Saturday, Jan. 17

Black Scoter photo courtesy of Frode Jacobsen. Harbor and Gray Seals photo courtesy of Rita Modesti.

Registration is open! All reservations will be confirmed via email. No cancellations after January 2, 2026. Trips are subject to weather cancellations.

Make the Dogfish INN your Basecamp for Winter BirdINNg! Pair your birding adventure with a stay at the Dogfish INN in historic downtown Lewes, and visit Dogfish Head’s off-centered world before and after your field trips at the at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, and Brewings & Eats and Chesapeake & Maine in Rehoboth Beach.

Please note (updated 2:30 pm on Sunday, Dec. 28): We are currently updating our website to accommodate PayPal’s recent payment button upgrades. We are working quickly to restore the ‘Add to Cart’ function and apologize for any temporary inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.

MORNING TRIPS

Cape Henlopen State Park (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Guides: Russ Kovach & Jim Rapp
Meeting Location: Fishing Pier parking lot at Cape Henlopen State Park. GPS coordinates: 38.785857, -75.101570

Please note: There is no entry fee for Cape Henlopen State Park in January.

Click here to register for the Cape Henlopen State Park field trip.

Brown-headed Nuthatch. Photo courtesy of Dr. Frode Jacobsen.

The largest state park in Delaware has much to offer birders in winter. Located where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic, the park contains pitch pine forest, forested wetland, tidal marsh, dunes and beach habitats that support a wide array of bird life. Participants on this trip will search for Brown-headed Nuthatch, Snow Bunting, loons, scoters and other bay and sea ducks. Less common or rare birds that may be encountered include “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, Razorbill, Great Cormorant, and Lesser Black-backed Gull. We’ll caravan between several birding hotspots within the northern end of the park.

Birds of Prime Hook NWR (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Guides: Chris Bennett & Anthony Gonzon
Meeting Location: Prime Hook NWR Visitor Center, located on Turkle Pond Rd, Milton, DE 19968. The visitor center parking lot is located on the left shortly after you enter the refuge. Use these GPS coordinates: 38.814729, -75.254365

Click here to register for the Birds of Prime Hook NWR field trip.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge near Milton, Delaware, offers a cornucopia of birding opportunities – from saltmarsh and bay beach to freshwater ponds and rich, deciduous woodlands. We’ll sample each of the main habitat types looking for winter shorebirds and waterfowl. Scan the fields on your drive into the refuge for large flocks of Snow Geese! The trip will involve some easy walking and car caravans between major stops. Meet at the new Prime Hook NWR Visitor Center on Turkle Pond Road.

AFTERNOON BOAT TRIP

Scoters & Seals Cruise (LEWES BOAT TOUR)
Time: 1:00 – 3:30 pm
Cost: $72/person (includes tip for First Mate)
Guides: Chris Bennett, Anthony Gonzon, Russ Kovach & Jim Rapp
Meeting Location: Fisherman’s Wharf 107 Anglers Rd, Lewes, DE 19958. GPS Coordinates: 38.776829, -75.137510

Update (posted on Monday, Jan. 12 at 2:20 pm: The Jan. 17 Scoters & Seals cruise is sold out.

If you wish to add your name to the wait list, please email dmvbirds@gmail.com with your name and the number of people in your party. We may be able to add you if someone cancels.

Join us for a 2.5-hour cruise of the waters around the mouth of the Delaware Bay aboard the Thelma Dale V. The boat features a heated cabin, benches along the lower deck rail, and a top deck for open-air viewing. We will visit the two stone breakwaters and the ice breakers in search of common and rare waterfowl and seabirds including gulls, cormorants, gannets, loons, scoters, eiders and with luck a Harlequin Duck or Razorbill. We also have a good chance of seeing Harbor and Gray Seals that regularly haul out on the rocks. Restrooms are available on board, and coolers (with off-centered ales from Dogfish Head) are welcome!

We are coordinating the boat trip with low tide, which will offer better views of the seals hauled out on the lower breakwater rocks. Low tide for Lewes on Janurary 17 is 1:58 pm.

Harbor and Gray Seal photos courtesy of Sherry Abbott.

What goes better together than birds and beers? Here are Dogfish Head’s off-centered ale pairing recommendations for the Winter Delmarva Dogfish BirdINNg Weekend! Please drink responsibly.

60-minute IPA: Brewed using a boatload of intense Northwest hops, we boil this continually hopped IPA for a full 60 minutes, adding more than 60 hop additions continuously to create a bold and timeless flavor. Continually hopped to deliver a pungently, citrusy, grassy hop flavor without being crushingly bitter, 60 Minute IPA is a surprisingly sessionable IPA for the craft enthusiast.

Citrus Squall: Citrus Squall is the perfect storm of a double golden ale and a paloma cocktail brewed with grapefruit juice, blue agave nectar, lime peels and a touch of sea salt, bringing strong gusts of citrusy hop and grapefruit aromas, counterbalanced by a downpouring of bright and tart grapefruit flavor and a blue agave nectar sweetness. 

SeaQuench Ale: Objectively the most refreshing beer we’ve ever brewed, SeaQuench Ale is a session sour mash-up of a crisp Kölsch, a salty Gose and a tart Berliner Weiss brewed in sequence with black limes, sour lime juice and sea salt. The result? A citrusy-tart union that has captured the attention and hearts of beer, wine and margarita drinkers alike!

Please note:

  • No cancellations are accepted after January 2, 2026. For a further explanation of our refund policy, please click here.
  • Trips will go rain or shine, unless torrential rains prevent us from viewing wildlife.
  • If the trip is canceled due to dangerous conditions, we will notify you via email. Please note that the email will be sent to all participants BCC, so you may need to check your email spam folder. A full refund will be provided within 15 days.