Little Town of DE!

This would never happen in my Big State of Pennsylvania.

My Sunday plan was to Bird at Prime Hook Preserve. Hey, I got there early....... @ 9AM! I smiled as I saw the parking lot was full of vehicles. So where were the birders who started at 7AM?

We quickly found each other. The monthly Sunday group of ~ 20 was led by our very own Rob Schroeder who had been hailing me since the moment I pulled into the parking lot.

I pleaded to join the group and into a truck I went for three wonderful hours of birding. I broke into tears when again I was amidst my favorite Shorebird Crew!

Delaware is a little town. All of IT!

Try doing this in Pennsylvania....... it would never happen. Even if you found yourself at a State Park birding and there was another bird group....... the parks are too big to "run into each other" and who in the group would even know me.

Delaware Knows My Name!

xoxo,

Tri-State Bird & Rescue Oil Spill Workshop

The end of October I attended:

OIL SPILLS AND WILDLIFE: Workshop for Marine Mammals and Birds

Sponsored by: Clear into the Future: A DuPont Delaware Estuary Initiative

Presented by: Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc.

Hosted by: Marine Education Research & Rehabilitation Center, Inc.

I am by nature "project oriented", thus as a newbie-birder I started birding not thru club meetings/ and field trips but by field projects.  

This past season I did: DE's Fish and Wildlife's Red-Knot Re-sighting and Piping Plover Monitoring gigs, and ended the season with CHSP's Hawk Watch.

Thus when a friend passed on the info for the workshop, I was compelled to attend!  

Who knew that after 9 hours of presentations and a hands-on workshop, I'd be curious to learn more; especially since further training is dead-on mind numbing FEMA ICS 100/200 regulatory stuff!

I soaked in every moment: driving on Pilottown Road, along the canal ( this is where I want my next home!) which is home to the Coast Guard and the location of the workshop, University of DE, the wonderful classroom with a low profile view to the outdoors, the smells of tea, coffee, bagels and muffins for our breaks..... but most of all a room full of DNREC, Coast Guard, and Meer volunteers.

It is possible that I was the only "bird" volunteer that is not part of Meer.

I loved it when my ~ 80 year old Meer volunteer friend showed up at least an hour late and took copious notes and asked spot-on questions.

Two hour lectures were condensed into 25 minute presentations!

Our brains kept apace and looked forward to the afternoon hands-on workshop. 

Our dear Opal The Whale's now cleaned skull greeted us at Meer's doorstep.  Soon we suited up with Tyvek jumpsuits, rubber gloves and then an over-glove and gauntlet!  Ooohh, how I wished I had kept the outfit for Halloween!

Soon we were peering over a metal washbasin with Dawn suds everywhere washing clean an oiled, very dead, very frozen Canada Goose circa 2008!

Later we tried our field skills holding stuffed birds....... and doing a mini field walk populated by more stuffed animals and decoys.

My favorite moment was when a gull came in to check out the scene and in particular a bright yellow rubber snake!

Tri-State is a historical name but is known worldwide for their work.

Have oiled bird: will travel to you.  They prefer The Islands!

*Our workshop certificate declared: OSHA training, 4 hours. Kind of a surprise, kind of not!

Beach Blessings,

The Big Sit and Hawk Wach

For the 2009 Cape Henlopen's "Big Sit" I promised myself I'd be a proper "Birder" and arrive on site for the 3:30 AM start.   Or I'd show for the 5:30 AM Dawn Watch. Or.... ? ;-)

  In the middle of the night I turned off my alarm.  I did awake at 8 AM and was at the Hawk Watch/Big Sit platform by 10:00AM! :-) So civilized!!!

I put off "Birding" for decades as I have no interest to be outside at DAWN!  But when I discovered the best Seashore Birding is at low tide..... say show up at noon...... or that Raptors do lift-off at ~ 10 AM....... then a Birder I became! 

Glorious beautiful weather with perfect-for-Raptors NNE winds graced us after the blustery front moved out making all Birders beyond gleeful.

The Hawk Watch platform was lush with glorious and delicious food offerings which added to the celebratory and record day of bird/raptor sightings.

This year, now having lost the opera glass optics and gained Nikon's Monarch 8 x 42,  I had the glass and knew enough "Birds" to appreciate fully the show! 

