A field trip with the Sussex Bird Club took us to Delaware Seashore State Park. We birded the Indian River Inlet and beach first. Many northern gannets were scene and were relatively closer to the shore than normal. There were a few female long-tailed ducks in the inlet. Other birds we saw here were red-throated and common loons, surf scoter, flocks of snow geese, ruddy turnstone, dunlin, Forster’s tern, and great black-backed gull. We went to the marina and Bourton Island next. Burton Island was closed for hunting so we only got as far as the causeway to the island. In the trees by the dirt parking lot, we saw 18 black-crowned night herons. All but two were juveniles. They flew around for about 15 minutes. There were many northern gannets and many were much closer to the shore than they normally are. Other birds seen here included bufflehead, great blue heron, yellow-rumped warbler, belted kingfisher, and northern harrier.
MY PHOTOS: black-crowned night heron x 2, northern gannet, long-tailed duck, great blue heron, ring-billed gull
