Thursday, April 25

MORNING FIELD TRIP

Birds of Bombay Hook NWR (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Guides: Chris Bennett & Anthony Gonzon
Meeting Location:  Bombay Hook NWR Visitor Center, 2591 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna, DE 19977-2912. GPS coordinates: 39.259514, -75.473799

Please note: Cost does not include the day pass for Bombay Hook NWR. Day passes provide access to refuge trails and the auto tour route. The $4 pass covers the vehicle and up to 4 occupants. The $12 pass is a Bombay Hook specific annual pass. It covers the pass holder and up to 3 guests in the same vehicle. Click here for more information. A current Federal Duck Stamp is also a free pass into any national wildlife refuge that charges an entry fee. 

Delaware’s most famous birding hot spot, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge near Dover, 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 migrants and local breeders, including wading birds, shorebirds, rails, and colorful songbirds. The trip will involve some easy walking and car caravans between major stops.

AFTERNOON FIELD TRIPS

Cape Henlopen State Park (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 1:30 – 4:30 pm
Cost: $30/person
Guides: Chris Bennett & Anthony Gonzon
Meeting Location: Seaside Nature Center at Cape Henlopen State Park. GPS coordinates: 38.784045, -75.098197

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.

Meet your guides at the Seaside Nature Center at Cape Henlopen State Park for an overview of the afternoon’s itinerary. After watching the bird feeders at the Nature Center, we’ll caravan through Cape Henlopen State Park. This largest state park in Delaware has much to offer birders in the spring. 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. Brown-headed Nuthatch; photo courtesy of Frode Jacobsen.

Birding the Harriet Tubman (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 2:00 – 6:00 pm
Cost: $65/person
Guides: Jim Rapp and Alex & Lisa Green
Meeting Location: small roadside pull-off at the Brodess Farm Site, located near 2881 Greenbrier Road, Bucktown, MD 21613. The GPS Coordinates are: 38.459031,-76.048522

Join Harriet Tubman Tours and Delmarva Birding Weekends as we go birding along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway in Dorchester County, MD. During our guided, self-driven tour, we’ll learn about the life and times of the famed freedom seeker and human rights activist known as “The Moses of Her People,” Harriet Tubman. The route courses through the farms and Chesapeake Bay marshes of Dorchester County, home to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and some of the best birding and Bald Eagle watching on America’s Eastern Seaboard.

Bald Eagle and Lesser Yellowlegs. Photos courtesy of Frode Jacobsen. “Take My Hand” mural of Harriet Tubman by artist Michael Rosato.

Please note:

  • No cancellations are accepted after April 10, 2024. 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.