Delaware Big Day: 199!

Forrest Rowland invited me to do a Big Day on Wednesday (5/7/08) in my

favorite birding destination: Delaware. I obviously could not refuse, so

I took off work and headed to DE at 12:30am to meet up with Forrest at

2am. We birded from 2am to 8pm and got 199 species - tying the Delaware

Big Day Record set in 1997. There were a few misses (ahem, Belted

Kingfisher!!), but we lucked out and had a really great day birding.

 

We started the day (night?) in Thousand Acre Marsh, where we quickly

realized the night was likely to be a good night. Winds were 3-4 mph out

of the southwest and listening conditions were good. We heard Canada

Goose, Great Blue Heron, Virginia Rail and American Coot (our only coot

of the day). At another location Sora and Common Moorhen sounded off

within minutes of our arrival. One could say that Grier’s Pond was

especially quiet. Actually it wasn’t quiet at all, as the Swamp Sparrows

and Marsh Wrens were singing up a storm and a Barred Owl called, but it

was Least Bittern quiet. We spent at least 15 minutes here, cocking our

ears in every conceivable angle in hopes of hearing the classic

“ku-ku-ku” of the Least Bittern. After giving each side of the pond

time, we were thinking about where else we could possibly get Least

Bittern and were about to leave. Then we both heard it! Success!

 

While driving south on Route 9, six inches of water on the road caused

some excitement, as we barreled directly through it. It was definitely

due to the tide, and we were in a low spot: why not try for King Rail?

While sitting in the middle of the road, we both jumped out of the car

and lo and behold, a King Rail sounded off. Serious luck.

 

To say that the Bullfrogs and Green Frogs at Finnis Pool are loud is

like saying that a diesel truck engine is loud: “Loud” may be an

inadequate word. Luckily we were able to pick out a calling Eastern

Screech-Owl, distant twittering of an American Woodcock, and flyover

American Redstart and Blackpoll Warblers. Birds were on the move.

 

Port Mahon was almost rail-less with the exception of Virginia. Clapper

Rails were quiet. Weird. Seaside and Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens and a

distant Yellow-breasted Chat were singing. A flyby Black-crowned Night

Heron let out a single “kaw,” and a Wood Thrush, Black-throated Blue,

Blackburnian, and several Palm Warblers called while flying overhead.

The promise of neotropical migrants in the morning was exhilarating.

 

We were hoping for Black Rail at Pickering Beach, where Andy Ednie and I

had heard them on Saturday night, but they may have moved on. We did

pick up Tree Swallows flying around the town’s lights, a flyover

Swainson’s Thrush (our only of the day) and another Yellow-breasted Chat.

 

Milford Neck was our nightjar spot, and it did not disappoint.

Chuck-wills-widows and then Whip-poor-wills were calling from several

locations. American Woodcocks seemed to be everywhere - twittering away -

while a few were “peent”ing. The mosquitoes were voracious and kept us

dancing around. Dawn was approaching and we headed toward the marsh,

where even more mosquitoes greeted us. Boat-tailed Grackles were

immediately apparent, and then Northern Bobwhite and Wild Turkey called

from the wood’s edge. Yes! After a quick tally, I realized we had 62

species already by dawn. Not a bad night.

 

Milford Neck was really birdy, and I’m glad we picked this as our

dawn-chorus spot. Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet

and Sedge Wren called from the short marsh, all three being our only

birds of the day. The woods were alive with birdsong, and here we picked

up Kentucky, Nashville, Yellow-throated, Prairie, and Black-and-White

Warblers, plus Ovenbird and Northern Waterthrush. A certain vireo

sounded interesting and Forrest suspected Philadelphia. It sang; we

listened. It sang and we played the song for comparison: it was dead-on.

Wow!

 

By 6:15 we had 94 species, and we moved on to Mispillion Lighthouse. The

idea was that we could get Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow while they

were still singing. The idea backfired. The marsh was filled with

sparrows . . . Seaside Sparrows. There were likely hundreds singing from

all areas around the marsh, which unfortunately muffled the sounds of

any potential Saltmarsh Sparrows. The Seaside Sparrow spectacle was

immediately overshadowed by the shorebird spectacle. Shorebirds moved in

waves across nearly every exposed mud surface: Greater Yellowlegs,

Willets, Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers,

Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin and a few Black-necked Stilts. While

scoping from the DuPont nature center, we found Sanderling, Ruddy

Turnstone, Red Knots, American Oystercatchers, and a White-rumped

Sandpiper among the thousands of Dunlin. We couldn’t pick out any

Lesser-black Backed Gulls, and after spending too much time enjoying

this scene, we needed to move.

 

The grasslands in the vicinity of Hunting Quarter Road proved a wise

morning destination: Grasshopper, Savannah and Vesper Sparrows, Eastern

Meadowlark and Horned Larks were singing. No Bobolinks, but we couldn’t

complain about our luck so far.

