull.  Possible
cetaceans we've seen in winter before include Fin, Minke, and Humpback
Whales and Common Dolphin.

We will carry chum to try to keep a flock of gulls behind the boat all
day.  These in turn attract other birds that are curious about what’s going
on.  Be sure to bring your camera.  The Gannets come in so close on most
trips that they can be well photographed even with a short lens or even a
quick point and shoot!

This boat is spacious and stable with a birdable upper decked, heated
cabin, and separate men's and ladies facilities. The captain and mates are
experienced with birding trips, and as always we'll have multiple leaders
to help find and get people on the birds.


To make a reservation or for more information, contact us by phone at
215-234-6805 or e-mail us at info@paulagics.com."

Osher Fall 2014 Bird Class Summary

We observed a very respectable total of 113 species on our eight field trips. The check list can be found HERE. There is one additional write-in of Purple Sandpiper not shown on this list.

Some highlight birds were Hudsonian Godwit at Gordons Pond, Great Cormorant at Indian River Inlet, and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow at Fowler Beach. Have a good winter of birding, and try to join at least one of the 4 local Christmas Bird Counts listed below along with the contact information:

Milford - 28 Dec - Chris Bennett   cpb2564@gmail.com   302-424-1126
Seaford -  2 Jan - Glen Lovelace  glenlovelace@verizon.net   302-628-3978
Rehoboth - 3 Jan - Sally O'Byrne   salobyrne@gmail.com   302-945-3236
Prime Hook/Cape Henlopen - Jan 4  Fran Rohrbacher  rhorbaf@aol.com  302-475-5771

Tree Swallows - they are tough, attractive and work together

The above pics were taken at the Cape Henlopen Point parking lot Oct 26, 2013. The Tree Swallows are feeding on Wax Myrtle berries. It is an amazing sight, when you catch it right.

Many thanks for such an enthusiastic Fall 2014 Osher class

Sally and I have been working on the cumulative bird list for this fall's Osher Lifelong Learning class in Lewes, DE, and I will post it soon.

In the meantime, to get you adventuresome, attached are 2 pictures from offshore birding (and fishing). They are of Wilson's Storm-petrels, a bird about the size of a Purple Martin. It spends 90+% of its life at sea, only coming ashore to breed on Southern hemisphere islands. They can usually be seen from shore at Cape Henlopen in mid summer, but much better from a boat.

Nov 5 Osher Birding Class at Indian River Inlet

Weather Update, 6 am Wed: West winds, 10 to 15, partly sunny, high 68 deg F.
Birds observed in our area recently include: Horned Grebes, N. Gannets, Common and Red-throated Loons, Bonaparte's Gulls, Black and Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Pine Siskens.

DIRECTIONS:
As a reminder from the schedule, we will meet at the south side ocean front parking lot at 8 am.

Weather looks great right now, so hope you can make the field trip. I will make a Nov 5, 6 am update just in case there are any last minute adjustments or recommendations. The ocean front is usually cool, so bring wind-breaker jackets and a few more layers underneath.

Indian River Inlet is one of my favorite places in Sussex County DE to bird from November through March. We are on the early side of the best birds, but I will take time to describe some of the specialties you can see in the-dead-of-winter, and how and where to search for them.

Below is a Black-legged Kittiwake (im) which can on occassion be seen in winter at Indian River Inlet.