 I could not have asked for more fun "Birdy" companions! 

I copy below Forrest Rowland's official account which was posted on DE Birds List.

<<

Observation start time: 05:00:00

Observation end   time: 18:00:00

Total observation time: 13 hours

Official Counter: Forrest Rowland

Observers: Bruce Lantz, Jeff Gordon, Sharon Lynn, Susan Gruver

Visitors:

Over 70 visitors out to join in the Big Sit! with many of them staying for hours....so much fun today!!! Matt Sarver, Lauren Morgens, and Jeff Gordon were there from the 3:30am start. Sharon Lynn, Sally O'Byrne, and Michael and Diane Kane came up at 5:30am. From 8am on it was a fairly steady stream of people including Colin Campbell, Bruce Peterjohn, Bruze Lantz, Liz and Lew Dumont, Ruth Draper, Jim Leach, Rachel Shapiro, Rob Schroeder, Andy

Urdqhart....too many familiar names to list all, or fit into the observer column. A fantastic crowd, with our friends Melody and Martin from Maryland being the last visitors to close out the day with us.

Weather:

Clear and Sunny with high cirrus clouds much of the day, the light NNE

winds provided great weather for a hawk flight.

Raptor Observations:

More records broken! Bald Eagle single-day count record now stands at 36.

Single day Cooper's Hawk record is now 166. Another outstanding day, and

with so many people there to enjoy the spectacle! Many birds were right

overhead at varying heights.

Non-raptor Observations:

97 species recorded for the Big Sit! Best birds included Lark Sparrow

(which ended up coming 15 feet from us), White-winged Scoter, and

Orange-crowned Warbler. FOS birds for the platform yesterday were Brant,

Blue-headed Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-bellied

Sapsaucker, Brown Creeper, Swamp Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow.>>

Beach Blessings,

 

Bird Police! Or How I scored $1,000.00 for Delaware!

I'm The Bird Police!  Someone has to do it!

        So there I sat with my floppy hat, in my LL Bean beach chair, with my Nikon Bino's spying on a fishing boat that pulled onto Cape Henlopen State Park's, The Point.  Out of the boat poured the 3 male adults and one bouncy doggie into the restricted and flagged mud flat and dune area.  The dog went crazy scaring off all the birds: Osprey, Laughing Gulls and their Allies, Forster Terns, American Oystercatchers, Sanderlings, and the endangered Least Tern and Piping Plovers.

Luckily it was high tide.  If it had been low tide...... the damage done to the mud-flats and foraging birds would have been horrific.

The DNREC Ranger hiked carefully into The Point, ~ 2 miles walk, avoiding the nesting areas, and finally "got" and ticked the trespassers.  I estimate it was ~ $300 fine per person, dog and boat! 

  So proud to make some cash for the good State of Delaware.

Red Knots are Sumi Wrestler FAT!

When I arrived at 8AM, "The Birds are Gone" was the somber Sunday Lamentation.  The Brit Bird Team were gone too! In their wake, they left: Single Malt Whiskey, PG Tips Tea, and a lone bottle of Marmite!  

Not too worry, May 2010, myself, the Red Knots and the Brits will return!

Despite the lonely house down from 20 occupants to 4, we did our Bird Duty.  

While a storm passed thru we did data entry, and I got a nice lesson on skinny vs fat Red Knots,...... then we readied for my last boat ride of the season at Milspillion Harbor for re-sighting.

First we did a quick-look-see to evaluate if  "any birds were left". Some were!  ~ 1,000 were still hanging around.......so we launched the boat.

   I was given a promotion and bragging rights from Osprey Beach ( aka Beach Pee-pee) to Back Beach!  I re-sighted my first Sanderlings!

This re-sighting I looked at Red Knot legs and bellies.  Indeed these were little fat pigs..... from their arrival weight of ~ 90 grams...... now nearing their Sumi-Wrestler- fighting-fit-weight of ~ 180 grams!

Fat Red Knots are now on their way to the Arctic!

Farewell Birds! Godspeed!

 

Osprey Beach "Pee" and Red Knots

The boat beached on "Osprey Beach", which I dubbed "Beach-Pee-pee" as it was the ONLY beach where one can hide behind a pine tree and pee! 

