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Birds, beer and even a few seals highlight event

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery sponsors Delmarva Birding Weekend
Some of the hundreds of birders taking part in the Winter Delmarva Dogfish Birdinning Weekend keep an eye on birds at a feeder in Cape Henlopen State Park as they prepare for a Jan. 31 field trip. RON MACARTHUR PHOTOS
Ron MacArthur
February 4, 2021

The weather forecast for this past weekend was anything but welcoming.

Even so, hundreds of birders flocked to Lewes, the base city for Winter Delmarva Dogfish Birding Weekend Jan. 29-31. Even with a change in some plans due to the weather, 11 field trips – including two Delaware Bay cruises – took place at locations throughout Delmarva.

“We had a great weekend, even with the gale warning on Friday and snowstorm on Sunday. It was a true birding weekend,” said co-organizer Jim Rapp.

Among locations on the itinerary were Cape Henlopen State Park, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Mispillion Inlet, Burton Island, James Farm Ecological Preserve, Ocean City Inlet and Chincoteague, Va.

Rapp said the highlights for many participants were the harbor and gray seals spotted on the outer breakwater and ice breakers in Delaware Bay.

Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, as the major sponsor, offered a birding weekend special at Dogfish Inn in Lewes, including discounts at its Rehoboth Beach and Milton locations, and Dogfish and Delmarva Birding Weekends swag. The company will sponsor another birding weekend March 5-7.

On Saturday, March 6, during the spring event, Dogfish will release Binoculager, an amber lager brewed with seeds, with proceeds to benefit the American Birding Association.

Delmarva Birding Weekends has been offering events since 1995. For more information, go to delmarvabirding.com.

 

Spotted over the weekend:

• 119 bird species tallied, including 27 species of waterfowl

• Birds only seen in the winter months, including common eider, purple sandpiper, American white pelican, great cormorant and razorbill

• Massive flocks of snow geese just outside Roosevelt Inlet in Delaware Bay

• Harbor and gray seals, as well as red fox, river otters and white-tailed deer

 

 

Because of the winter weather, not many people get to see the harbor and gray seals at the Delaware Breakwater and ice breakers in Delaware Bay. SHERRY ABBOTT PHOTO
A great cormorant surveys the scene from the breakwater rocks. SHERRY ABBOTT PHOTO
A bald eagle perched on the breakwater rocks in Delaware Bay looks a little weather-worn. SHERRY ABBOTT PHOTO
The weather cooperated with two Jan. 30 boat trips in Delaware Bay. Birders not only spotted waterfowl and other birds, but also saw several harbor and gray seals at the outer breakwater and ice breakers.
Jim Rapp, co-organizer of Delmarva Birding Weekends, welcomes birders aboard the Thelma Dale IV as they prepare to leave Lewes Harbor for a cruise around Delaware Bay.
A long line of Winter Delmarva Dogfish Birdinning Weekend participants gathers on the Lewes Harbor docks as they board Thelma Dale IV.
Zooming in, this birder gets a close-up view of some of the many birds that winter in the park.
Chris Bennett, a Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation staffer, prepares to lead a field trip at Cape Henlopen State Park, one of 11 taking place over the weekend.
Anthony Gonzon, one of the field trip leaders, is ready with his spotting scope to take a group on a hike through Cape Henlopen State Park.
Female and male cardinals seem to be watching birders from the safety of a tree.
On a trail in Cape Henlopen State Park, birders look into the trees.
This gray seal seems to be enjoying the sunny side of the Delaware Breakwater rocks. SHERRY ABBOTT PHOTO
A pair of female buffleheads takes flight near the shore. SHERRY ABBOTT PHOTO

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