Saturday, March 6 BirdINNg Trips & Registration

*White-winged Scoter photo courtesy of Frode Jacobsen. Harbor and Gray Seals photo courtesy of Rita Modesti.*

Delmarva Birding Weekends is offering tours with these COVID-19 guidelines in place.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Each field trip is sold separately through an individual PayPal button.

MORNING TRIPS

Ocean City Inlet, Sunset Park & Heron Park (DRIVING/HIKING)
8:00 -11:00 a.m.
Cost: $25/person
Meeting location: Southeast corner of the Hugh T. Cropper Inlet Parking Lot (meet along the seawall)

Enjoy some of the best Ocean City and Berlin winter birding hotspots. While seals excite many Ocean City visitors in winter, participants on this trip will scope the inlet Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Red-throated Loons, Long-tailed Ducks, and Purple Sandpiper. We’ll hike from the inlet to Sunset Park to search for winter songbirds. After our short hike in downtown Ocean City, we’ll caravan to Heron Park in Berlin to seek ducks on the open ponds, including Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks. Enjoy lunch in Berlin before your afternoon trip!

Cape Henlopen State Park: Herring Point to Gordon’s Pond (DRIVING/HIKING)
8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Meeting Location: Seaside Nature Nature in Cape Henlopen State Park

Please note: This trip costs a little more than others due to a required permit fee. Cost does not include the entry fee for Cape Henlopen State Park, which is in effect in March. Park access is granted with a Delaware State Parks Annual Pass, or with a day-use fee of $5/vehicle with DE tags or $10/vehicle with out-of-state tags. For more information, please visit Delaware State Parks Passes, Tags & Fees.

The largest state park in Delaware has much to offer birders in early March. 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 scan the ocean at Herring Point for Razorbills, Common Loons and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and then hike the Gordon’s Pond Trail through forest and marsh. Along the way, we’ll search for winter songbirds until we reach Gordon’s Pond, where we’ll find shorebirds and waterfowl. Expect 3 to 4 miles of easy hiking along the trail.

ABA 2021 Bird of the Year Bonanza with Jeffrey Gordon (DRIVING/HIKING)
8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $40/person includes 4-pack of 16 oz. Binoculager; $25/person without 4-pack (all field trip proceeds and a portion of Binoculager sales to benefit the American Birding Association)
Meeting Location: Surf Bagel, 17382 Coastal Hwy, Lewes, DE 19958 (arrive early to grab a bagel and coffee, and meet outside at 8 am under the sign)

THIS FIELD TRIP IS SOLD OUT. Please email dmvbirds@gmail.com if you wish to be placed on the wait list. You can still join for the Binoculager 4-pack can release at 11 am at the Dogfish EmPOURium in Rehoboth Beach!

Be among the very first to taste Binoculager, Dogfish Head’s new birder-centered brew with awesome label art featuring the American Birding Association’s 2021 Bird of the Year, Pileated Woodpecker!

Start off by joining ABA President Jeffrey Gordon for an off-centered morning of on point birding including a special search for Pileated Woodpeckers and other denizens of the wet woods of coastal Southern Delaware. We’ll begin at 8 AM at Surf Bagel in Lewes — arrive early to grab a bagel and coffee, and meet outside at 8 am under the sign. We’ll bird our way to the Dogfish EmPOURium in Rehoboth by 11:00 AM, when Binoculager officially debuts.

Your tour fee—and sales of Binoculager in general—support the programs of the American Birding Association, a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire all people to enjoy and protect wild birds. We’re very excited about this partnership between Dogfish Head, the ABA, and Delmarva Birding Weekends and thrilled to offer you the chance to get your bins on a Pileated and your lips on a Binoculager! Expect some easy walking on trails and roadsides.

Binoculager 4-pack 16 oz. Can Release
11:00 am
Meeting Location: Dogfish Head EmPOURium, 320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Special for the Lewes Delmarva Dogfish BirdINNg Weekend! Starting Saturday, March 6 at 11 am, birders will be able to purchase 4-packs of the special 16 oz. can release from Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, located at 320 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 — Binoculager! Amber Lager brewed with Mixed Seeds. Perfect for looking at birds, thinking about birds, and general bird loving, Binoculager is a delicious amber lager brewed with toasted sunflower, pumpkin, and flax seeds. This beer is brewed in collaboration with the American Birding Association and Delmarva Birding Weekends and will benefit the American Birding Association.

