A Trip to the Delaware Shore

My family and I took a trip to the Delaware shore recently. We went to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

It is a huge park that contains many different habitats for wildlife, including marshes, swamps, forests, water and beach, and much more. This mix of habitats attracts many different types of birds, such as warblers, sandpipers, and plenty of egrets.

Since there are so many birds foraging in the pools, you will often get many species in one photograph, as shown with this Snowy Egret and pair of Dunlins. Hundreds of Dunlins forage in a small area, and I noted several giganitc flocks of them whenever they flew up, sensing danger.

Dunlins Foraging

Migratory shorebirds often form huge flocks, whereas warblers and other migrant songbirds migrate by themselves. Probably because shorebirds are much more at risk of being eaten by aireal predators (because of their tasty size). Flocks are protection from predators, and shorebirds need that, but since warblers are so small, they don't look big enough to make a good raptor meal, and the predators abandon the songbird for something larger.

These two Black-necked Stilts fought with each other for ten minutes.

Stilts are named for their unusually long legs, which help them wade deeper into the water to get fish.

Glossy Ibis bills are curved, which helps them to catch and eat mussels.

Terns are well built for flying quickly and precise over the water, enabiling them to better catch fish.

We also saw plenty of songbirds, including:

Eight Indigo Buntings

Nesting Marsh Wrens

And Migrating Yellow Wablers.

Bombay Hook provides a well rounded habitat for man migratory birds. If you can visit, you should try to. If it isn't possible, go to a coastal area closer to home and try to find some amazing shorebirds.