Sunday, Oct. 19

Red-shouldered Hawk, photo courtesy of Dr. Frode Jacobsen. Biking and birding at Cape Henlopen State Park.

Registration is open! All reservations will be confirmed via email. No cancellations after September 27, 2025. Trips are subject to weather cancellations.

MORNING FIELD TRIPS

Raptor Roundup at Cape Henlopen State Park (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 8:00 am – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Guides: Chris Bennett & Anthony Gonzon
Meeting Location: Fishing Pier parking lot at Cape Henlopen State Park. GPS coordinates: 38.785857, -75.101570

Please note: Cost does not include the entry fee for Cape Henlopen 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. Click here for more information.

Cooper’s Hawk, photo courtesy of Dr. Frode Jacobsen.

Meet your guides at the Fishing Pier at Cape Henlopen State Park for an overview of the morning’s itinerary. We’ll then stop by the Seaside Nature Center to watch the bird feeders before a carvan through the largest state park in Delaware. Located where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic, Cape Henlopen State Park contains pitch pine forest, forested wetland, tidal marsh, dunes and beach habitats that support a wide array of bird life. This trip will include sea and bay watching, as well as a stop at the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch to scan the skies for migrating raptors.

Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek (HIKING)
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Cost: $55/person (this includes the admission and tour fee for the Gardens)
Guides: Russ Kovach & Jim Rapp
Meeting Location: Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek, 30220 Piney Neck Road, Dagsboro, DE 19939. GPS coordinates: 38.562622, -75.222433

Photo courtesy of Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek.

The Delaware Botanic Garden is a world-class, inspirational, educational, and sustainable public botanic garden in southern Delaware. Situated on thirty-seven acres along Pepper Creek, which flows into Indian River Bay, the garden maintains a year-round living habitat to demonstrate the vital impact of plants on the lives of our region’s citizens and their environment. We’ll search for migrating songbirds in the open meadows and along the dark forested trails, and search for terns, gulls and wading birds along Pepper Creek. The tour includes DBW guides as well as an interpreter from the Delaware Botanic Gardens.

Please note:

  • No cancellations are accepted after September 27, 2025. For an explanation of our refund policy, please click here.
  • Food and drink are not included in the cost for trips and tally rallies.
  • Trips will go rain or shine, unless conditions are predicted to be dangerous.
  • If the trip is canceled due to dangerous conditions, you will be notified via email and a full refund will be provided.