Birding in Delaware
On Wednesday morning October 8, I left my car at the Cape May ferry parking lot and took the ferry to Lewes DE with my bike and gear. My lodgings for the first 2 nights was a farm B&B in Milton about 15 miles west of Lewes but only a couple of miles from Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. This photo of a Black Skimmer and 3 Greater Yellowlegs was taken at the end of the Dike Trail with the setting sun behind me.
The bicycle ride to my B&B was only about 20 miles. The rain had largely stopped when I exited the ferry, but occasionally would restart for a few minutes now and then during my ride. As I arrived at my B&B, I could see blue skies in the distance.
After checking into my room and offloading most of my gear, I bicycled to Prime Hook NWR to take a look around. The views were lovely, but there were few birds around as a result of the south winds from the past few days. This Bald Eagle was one of the few exceptions. By 5pm, the skies had cleared as a cold front pushed in from the northwest. This also meant that the wind shifted from a south wind to a northwest wind. As such, I was hopeful that Thursday would bring better birding as songbirds migrated in overnight and raptors migrated during the day.
Thursday morning I arrived at the park just before sunrise. The temperature was a bit chilly, but the winds were calm and the skies clear.
Unlike Wednesday evening when I was surrounded by silence, I could now hear a variety of songbirds in the trees. Here is a Golden-crowned Kinglet, one of over 30 species of birds I saw that morning.
It wasn’t just songbirds that had reappeared, I saw several raptors including this Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Here is a photo of my bicycle. My rear panniers and my left front pannier are back at the B&B. My big camera and lens go in the top back pannier. The top tube bag stores snacks, my pocket binoculars, and my small camera. The internal frame bag stores bicycle tools such as my pump, a tire pressure gauge, a small retractable cable lock, a ratchet set, etc. Some additional tools are in the small black container below my water bottle. These include plugs for fixing flats, gorilla tape, and an emergency spare tube. Finally, the front bag has my lunch and is a place to store some of my cold weather gear as the temperature warms during the day.
Later in the afternoon, I saw a flock of American Avocets fly on by. These, like the White Ibis I photographed in Cape May, are birds that are seen much more frequently further south. However, there ranges have been increasing northwards as temperatures warm.
As the sun started to set, I noticed this Great Blue Heron standing on the top of a tree scanning the horizon.
On Friday, I cycled east to Rehoboth on the Atlantic Ocean where I would be staying for the night. North of the town is Cape Henlopen State Park, another birding hot spot. From the park, the Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse is visible. I had photographed the lighthouse as I approached Lewes on the Ferry, but I liked this angle better.
The highlight of the day was this Tricolored Heron just off the path. A Tricolored Heron is a rather rare bird for Delaware. They are mostly found much farther south. I had seen many of them on my trip from Georgia to New Orleans in the spring.
Mixed in with the many Yellowlegs, Terns, and Gulls, I noticed a couple of Black-bellied Plovers. I was happy to get this photo of one flying by.
Bicycling through the park, I came across 3 White-tailed deer. This one paused for a few moments to check me out before disappearing into the trees.
As I left the park, I took this photo of a Greater Yellowlegs that I really liked.
Saturday morning, the skies had clouded up and the winds were starting to rise as the first major Nor’easter of the season was predicted to hit on Sunday. I bicycled back to the ferry and rode it to NJ. Shortly before we arrived at the NJ ferry terminal, this Peregrine Falcon flew. This image is now my favorite Peregrine Falcon photo that I have taken. My previous photos have all been at much larger distance, so they do not have the detail of this photo. This falcon is also looking towards us rather than away from us which creates a more engaging image. The waves in the water provide a nice texture to the background. This was a great way to conclude my trip.
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