field_report from "Bombay Hook" on 05/12/2007 - 7:00am

Report by Matt Curtis.

After the morning coffee and introductions, seven DC Audubon friends and members set out for Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is one of my favorite birding spots within a relatively easy drive from DC. With the diversity of habitats and its proximity to Delaware Bay, a keen eye and ear can spot some amazing birds, and can pad even the most avid birder's yearly lists. The morning was bright and sunny, the air already warming up, a slight breeze, the general feeling was that this was going to be a good day for birding.

Purple Martin Nest GourdsIn fact, nearing the entrance to the refuge we spotted some of our target species for the day. Pecking in the rows of a plowed field were black-bellied plovers and semipalmated plovers. Also spotted on the way in were our first purple martins and a wood thrush. The refuge visitor center always tends to set the mood for the day, and, as usual, the center was being buzzed by many barn swallows, purple martins, and had ruby-throated hummingbirds visiting the feeders. The real treat at the visitor's center was in the small woods just behind the center that usually has some warblers and a calling eastern wood-pewee. Here we were able to get some beautiful looks at an American redstart and black and white warbler, as well as see our first common yellowthroats and yellow warblers of the day. The group also managed to catch glimpses of a black-throated green warbler, northern parula, Louisiana waterthrush, hooded warbler and prothonotary warbler.

Blue Grosbeak:  Photo by Peter Vankevich.Making several stops along the refuge roads on our way out to the boardwalk area, the group heard the calls of ring-necked pheasants and a yellow-billed cuckoo, who would later appear swiftly flying past us. Near a field with singing swamp sparrows and a nesting brown thrasher, we were delighted to see a blue grosbeak perched high upon a shrub singing away, and a veery carefully monitoring our presence from the woods on the other side of the road. Also along the road in some of the marshier areas of the refuge, the group got great looks at a snowy egret, black-necked stilts, eastern kingbirds, and dunlins.

Never to be outdone by other parts of the refuge, the boardwalk trail at Bombay Hook starts in a wooded area between two ponds and winds through the woods, eventually opening up into the grassy marsh area that is home to many great bird species. On the way through the woods a white-eyed vireo came down and serenaded the group giving everyone great looks. Spotted near the ponds was a northern rough-winged swallow and two house wrens preparing a nest in a dead tree. Battling through the buzzing no-see-ums, we emerged into the grassy marsh areas, brackish water flowing through a channel ahead of us. Along the boardwalk marsh wrens would periodically pop up to warn us of their presence, and we were able to hear and see seaside sparrows among the grasses. In the channel a spotted sandpiper bobbed along, pecking the muddy shores, and a willet flew in to do the same. The willet's call as it flew low towards the channel caused hiding clapper rails to chime in, though it was the only hint at their presence.

Leaving the boardwalk, other stops within the refuge gave us great looks at glossy ibis and four black-crowned night herons. At an observation tower along one of the wooded paths, some of the group got to see a few juvenile bald eagles. One eagle had a particularly large snake clutched in its talons, carrying it off for a late lunch.

Port Mahon RoadLeaving the refuge, the birding group made three more stops before heading back to the city. The first stop was a cruise down Port Mahon Rd, as the road runs along the shores of the Delaware Bay. Among the rocky shores were hundreds of ruddy turnstones, many just coming into their beautiful breeding plumage. The wreckage of an old dock provided perching spots for great black-backed gulls, and below them on the shores the group spotted a few least sandpipers with the ruddy turnstones. Driving down the road, we were buzzed by a pair of American oystercatchers, flying swiftly in the other direction.

Flipping Horseshoe Crabs:  Photo by Peter Vankevich.Our second stop outside the refuge took us to Pickering Beach, an area just south of Port Mahon Rd. The beach was littered with horseshoe crabs riding in the tide to lay their eggs. There were many gulls waiting to pick apart those crabs who were not able to survive the march, but the best sightings here were of a flying Bonaparte's gull and a very strange looking rock pigeon. After helping a few horseshoe crabs get themselves straightened out, the group hopped back in their cars to our final birding destination of the day.

Stopping at Tuckahoe State Park back in Maryland, we decided to walk a short equestrian trail alongside Tuckahoe Lake and through a small woodland. Near the beginning of the trail, we heard and saw a green heron duck into a marshy area. Among the trees along the trail a blue-gray gnatcatcher called out, and a pair of orchard orioles flew from tree top to tree top.

With that, our day was finished and we headed back to DC. However, not before the group was able to record a total of 103 species seen and heard. A good day by any birder's standards.

Scroll down for a group picture. More photos from the day are available in the image galleries.

Participants at Bombay Hook