OLLI Fall 2016 Birding Checklist - Update after 11/2/16 Class

The 11/2 class went to Gordon's Pond. We added 12 species to our cumulative class list for a current total of 51 species. Highlights were 4 juvenile White Ibis, Northern Shoveler, Royal Tern, Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow, and Swamp Sparrow. We also had distant views of a Northern Gannet, and a quick look at a Northern Harrier at the very end of the trip. Our next class begins at Holt's Landing State Park and then goes to the Delaware Botanic Gardens. See the 11/4/16 posting for details.

HERE is the link to the updated check 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.

Tomorrow's Field Trip for OLLI

As per a recent email from Renee/Anna, please meet at the old Ocean View Town Hall and Community Center at 8 am.

AND as an update, we may not go to the James Farm....as we are looking at going to Assawoman Wildlife Management Area (WMA) because it has been dry recently, and the area can be closed after heavy rains.

So bottom line, we will work out the details at the old Ocean View Town Hall at 8 am Wed.

The weather looks good, waterfowl have arrived in good numbers, so it should be a good trip.

And do bring insect repellent, sun screen and water plus a snack.

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.

SBC Assawoman Field Trip, 9-20-16, Plans re Weather

UPDATE TUE at 5:45 am:

The field trip is a GO. Looks like we will have some showers, but no persistent heavy rain.  So if you decide to join in, be prepared for showers......And we should never be far from the cars.

Meeting time and place: 8 am at the ocean front parking lot on the south side of Indian River Inlet.

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MON about 5 pm: Our Sussex Bird Club field trip to Assawoman Wildlife Management Area is a go IF only showers are forecast (as they are right now). If today's heavy rain continues, and is forecast for Tuesday morning as well, the trip will be cancelled.

So check this blog after 6 am tomorrow (Tuesday) for the final assessment of whether the field trip is a GO or a NO GO.

My latest NOAA forecast for Assawoman is:

Tuesday

A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 78. East wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

New Zealand SBC program 10-9-16

New Zealand, Mythical Land in the Southern Hemisphere

October 9, 2016

Bill and Sally Fintel

No-where else I know of can one find snow capped alps, Kiwis, Albatross in abundance, some of the largest Sperm Whales in the world, and some of the friendliest people in the world. Plus lets not forget superb wines and terrific fishing. Yes, Sally and I are considering retiring there.

This presentation will highlight our visit to New Zealand in March 2016 accompanied by 3 very close friends. Photography will be the main emphasis, but some of the history and uniqueness of New Zealand will also be covered. For instance, the largest raptor that ever lived, lived in New Zealand, and fed on the tallest bird that ever lived, the Moa.  New Zealand was part of the southern hemisphere super continent Gondwana and separated from it early in the evolution of life on Earth, so it became a truly unique island in terms of species that evolved on it…..like Kiwis.

Founders of the Sussex Bird Club

This title may become a series, but for now, I just want to honor Alex Summers. He called me back in about 1980, and said "Hey why don't we do a Christmas Bird Count here in the Seaford area?" So we did...unofficially in 1981, and it became part of the Audubon Christmas Bird Counts in 1982 until present. And the Sussex Bird Club was formed in 1982, with first President Bill Fintel.

But now back to the inspirational Alex Summers. He was an expert birder and also a Hosta expert supreme. He passed on over a decade ago, but his many friends and close family have maintained a wonderful web site in his memory. You can view it here at Honeysong Farm.

I have just lost a very close fishing friend, and realize that after 70, our years are limited, but still to be enjoyed, and shared with others as best we can. Below is a relational memory of Alex, Sally and me.