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Have you ever seen a blizzard of birds? After all the snow this winter, we know what real blizzards look like. How about a storm with feathers that’s as loud as a jet airplane?

Middle Creek in Pennsylvania is where thousands of Snow Geese gather as they prepare for their migration to northern breeding grounds. Tundra Swans, Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers, and many other waterfowl gather here to rest and feed before their long journey.

We will see “collared” geese that have been marked by scientists to study the movements of Snow Geese. Many geese that winter in Delaware visit Middle Creek in spring. Will we see A8J7 that spent the winter at Bombay Hook in Delaware?

Trip Details:
This is a full-day trip, departing at 9:00am and returning at 5:00pm to northern Delaware. Transportation for the trip will be by carpool from Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin, DE. Please meet at Ashland by 8:45am.
Be sure to bring a camera and pack a bag lunch. We will be outside for about 3 hours and will hike about a half-mile total. Most viewing will be from the roadside and binoculars and spotting scopes available to use for great looks at the birds!
For directions to Ashland Nature Center, visit:
http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/dns_sites.html

For more information about Middle Creek Wildlife Area, visit:
http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/middle_creek/13905

Please RSVP to Derek Stoner (302-893-8426 or derekstoner@hotmail.com) if attending.

There’s so much to learn about birds! We gathered on a Saturday at the Ashland Nature Center after a week of snow and school closures. The Great Backyard Bird Count(GBBC) was in full swing and we were eager to count birds at the feeders.

Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Northern Cardinals, White-breasted Nuthatches, and many other birds swarmed the feeders, happy to take a handout with the ground still covered in two feet of snow.

Mr. Bill gave a great presentation on the birds of Delaware through the seasons, and Miss Kim gave everyone a handy booklet guide to birdwatching. Mr. Derek and Miss Judy guided our group of 16 youth and 8 adults around the room to stations representing the four seasons, learning about migration, nesting, habitat, and the birds’ own “calendars.”

A special guest appearance by Buddy the Mallard made for an exciting wrap-up to our morning. He put on a show by preening, swimming, eating crickets and then flying around the room!

Our walk outside gave us great views of local birds like American Robin, Red-tailed Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, and others. We tallied 29 species for the morning, and entered our data into the GBBC database.

To see the final results for the Great Backyard Bird Count, visit:
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/
Click on “Explore the Results and then “State Tallies.” Select a state and read the list of the all the species and numbers of birds reported during this nation-wide citizen science effort!

Top three images by Kim Steininger. Bottom two by Derek Stoner.

“All About Birds” Workshop
Saturday, February 13, 9:00am to Noon
Ashland Nature Center, Hockessin, DE

Learn about the different bird families, discover the birds’ seasonal calendar, and enjoy hands-on experiences with feathers, eggs, bones, and nests. Discover the special adaptations that bird beaks, feet, and tails have to help birds survive.

We’ll share ways to provide homes and habitat for the birds in your yard, and show you ways to get involved in citizen science projects like Project Feederwatch, Breeding Bird Atlases, and the Great Backyard Bird Count— held this weekend!

Meet a live bird and witness a great display of flight! Bring a camera to catch the action!

After an indoor learning experience, we will go outside to enjoy a bird walk and help count birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Learn how to take “digi-scope” photos with your digital camera and a spotting scope.

For directions to Ashland Nature Center, visit:
http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/dns_sites.html

For more information about the Great Backyard Bird Count, visit:
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

To kick off our special visit to Two Eagles Farm in Smyrna, a great spectacle greeted our eager group of birders.

Bright yellow-chested birds with black “V’s” and lemon-faced birds with black horns flew around a barren soybean field, settling to the ground and vanishing before our eyes!

We had found a large mixed flock of “field birds”, those species that like to hang out in open spaces and feed on seeds. The incredible camouflage coloration of these birds helps them blend into their surroundings.

With eyes to the fine Leica spotting scopes, we scanned carefully and picked out these birds scattered across the field: Eastern Meadowlarks that glowed bright yellow when facing us, and the amazing Horned Larks(photo above) with their black masks on a yellow face.

The very dull brown and gray American Pipits were the toughest to spot, until a few landed along the edge of a puddle right in front of us. This species used to be called “Water Pipit” so they were in the right habitat!

We explored an area alongside the cattle pasture, where a small flock of sparrrows flushed from the short grass. Another bird in its preferred habitat, these Savannah Sparrows(photo above) snuck throught the grass like little brown mice. They prefer to run and hide rather than fly. One sparrow perched on the wire fence and let us take its photo, showing off its big pink beak and yellow stripe above the eye. Notice the long toenail that this bird uses to scratch for seeds on the ground.

As we walked around the cattle pasture, we checked on the nest boxes that are placed for cavity-nesting species like Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. In our survey of eight boxes, we discovered that four had been used last season by House Wrens, and four used by House Sparrows. The wrens jam the box full of small twigs and the House Sparrows make a messy nest of dried grass and loose feathers.

We also discovered that Woolly Bear caterpillars, Ladybugs, and Stink Bugs all like to spend the winter inside the comfort of a bird box!

The Belgian horses came out to check out our group of birders, and we also enjoyed seeing the cattle and sheep that live on this working farm. Can you spot the two mules?

One goal of this field trip was to take a survey of wintering birds on the farm, and we saw neat sights like Red-bellied Woodpeckers snatching corn from the corn crib, Northern Mockingbirds chasing other birds around, and a large flock of Mallards that swirled over the cornfield. We observed birds in the fields, pastures, forests, and sky as we enjoyed a slow walk around the center of the farm.

We also discovered the nests of Chipping Sparrow, American Robin, and Orchard Oriole from last nesting season. Soon enough, these birds will return again to nest this spring!

As our list reached 39 and we wanted to wrap up with one more species to hit the 40 mark, a flock of beautiful Tundra Swans(photo above) flew over our heads as we stood near the marsh. A great way to end our day on the farm!

We thank the Armstrong family for generously allowing us to visit and explore their farm, and for doing such a great job of welcoming wildlife to their land.