field_report from "Bombay Hook" on 08/12/2006 - 07:00

Four Audubon members set out from Washington on August 12 to look for late summer birds. The day was perfect for birding: high around 80, clear, and breezy. We set our sights on Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge, which sits at the edge of Delaware Bay, consists of close to 16,000 acres of tidal salt marsh, together with several freshwater impoundments and upland hardwood forest. The diversity of habitats makes it possible to find many species of birds, especially during migration. Bombay Hook is a fine place to bird in any season, but is at its best during spring and fall migration. For a Washington-based birder, the attraction of this refuge is the ability to see many species of shorebirds that are hard to find at inland locations.

When we arrived at the refuge, the air was full of swallows. Barn, Bank, and Purple Martin were all present in good numbers. An Eastern Wood-Pewee calling from the woods near the visitor center proved to be elusive to find. We did catch up with one at our first stop, the boardwalk trail, where we also saw the first of many Eastern Kingbirds. A tree just down the road from the entrance to the trail held about a dozen Snowy Egrets.

The Raymond Pool, the first of three large impoundments along the auto-tour, showed us how difficult identifying peeps can be. "Peeps" is a generic name that covers many of the small sandpipers of the genus Calidris. Most of these small birds were at long range, so that the usual field marks of bill shape and leg color were not very useful. Instead they formed an undifferentiated mass of running birds. Luckily there were larger and closer birds for us to watch. Here we saw American Avocet, Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. A Forster's Tern was perched at the top of a narrow white pole in the middle of the mass of shorebirds. This stop also gave us the opportunity to study the difference between immature Little Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets. While both are white, the former has a blue bill with a black tip, while the latter has a mostly black or black and yellow bill.

At our next stop, the Shearness Pool, we saw Willet and Glossy Ibis, in addition to hundreds more sandpipers and plovers. A Bald Eagle cruised past and upset the masses of birds.

At Bear Swamp, the last pool we finally had a chance to study some peeps at close range. Here we had close looks at Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, as well as many Semipalmated Plovers. Farther out in the swamp, large numbers of herons were foraging, including Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and Tricolored Heron. The last was a particularly good spot since we do not usually find it on our field trips to Bombay Hook. Near the end of the same pool, we came across a large flock of Forster's Terns. Several terns were fledglings; these young birds noisily begged for food. Among them was a single Black Skimmer, so that we could study its massive bright orange bill at close range.

We finished the day with 53 species seen or heard. This is low compared to past August field trips to the Delaware marshes, since groups saw 66 in August 2004 and 79 in August 2003. However, those trips were attended by more birders, and more sets of eyes usually leads to more sightings. As it was, we had a fine day with beautiful weather, unusual and interesting species, and enthusiastic company.

With the sightings of American Avocet, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Tricolored Heron, D.C. Audubon surpassed its goal of 200 species for the year.