I went on a field trip with the Sussex Bird Club to Cape Henlopen State Park. First, we walked around the 2.6-mile-long Walking Dunes Trail. Some of the birds we identified along this trail included red-winged blackbird, downy woodpecker, brown-headed nuthatch, Cooper’s hawk, northern harrier, …
After birding by the parking lot near the Historic District, we went down to what was left of the lake. Two months earlier, heavy rains caused the dam to break and most of the lake was drained. However, there were some pools of water and …
Some of the birds we identified at the Visitor’s Center were northern flicker, downy woodpecker, blue jay, and American robin. Birds identified along the Boardwalk Trail included brown thrasher, eastern phoebe, great blue heron, red-winged blackbird, gray catbird, Carolina wren, Canada goose, and northern cardinal. …
I walked along parts of the Green, Orange, Red, and Purple Trails from the parking lot to the beach to the road. Some of the birds I identified were turkey vulture, royal tern, great egret, laughing gull, green heron, double-crested cormorant, brown pelican (flock of …
We birded the main trail loop on the south side of the road. We briefly saw an adult red-headed woodpecker in a dead tree at a moderate distance. Other birds identified along this trail included Baltimore oriole, white-eyed vireo, black vulture, laughing gull, great blue …
We walked around the southern trail loop. The highlight was that we saw an immature red-headed woodpecker land on a tree near us. We also heard a northern waterthrush in the pond on the outside of the loop. Other birds we identified included Canada goose …
We birded in four areas of the refuge. Some of the birds we saw along Beach Road were herring gull, great egret, tricolored heron, bald eagle, belted kingfisher, osprey, Forster’s tern, glossy ibis, white ibis, and Canada goose. Next, we went to the Tom’s Cove …
We covered both sides of Cedar Neck Road. On the west side, we walked along the Red, Orange, and Purple Trails. The more interesting birds we saw were by the bay. These birds included green heron (several), great blue heron (a few), barn swallow, Forster’s …
Our first stop was at the beach near The Point. The tide was low so we saw several birds walking on the sandbars and swimming nearby. The special bird we saw here was a roseate tern mingled in with royal terns and laughing gulls. Other …
We birded in seven areas of the refuge. The Bear Swamp Pool was closed due to a fox with kits. A few birds we identified by the Visitor’s Center were common yellowthroat, purple martin, American goldfinch, and red-bellied woodpecker. Next, we walked the Raymond Pool …