12:30 PM BOAT TRIP

Scoters, Seals & Slightly Mightys (LEWES BOAT TOUR)
12:30 – 2:30 pm
Cost: $65/person (includes tip for First Mate)
Meeting Location: Fisherman’s Wharf in Lewes, DE

PLEASE NOTE: Under current COVID-19 restrictions, capacity on the boat is limited to maintain social distancing. The heated indoor cabin will be closed, and we will be outside for the entire two-hour trip. Please dress for a true Arctic experience! Click this link for more information.

THIS BOAT TRIP IS SOLD OUT. Registered guests may cancel prior to the event. Please email dmvbirds@gmail.com if you wish to be placed on the wait list.

*Harbor and Gray Seal photos courtesy of Sherry Abbott.*

Join us for a two hour cruise of the waters around the mouth of the Delaware Bay aboard the Thelma Dale V. The boat features 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 ice breakers. Restrooms are available on board, and coolers (with off-centered ales from Dogfish Head! see pairing suggestions below) are welcome!

AFTERNOON LAND-BASED TRIP

Assateague, Rum Point & Bayside Ponds (DRIVING/HIKING)
1:30 – 4:30 pm
Cost: $25/person
Meeting Location: Assateague Island Visitor Center (MD, not Virginia!)

THIS FIELD TRIP IS SOLD OUT. Please email dmvbirds@gmail.com if you wish to be placed on the wait list.

Locals know where to see the best variety of ducks, shorebirds, and raptors. So it is local birders who will guide this sojourn to view birds from the Verrazano Bridge overlooking Sinepuxent Bay, trails to the historic Rackliffe Plantation House, and the waterfowl-laden ponds of nearby Rum Point Golf Course and the Bayside community. Please note: This trip does not enter Assateague Island due to restrictive permitting issues.

3:00 PM BOAT TRIP

Scoters, Seals & Slightly Mightys (LEWES BOAT TOUR)
3:00 – 5:00 pm
Cost: $65/person (includes tip for First Mate)
Meeting Location: Fisherman’s Wharf in Lewes, DE

THIS BOAT TRIP IS SOLD OUT. Registered guests may cancel prior to the event. Please email dmvbirds@gmail.com if you wish to be placed on the wait list.

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!

*Long-tailed Duck photo courtesy of Susan Hale.*

Slightly Mighty IPA: A lo-cal IPA that is slight in calories and carbs with mighty hop flavor. Brewed with a touch of monk fruit that delivers body and complexity but adds zero calories or carbs, Slightly Mighty has all the flavor & tropical aromas of a world class IPA.

SeaQuench Ale: The #1 selling sour in the U.S., SeaQuench Ale is our session sour brewed with black limes, lime juice, and sea salt for a bright, citrusy flavor and thirst-quenching finish.

TALLY RALLY

Lewes Tally Rally at Irish Eyes, sponsored by Dogfish Head
5:00 – 6:00 pm
Cost: free
Meeting Location: Irish Eyes in Lewes, DE

Please note: the Tally Rally is free to attend, but you must RSVP at dmvbirds@gmail.com due to space limitations and covid-19 restrictions. Guests are responsible for their own food and drink purchases.

The Lewes Delmarva Dogfish BirdINNg Weekend is more than a great opportunity to see unique local birds…it is also a time to meet unique local birders! Birders will enjoy great food and craft beer at Irish Eyes in beautiful Lewes, DE. See what birds have been seen on the Friday field trips, and learn about local birding hotspots from our DBW guides. Join us to swap birding stories and add to the DBW checklist for the weekend. There is no fee for attending the tally rally, but food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Irish Eyes will have these Dogfish Head specials for birders:

Buy a pint of Dogfish Head’s Campfire Amplifier or Sun-day-feels, and keep the pint glass!
$1 off Dogfish Head cans (Slightly Mighty, SeaQuench or Namaste)

Please note:

Food and drink are not included in the cost for trips and tally rallies.
Trips will go rain or shine.
If the trip is canceled due to dangerous conditions, a full refund will be provided.

PHOTO CREDITS: All bird photos courtesy of Frode Jacobsen. Seal photo courtesy of Rita Modesti. Birder photographs provided by the Delmarva Birding Weekends.