Bombay Hook 5/19 & 5/21--Northern Bobwhite, Black-necked Stilt, Swainson's Thrush, Grasshopper Sparrow

Black-necked Stilt

There aren't too many birds in Delaware that we can't find in NJ, but there are a couple of specialties of the state that make a trip down there worth the while for a little 14th anniversary getaway. We started our first trip around Bombay Hook on midday Wednesday. The impoundments there seem better "controlled" for shorebirds than Brig and there were thousands of them--Dunlins, dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, semipalm and semisand, Black-bellied Plovers, the occasional tringa species. My strategy was to look for anything bigger than a Black-belly Plover and it wasn't until the far end of the Shearness Pool on our way return trip that I found one of those specialties, a single Black-necked Stilt. It just stood out with its bubblegum pink legs, towering over the peeps pecking at the mud.  Interestingly, there were no avocets this trip, while in March we had hundreds. Where do they go? It isn't like they fly north to mate, otherwise we'd be inundated with them in NJ instead of getting excited about the 3 that show up at Brig. 

The next day Shari & I did a little exploring, going down to the southwest part of the state to tour the Delaware Botanic Gardens which are all native plantings. It was interesting, but not a place to see many birds on a hot morning. Our trip to Prime Hook yielded little, though Eastern Meadowlark in the entrance fields was a surprise and a state bird for us. Some rarities had been reported along Big Stone Beach Road which we had birded a few years ago with great success. This year, not so much--no Brown-headed Nuthatch, no Sedge Wren. A pair of Indigo Buntings that looked to be nesting was the most interesting sighting. Then we doubled back to one of our favorite spots, The DuPont Nature Center which did not disappoint with thousands of shorebirds on the beach along the jetty, including two more Black-necked Stilts, along with hundreds of Ruddy Turnstones and a dozen or so Red Knots. 

Friday, our last day, we started at Bombay Hook around 8 in the morning and it was by far the most productive of our days. Along with 3 more very entertaining Black-necked Stilts, we added 3 more year birds, two of them thanks to Shari's sharp hearing. As we started on the drive Shari asked me what sparrow made a little insect sound. Of course, I hadn't heard it. I suggested, knowing the habitat and knowing that I'd seen them there in the past, Grasshopper Sparrow. I played her the song and she said, "That's what I heard." And so did the bird because it flew right to the edge of the field and gave us brief but diagnostic looks. Later, along the Bear Swamp Pool trail we saw a thrush that wasn't one of the Wood Thrushes we'd been hearing in various spots. It stayed behind leaves but we got decent enough looks to confirm Swainson's Thrush, a thrush that for some reason eludes me pretty regularly around here. 

As we started to go around a second time after lunch, by the Grasshopper Sparrow field Shari called out "Bobwhite." She'd heard it, I hadn't. Of course. We waited but no second call came. We drove around Raymond, Shearness, Bear Swamp Pool again, skipping the tangent of Finis Pool. On our way back, just before we made the turn to take us to the HQ parking lot, we both heard BOBWHITE as if it were in the car with us. Shari was relieved that not only was she not having auditory hallucinations but that I'm not completely deaf yet. 

For our 3 days in Delaware we had 84 species plus two very good Indian meals (Flavor of India on Dupont Blvd next to the Super 8 Motel).

Species              First Sighting
Canada Goose   Bombay Hook
Mute Swan   Bombay Hook
Mallard   Bombay Hook
American Black Duck   Bombay Hook
Green-winged Teal   Bombay Hook
Northern Bobwhite   Bombay Hook
Wild Turkey   Bombay Hook
Rock Pigeon   Big Stone Beach Rd.
Mourning Dove   Bombay Hook
Clapper Rail   Bombay Hook
Virginia Rail   Bombay Hook
Black-necked Stilt   Bombay Hook
Black-bellied Plover   Bombay Hook
Semipalmated Plover   Bombay Hook
Killdeer   Bombay Hook
Ruddy Turnstone   DuPont Nature Center
Red Knot   DuPont Nature Center
Stilt Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Dunlin   Bombay Hook
Least Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Short-billed Dowitcher   Bombay Hook
Greater Yellowlegs   Bombay Hook
Willet   Bombay Hook
Lesser Yellowlegs   DuPont Nature Center
Laughing Gull   Delaware Botanic Gardens
Ring-billed Gull   Bombay Hook
Herring Gull   Bombay Hook
Great Black-backed Gull   DuPont Nature Center
Forster's Tern   Bombay Hook
Double-crested Cormorant   Bombay Hook
Great Blue Heron   Bombay Hook
Great Egret   Bombay Hook
Snowy Egret   Bombay Hook
Little Blue Heron   Bombay Hook
Glossy Ibis   Prime Hook
Turkey Vulture   Bombay Hook
Osprey   Delaware Botanic Gardens
Bald Eagle   Bombay Hook
Red-tailed Hawk   Hilton Garden Inn
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Bombay Hook
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Bombay Hook
Great Crested Flycatcher   Bombay Hook
Eastern Kingbird   Bombay Hook
White-eyed Vireo   Bombay Hook
Yellow-throated Vireo   Bombay Hook
Red-eyed Vireo   Bombay Hook
Blue Jay   Bombay Hook
American Crow   Delaware Botanic Gardens
Fish Crow   Hilton Garden Inn
Carolina Chickadee   Delaware Botanic Gardens
Tufted Titmouse   Bombay Hook
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Bombay Hook
Purple Martin   Bombay Hook
Tree Swallow   Bombay Hook
Barn Swallow   Bombay Hook
Marsh Wren   Bombay Hook
Carolina Wren   Bombay Hook
European Starling   Delaware Botanic Gardens
Gray Catbird   Bombay Hook
Brown Thrasher   Bombay Hook
Northern Mockingbird   Hilton Garden Inn
Swainson's Thrush   Bombay Hook
Wood Thrush   Bombay Hook
American Robin   Bombay Hook
House Sparrow   Bombay Hook
House Finch   Bombay Hook
American Goldfinch   Bombay Hook
Grasshopper Sparrow   Bombay Hook
Chipping Sparrow   Bombay Hook
Field Sparrow   Bombay Hook
Seaside Sparrow   Bombay Hook
Eastern Towhee   Bombay Hook
Eastern Meadowlark   Prime Hook
Red-winged Blackbird   Bombay Hook
Brown-headed Cowbird   Prime Hook
Common Grackle   Bombay Hook
Boat-tailed Grackle   DuPont Nature Center
Ovenbird   Bombay Hook
Common Yellowthroat   Bombay Hook
Yellow Warbler   Bombay Hook
Blackpoll Warbler   Bombay Hook
Northern Cardinal   Bombay Hook
Indigo Bunting   Bombay Hook