 

Redden State Forest held the targeted Red-headed Woodpeckers and Summer

Tanagers, in addition to Worm-eating, Black-throated Green,

Yellow-throated, Kentucky, Pine, and Black-and-White Warblers, Cedar

Waxwings, and Hairy and Pileated Woodpecker. Two flyover Common Loons

were a surprise. 131 species by 8:24am.

 

We switched up the plan, and headed to Prime Hook instead of doing that

in the afternoon. While changing the schedule could spell disaster, the

morning Prime Hook run was excellent. We had Veery standing in the

middle of the road at the entrance. I told Forrest to stop the car, “I

heard something similar to a Hooded Warbler.” We waited, while only a

Red-eyed Vireo sang. I started to doubt myself, and we were about to

move on when it sang out, “Wheet-o, Wheet-o, Wheet-ee-o.” Forrest

replied, “Oh, so you mean the bird that sounds exactly like a Hooded

Warbler!”

 

The boardwalk trail produced a few good birds, most notably a beautiful

adult White-crowned Sparrow (thank you!), Blue-headed Vireo,

Prothonotary, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll and Magnolia Warblers.

 

The Broadkill impoundment was in bad light, so we started IDing distant

ducks mostly by shape: Gadwall, Mallard, Black Duck, Green-winged Teal,

Northern Pintail, Red-breasted Merganser. These turned out to be some of

the only waterfowl of the day, but where were the Blue-wings? While

scoping shorebirds, I noticed an unusual shorebird in the far southeast

corner of the southern impoundment with the Green-winged Teal. It looked

similar in shape to a yellowlegs, but the bill wasn’t right for either.

I asked Forrest to take a look, and he quickly realized it was a Ruff. I

took another look and the beige-y color, posture, and bill shape all

were spot-on for Ruff (Reeve). Excellent! We actually didn’t notice the

Wood Sandpiper, nor did we know about it, though in hindsight, I can’t

eliminate the possibility that we were looking right at it as we drove

by. We hoped for diving ducks in the bay. The bay was empty with the

exception of Laughing Gulls, though we did hear a Song Sparrow singing,

our first (and only?) of the day.

 

We headed to Cape Henlopen with 155 species. No Yellow-crowned Night

Heron at a brief stop in Lewes on the way, and no Bufflehead in the

ponds near the entrance. Drat. Herring Point was mostly birdless, though

after a few minutes we did luck out with Common, Least and Royal Tern

flybys. The jetty below had three Spotted Sandpipers. I got a kick out

of watching Forrest fight with the no-see-ums. We made a quick stop at

the campground, though besides a Pine Warbler and some Robins, it was

quiet. I guess Forrest forgot his Crossbill pheromone. At the nature

center, the feeders were empty, so we walked the trail behind them.

Quiet, though it was midday. I was thinking some Red-breasted Nuthatches

might still be hanging around, since I had heard one in Baltimore Co the

day before. After a few minutes both Brown-headed and a Red-breasted

Nuthatch sounded off. Serious luck.

 

At the Point we found a huge flock of Brant hugging the icebreaker, and

we scoped Common, Forsters and Royal Terns near the point. We tried to

turn one of the Royals into a Caspian, but it wasn’t to be. Piping

Plover was notably absent. We walked down to the bayside fence. Still no

Piping Plover. We knew time was critical, but I knew we would be kicking

ourselves if we left without the plover, so we hiked to the ocean side.

Again, this turned out to be a great decision. We had a flyover Merlin,

Red-throated Loon and flyby Black Scoters. While squinting into the heat

haze for the hoped-for Piping Plover, Forrest noticed the 2nd-year

Lesser Black-backed Gull at our feet. Then after a few minutes time, a

Piping Plover came into view.

 

We headed south to Indian River inlet with 170 species before noon. At

Savages Ditch rd, we found our first Great Egret of the day, though no

Little Blue or Tricolored Herons. The inlet proved to be full of boaters

and was almost a wasted effort if it weren’t for two juvenile Great

Cormorants swimming around the north jetty. No Bonaparte’s Gull and no

Saltmarsh Sparrows or Tricolored Heron on the bay side. We stopped by

New Road on the way north hoping for a bay duck of any kind, though we

only had a breeding-plumaged Common Loon.

 

Silver Lake had Mallards and a few Canada Geese -- and one female Ruddy

Duck. It was starting to get difficult to add new birds.

 

Fowler Beach did not produce the hoped-for Belted Kingfisher or any new

ducks, though it did have a considerable number of Black-bellied

Plovers, with at least 2 American Golden-plovers mixed in. The Great

Horned Owl chicks on the platform are getting rather big.

 

The north pond at Ted Harvey did not have Bonaparte’s Gull or Tricolored

Heron, though it did have Pectoral Sandpiper.

