We went on a field trip with the Sussex Bird Club and covered three areas. There were about two dozen members attending the trip. The first area was at the DuPont Nature Center platform and on the nearby ground areas. There were hundreds of shorebirds including several red knots mixed in with semipalmated sandpipers and dunlins. Other birds seen included, osprey, short-billed dowitcher, spotted sandpiper, black-bellied plover, bald eagle (imm.), ruddy turnstone, barn swallow, American black duck, red-winged blackbird, willet, Forster’s tern, and great black-backed gull. Next, we walked along Lighthouse Road up to the guard rails by the creek. Several seaside sparrows were seen in the tall grasses. Other birds seen included willet, laughing gull, ruddy turnstone, boat-tailed grackle, snowy egret, osprey, ruddy turnstone, bald eagle (imm.), and turkey vulture. Our last stop was the Marvel Boardwalk. Two ospreys were nesting on a platform close to the end of the boardwalk. There were at least two young ospreys in the nest. Other birds seen from the boardwalk included northern cardinal, seaside sparrow, willet, American robin, red-winged blackbird, laughing gull, and American robin.
MY PHOTOS: short-billed dowitcher, ruddy turnstone, willet, osprey, seaside sparrow, spotted sandpiper, barn swallow, American black duck
