Sunday, March 5: BirdINNg Trips

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

Registration will remain open until 3:00 pm on Sunday, March 5!

Join us 8:00 – 11:00 am for birding at the Indian River Inlet & Burton Island, and a 3:30 – 5:30 pm boating excursion around the historic breakwaters and lighthouses of Lewes, DE, to search for seabirds, scoters and seals with our friends at Fisherman’s Wharf.

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 Tasting Room & Kitchen in Milton, and Brewings & Eats and Chesapeake & Maine in Rehoboth Beach.

Scroll down to register!

MORNING TRIPS

Indian River Inlet & Burton Island (DRIVING/HIKING) 
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Meeting Location: South jetty of the Indian River Inlet, DE, near Big Chill Beach Club, 27099 Coastal Hwy, Bethany Beach, DE 19930

Please note: Cost does not include entry fee for Delaware Seashore State 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 Indian River Inlet and inland bays offer some of Delaware’s best coastal birding. Indian River Inlet is home to a huge mixed flock of sea ducks including all three scoters and Long-tailed Ducks that may be joined by Common Eider and Harlequin Duck, Great Cormorants and both Loons. Purple Sandpipers are common on the inlet jetties. Horned Grebes and Brant can be seen from the beach at the James Farm Ecological Preserve on Rehoboth Bay.

Newport Farms Winter Wonderland (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $25/person
Meeting Location: Cul-de-sac at eastern end of Hayes Landing Road (use GPS coordinates 38.276200, -75.200491)

This field trip is sold out.

The 2,200-acre Newport Farm reveals spectacular winter birding replete with a remote duck-filled 70-acre freshwater pond next to the vast forests and marshes of Newport Bay. For this reason, this trip enjoys one of the highest species counts during the Weekend. Bird lovers on this one-of-a-kind trip will enjoy short walks totalling less than a mile. The bucolic scene provides a breathtaking backdrop to one of Maryland’s most-renowned winter Bald Eagle and waterfowl spectacles. East Coast winter rarities like American White Pelicans and Golden Eagles may surprise, along with the occasional river otter.

AFTERNOON BOAT TRIPS

Scoters, Seals & Slightly Mightys (LEWES BOAT TOUR)
Times: 1:00 – 3:00 pm and 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Cost: $72/person (includes tip for First Mate)
Meeting Location: Fisherman’s Wharf at 107 Anglers Road, Lewes, DE 19958

1:00 – 3:00 pm

The 1:00 – 3:00 pm boat trip is sold out.

3:30 – 5:30 pm

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 IV. 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!

We are coordinating the boat trips around low tide, which will offer better views of the seals hauled out on the lower breakwater rocks. Low tide for Lewes on March 5 is 1:45 pm.

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!

Red-throated Loon photo courtesy of Frode Jacobsen.

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.

Please note:

  • No cancellations are accepted after February 24, 2023.
  • Food and drink are not included in the cost for trips.
  • Trips will go rain or shine.
  • If the trip is canceled due to dangerous conditions, a full refund will be provided.