 

At Bombay Hook, we had a number of necessary targets and we got nearly

all of them: Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, American Avocet,

Ring-necked Pheasant, and Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

 

This is when we heard about the Wood Sandpiper, but we both agreed we

would rather finish the Big Day with the planned route.

 

Woodland Beach had the Snow Geese and Greater-white Fronted Geese.

Excellent. 182 species by 4:01pm.

 

I was telling Forrest that I have had Bank Swallow at the first of two

bridges over Appoquinink Creek and suspected they may breed somewhere in

the area, so we stopped there. Cliff Swallows were readily evident, when

a Bank Swallow flew high over us. 184.

 

We headed back to Thousand Acre Marsh hoping for Peregrine Falcon, an

attempt that proved unsuccessful when Forrest tried last year. We

scanned the bridge over the canal from all angles without any birds.

When we had nearly given up and were ready to leave, a Peregrine Falcon

flew directly over our heads.

 

We had very little time to spare, but we decided to risk a run to Dragon

Run park for Mute Swans. Dragon Run was Mute Swanless, but we did have

flyby Wood Ducks and then an adult Little Blue Heron flew high overhead.

I couldn’t believe our luck.

 

We headed to White Clay Creek, lucked out with Cattle Egrets on the way,

and had 188 species by 5:15pm. I don’t think we could have had better

luck at White Clay Creek; it seemed like someone was throwing all of our

target birds at us. We got Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-throated Vireo,

Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and White-breasted Nuthatch - all of

which we expected. The lucky birds were a flyover Sharp-shinned Hawk, an

adult Coopers Hawk racing through the woods directly in front of us, and

Warbling Vireo. At one point we thought we had Cerulean Warbler singing,

and Forrest pointed out that the cadence was right. It was almost

dead-on. Almost. I wasn’t convinced, and we waited to get a look at the

bird. It had a wing bar, but also had a yellow and orange throat: It was

a Parula. I wonder if after years of unscrupulous birders taping for

Cerulean Warbler, the local Parulas didn’t pick up and try to imitate.

 

While at Tweeds Mill Rd, I pondered, “What else is left that we could

possibly still get? How about Rose-breasted Grosbeak?” A Rose-breasted

Grosbeak responded by singing. “How about Blue-winged Warbler?” A few

minutes later a Blue-winged Warbler was singing. It was almost creepy.

The last two birds of the day were an almost unexpected Willow

Flycatcher, and at least two very unexpected Gray-cheeked Thrushes. 199

species by 7:15pm. While walking back towards the car, the only thing

left was Belted Kingfisher. We waited until sunset at 8pm, though the

Kingfisher never obliged.

 

This photo above was taken at 8pm in White Clay Creek when we called it quits.

 

Below is our bird list for the day and some summary totals:

 

25 Shorebird sp.

Vireo, Nuthatch, and Swallow sweep.

26 Warbler sp.

12 Sparrow sp.

only 14 Waterfowl sp. It's hard to find waterfowl in May - this probably

hurt us the most.

 

Red-throated Loon

Common Loon

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Least Bittern

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Cattle Egret

Green Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Glossy Ibis

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Greater White-fronted Goose

Snow Goose

Canada Goose

Brant

Wood Duck

Gadwall

American Black Duck

Mallard

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Black Scoter

Red-breasted Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Osprey

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Merlin

Peregrine Falcon

Ring-necked Pheasant

Wild Turkey

Northern Bobwhite

Clapper Rail

King Rail

Virginia Rail

Sora

Common Moorhen

American Coot

Black-bellied Plover

American Golden-Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Piping Plover

Killdeer

American Oystercatcher

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Solitary Sandpiper

Willet

Spotted Sandpiper

Ruddy Turnstone

Red Knot

Sanderling

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Dunlin

Ruff

Short-billed Dowitcher

Common Snipe

American Woodcock

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Royal Tern

Common Tern

Forster's Tern

Least Tern

Black Skimmer

Rock Dove

Mourning Dove

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Barn Owl

Eastern Screech-Owl

Great Horned Owl

Barred Owl

Chuck-will's-widow

Whip-poor-will

Chimney Swift

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Acadian Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher

Eastern Phoebe

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

White-eyed Vireo

Yellow-throated Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Philadelphia Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Fish Crow

Horned Lark

Purple Martin

Tree Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Bank Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Carolina Wren

House Wren

Sedge Wren

Marsh Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Eastern Bluebird

Veery

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Swainson's Thrush

Wood Thrush

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird

Brown Thrasher

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Blue-winged Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Northern Parula

Yellow Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Pine Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Palm Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

American Redstart

Prothonotary Warbler

Worm-eating Warbler

Ovenbird

Northern Waterthrush

Louisiana Waterthrush

Kentucky Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Hooded Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat

Summer Tanager

Scarlet Tanager

Eastern Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Grasshopper Sparrow

Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow

Seaside Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak

Indigo Bunting

Red-winged Blackbird

Eastern Meadowlark

Common Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle

Brown-headed Cowbird

Orchard Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

House Finch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

 

Done