With my girly pink-backpack, $3,000 scope and chair in tow.... we found our spot for re-sighting the Red Knots and Ruddy Turnstones.

This was my first time getting to know a scope.  Lucky for me DE's Fish and Wildlife provided me with a great piece of glass!!!!

My re-sighting partner......a top-flight ornithologist from the UK....... gave me a great lesson.  He sat with me until I was comfortable with the re- sighting and data recording....... then I was on my own.

I recorded data for 50 birds.......... my Brit partner did 350!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved-loved watching the bird behaviors.  My favorite was watching the Ruddy Turnstones digging deeply for the horseshoe crab eggs........ so deep that half the bird would be would be in  it's little hole!

The wind and cold kept me alert, I was multi- layered up.....the layers almost made it thru .... I hid behind a tree for cover...... after three hours I was ready for the rescue crew!

Earlier in the day..... waiting for the rain to stop, I made banding bead strings....... and attempted to make a few flags too.  Oh, and I learned how to do data-entry too!

10.5 hours later............. barely made it back alive to the cottage for dinner and SLEEP! 

 

Fowler Beach

Finally, I found the time and opportunity to do a look-see at Fowler Beach.  It is on the North side of Prime Hook Reserve

I do not think I found my way there by the shortest route....... but found it I did.

The beach is backed by the marsh so the birding opportunities are good drawing the birds for the marsh, shore and ocean birds.

I loved seeing the so-prime-evil-looking Cormorants...... and that was the biggest Great Blue Heron I have ever seen!

Of course, I was looking for more Piping Plovers, but none sighted.

Visit this beach early in the season..... before the mosquitos get going!

I'm going to return soon for a long bay walk.

There are no views of civilization at Fowler Beach!  For that alone it is worth the visit.

Piping Plover Watch!

Delaware's Fish & Wildlife, Matt Bailey, at Cape Henlopen's Biden Center, on Saturday May 9th,  hosted the Volunteers Piping Plover Training.  

 We were about 50 strong and totally at rapt attention despite the distractions of yummy treats and the arrival after ~ 14 days of rain.... ta-da.. sunny weather.

Pictures of Piping Plover chicks are all fuzzy-wuzzy and too-cute-as-can-be and thus sealed the deal for our commitment as "Monitors".  We will watch the restricted breeding areas for human and other disturbances.

After the training we headed to CHSP's "The Point", for on the job training!  Maybe that was a Piping Plover fly-by, but to me it looked like white fluff!

My Monitor gig will be at "The Point" to take in sunset........or maybe the same at Gordon's Pond Tower.

Red Knots Arrive and Ruddy Turnstones too!

I've waited a year to see my first Red Knots!  I was so excited!  I'm still excited!  My first sighting was at Port Mahon along the bay's rip-rap rocky edges. My first look-see out the binos.... and there they were!!!!   My sighting partner, on a five day holiday, was an Environmental Educator, and a wonderful teacher

  I'm a volunteer with DE's Fish and Wildlife Seashore Birds.  I'm participating on a fast learning-track to record data, sight birds, re-sight band info, capture/net and band the birds!

After eight hours work.......I was fading...... but still on an adrenaline rush after the afternoon boat-tour look-see ( no Red Knots or Ruddy Turnstones...... so no scope work).

Can not wait to net and band my first birds!!!!!

Conquest Beach Outing

I must have my daily beach walk!  Beach-combing calls me!

Since last Summer, I am now a "Birder"!  Newbie- Birder!  Birds call me!

Conquest Beach was the destination....... just a few miles past Dewey Beach.  Despite the bleary rainy weather...... a nice time!

It was half-way between low and high tide....... I found 3-4 groups of 15-20 each of Sanderlings in their pre-breeding plumage, obsessively feeding.

A Laughing Gull dove and came up with a beautiful blue crab.  Sushi time!

Two sets of Willets did their serene-watch-the-ocean-thing.

One Osprey flew about the dunes picking up and letting go nest material.

A lovely conch was my beach combing cache of the day.

If I had not counted the dune-fence openings....... I would not have found my way back to my vehicle.  There were no "markers" to show me how far I walked and the same on the return!