We birded in five areas of the refuge this afternoon. We identified only three birds at the Visitor’s Center—turkey vulture, song sparrow, and American crow. The Dike Trail was moderately productive where some of the birds we identified included mallard, pileated woodpecker, northern pintail, green-winged teal, dunlin, bald eagle (four immatures in the water near Broadkill Beach Road), yellow-rumped warbler, great blue heron, greater yellowlegs, and American black duck. Some birds identified along the Boardwalk Trail included an adult bald eagle, two northern harriers, eastern towhee, American robin, red-winged blackbird, and green-winged teal. We birded Foord’s Landing Road from the pavilion to the boat launch. We saw the same eastern screech-owl in the same knot in a tree near the pavilion that we saw on February 10. Some other birds identified in this area included belted kingfisher, white-throated sparrow, Carolina chickadee, northern flicker, and red-bellied woodpecker. Our last stop was at Fleetwood Pond. Two small flocks of common merganser flew over the pond. We also saw dozens of Canada geese and a belted kingfisher. We heard a mourning dove and a red-bellied woodpecker, too.
MY PHOTOS: bald eagle, northern harrier, great blue heron, mallard, eastern screech-owl, song sparrow
