Calling all birders to Delmarva for spring weekend
Hundreds of birders are expected to flock to the Shore April 27-30 to explore the bays and ocean by boat for seals, waterfowl and shorebirds during the annual spring Delmarva Birding Weekend.
While the four-day event offers lots of hiking trips, boats remain an easy and relaxing way to see wildlife. For non-paddlers, the weekend offers a seal- and gannet-laden trip that leaves from Fisherman’s Wharf in Lewes on Friday, April 28, at 2 p.m. There is also a chance to see whales on this trip.
On Saturday, April 29, the Assateague (Shorebird) Explorer departs at 2 p.m. from Ocean City to explore the coastal bays behind Assateague.
Eagles, loons and sometimes seals and piping plovers can be seen on this excursion. Popular pontoon rides are also offered on the eagle-rich lower Pocomoke River and at Trap Pond, where an owl prowl takes place Saturday at 6 p.m.
For the adventurous lot, the Birding Weekend offer a full-day trip on Saturday to the world-famous Smith Island, replete with homemade Smith Island cake and fresh caught crab cakes. The trip to the village offers rare glimpses of the secluded Martin National Wildlife Refuge.
Paddling enthusiasts can choose from eight offerings, including a soothing sojourn from the James Farm along Indian River Bay on Thursday morning to both evening and morning paddles on Ayres and Trappe creeks on Friday and Sunday.
A Trails to Rails trip slips along the saltmarsh trails in Rehoboth Bay on Friday morning and the warbler-filled Pocomoke and Nassawango kayak trips through expansive bald cypress swamp are again offered Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Walkers and hikers can get an early start to the weekend with shorebirds along the Delaware Bayshore at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and the Mispillion Harbor, or stroll along a private farm near Assateague.
On Friday, you can start your morning at Redden State Forest and follow it up with a shorebird spectacle at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in the afternoon.
On Saturday, folks can traverse the beautiful wilderness at the landings of Maryland’s Chincoteague Bay and slip into the marsh for the Night Birds trip surrounding 11,000 acres of protected land.
On Sunday morning, nature lovers who prefer walking can choose the Warblermania trip nestled in the depths of the Pocomoke cypress swamp or hike through fields, ponds, forest and saltmarsh on the celebrated Newport Farms Diversity Walk.
Guided by local birders with decades-long experience on the peninsula, the walking tours, boat trips and canoe and kayak paddles attracts birdwatchers from surrounding states.
“This is one of our biggest nature-oriented weekends,” said Lisa Challenger, tourism director for Worcester County. “People go crazy over the number of eagles and herons, but they will see a lot more than that birding with our guides around Assateague Island and our cypress swamps near Snow Hill.”
New trips will feature jaunts around Laurel, normally inaccessible private lands and Maryland’s Chincoteague Bay through some of the most pristine habitats on the East Coast.
Social events for new and experienced birders are scheduled throughout the weekend. These “Tally Rallies” are held at local breweries, bars and restaurants, and allow participants to add to the species checklist and swap birding stories with new friends.
The Delmarva Peninsula is one of the country’s premier birding areas, thanks to an extensive variety of habitat protected by coastal parks, refuges and wildlife management areas.
More than 400 bird species have been recorded in the region, and previous weekend tallies have topped 200 species.
“It’s our vast shallow bays and large tracts of protected marshes and bald cypress forests that make the Delmarva Peninsula one of the finest birding regions in the nation,” said guide and organizer Jim Rapp.
Registration information, field trip descriptions and other resources are available at www.delmarvabirding.com.