Thursday, Oct. 10

Red-shouldered Hawk, photo courtesy of 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, 2024. Trips are subject to weather cancellations.

MORNING FIELD TRIP

Birds of Bombay Hook NWR (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 am
Cost: $30/person
Meeting Location: Bombay Hook NWR Visitor Center, 2591 Whitehall Neck Rd, Smyrna, DE 19977. GPS coordinates: 39.259536, -75.473240

Please note: Cost does not include entry to Bombay Hook NWR. Access to the refuge trails and auto tour route are provided with a $3.50 day pass or an $11 annual pass. Click here for more information and to purchase your pass. A current Federal Duck Stamp is also a free pass into any national wildlife refuge that charges an entry fee. 

Short-billed Dowitcher, photo courtesy of Frode Jacobsen.

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 migrating songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl. The trip will involve some easy walking and car caravans between major stops.

AFTERNOON FIELD TRIPS

Mispillion Inlet to Fowler Beach (DRIVING/HIKING)
Time: 1:30 – 5:00 pm
Cost: $30/person
Meeting Location: Dupont Nature Center 2992 Lighthouse Rd, Milford, DE 19963. GPS coordinates: 38.947547, -75.315245

Royal Tern, photo courtesy of Frode Jacobsen.

The lower Delaware Bay shore offers some of the best autumn birding in Delaware. This trip will begin at the Dupont Nature Center on Mispillion Inlet in search of shorebirds, gulls, and raptors. We will stop at a few Delaware Bay access sites in Slaughter Beach to scan the beaches and bay for seabirds and waterfowl. We will end the trip at Fowler Beach, the northern access to Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge where we will explore the dunes and beach for sparrows and shorebirds.

Please note:

  • No cancellations are accepted after September 27, 2024. 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.