A circuit around Delaware Bay affords the opportunity to visit five East Coast birding hot spots:

• Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, DE
• Chincoteague national Wildlife Refuge, VA
• Cape Henlopen State Park, DE
• Cape may National Wildlife Refuge, NJ
• Forsythe national Wildlife Refuge, NJ

This birding trip with SMRA included a private sunset boat trip around Assateague Island and a foggy morning boat trip through the Cape May Marshes, plus the chance to nab a Pelagic species on the Lewes-Cape May Ferry crossing. (google map)

We began with approximately 4 hours driving the loop at Bombay Hook NWR with a few stops for short walks and excellent birding (67 species). Highlights for me included great views (and photos) of a Seaside Sparrow and mammal sightings including a red fox and a large American Beaver. Air Force One was circling overhead for a large chunk of time, but didn't interfere with our visit. (Refuge Tour)

A repeat of the Refuge Tour the next morning yielded even more birds, 73 species, and included a Black Swan which is a Life Bird for me, even if it is likely an exotic escapee. There were many shorebirds and I got great looks at some of the many hundred Semipalmated Sandpipers and a photo of a Least Bittern peeking at us from behind the marsh grasses.

After morning birding at Bombay Hook in Delaware, the group independently made its way south to Virginia and Chincoteague on Assateague Island. I was able to stop by the Futuro House in Milton, DE on the way. There's another one of these tomorrow houses from yesterday across the bay in Willingboro, NJ that I visited last year on the way home from Cape May.

On our first afternoon, we did a short driving loop in Chincoteague NWR and stopped by Tom's Cove before heading to AJs on the Creek for the best meal of the trip. I want more of that crab soup! Louisa rescued a tiny box turtle from the Hilton parking lot and returned it to the Marsh.

We had a much more extensive (and buggy) visit to Chincoteague the next morning but were rewarded with some very good birds and mammals. Highlights for me included the Delmarva Fox Squirrel and Sika Deer, two species I'd never seen before. We also had a great encounter with a Northern Bobwhite and looks at Brown-headed Nuthatches, Yellow-breasted Chats, Willets and Won't-its.

Louisa and I had time to visit the Assateague Light House on land before the sunset boat tour around Assateague Island which afforded excellent views of the lighthouse from the water. SMRA passengers set sail for a two-hour tour aboard the Osprey II. We were treated to excellent views of the Wild Horses of Assateague Island (aka Chincoteague Ponies). These descendants of domesticated horses brought to the island 300 years ago have adapted to life on the barrier island. The group also saw 3 Red-headed Woodpeckers, a life bird for some, and a pod a dolphins swam with the boat delighting the passengers, especially Tia.

We'd had great weather all week, but it rained on our parade Friday morning. Much of the day was spent in transit with a 3 hour drive from Chincoteague VA to Cape Henlopen State Park in NJ followed by lunch and the 85 minute Lewes to Cape May Ferry crossing. The highlight of the ferry crossing was a sighting of a Cory's Shearwater. I'd previously seen 4 of these on a previous SMRA trip to South Africa but this was my first USA sighting.

We briefly visited Reed's Beach in Cape May. I've been there many times before for the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project to count and put trackers on red-knots with Peter Fullagar. But the knots and turnstones are more abundant in May than June and we didn't see any Red Knots this trip.

The next morning, however, we had a magical morning chartered boat trip around Jervis Sound and the Cape May marshes aboard The Skimmer. It was a foggy morning, which added to the ambiance. Our guides were expert birders, and the boat was able to get very close to nesting bird colonies without disturbing them. We also learned about new technology for bird trackers: Cellular Tracking link

After lunch we did a little bit of birding in Cape May State Park followed by a visit to the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor.

The renowned Ocean City Heron Rookery is a must stop along the way. Nesting egrets, herons, white ibis, and other birds in abundance are less than a stones throw away from the walking path. I especially loved the fuzzy Great Egret babies being fed by a parent. I never get tired of spending time here.

Our final birding stop before heading home was at the Forsythe NWR. One final driving loop rewarded us with a great look at a mink with what looked like a small rodent in its mouth. There were, of course, more shore birds, and many terns including some Gull-billed Terns.

I'll end with a few additional photos of other cool stuff from the trip including one of the most fun geocaches I've ever done: GC7QVRB: The Maze. My video doesn't do it justice.