Your Family-Friendly Guide to Delaware Birding

Did you know that the First State is one of the hottest travel destinations for our feathered friends? 

Our coastal living draws over four hundred bird species to live and migrate in Delaware. Delaware is home "nest" to the American Birding Association and two of the most famous national wildlife refuges in the eastern US: Bombay Hook and Prime Hook. 

We asked local birders about their recommendations for the best places for Delaware birding during the Great Backyard Bird Count and throughout the year.

Photo by the Brandywine Zoo

Great Backyard Bird Count

February 14 - 17

Since 1988, citizen scientists have turned to the skies in February to watch and count as many birds as possible over the course of four days. Scientists will use these observations to understand global bird populations before they migrate. 

Photo by Jordan Brown

Delaware Birding Hot Spots

Jen Klotz, Brandywine Zoo, Community Engagement Specialist

• Favorite Bird Fact: There's bird-friendly coffee and chocolate for us to enjoy! It's grown on farms that follow rigorous certification standards.
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: In a new place. You don't know what you'll see because it's new to you! Anticipation and excitement make it fun even if you don't see much.
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: Learn the basics for identification (shape, size, habitat, color pattern, and behavior).The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has bird identification tools, webinars, DIY birdhouse instructions, feeder/seed information, and items to purchase.

Jordan Brown, Raptor, Grassland, and Forest Bird Biologist, DNREC

• Favorite Bird Fact: Woodpeckers can peck up to 20 times per second!
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: Anywhere that I am on my kayak!
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: 
  • Use the habitat that the bird is in to help you identify it - many species can be tricky, but don’t give up! Merlin is the best (free) ID app (but don’t rely solely on this).

Matthew Halley, Assistant Curator of Birds, Delaware Museum of Nature and Science

• Favorite Bird Fact: Birds are dinosaurs!
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: White Clay Creek Watershed and Fairmount Park, Philadelphia 
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: Go at your own pace. Enjoy the adventure.  

Ashley Kempken, Collections Manager of Birds, Delaware Museum of Nature and Science

• Favorite Bird Fact: Shrikes store food for later by impaling their prey on branches, fence posts, and barbed wire.
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge 
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: Anyone can be a birder. Check out the Merlin Bird ID application and birdability.org for resources on starting out.

Photo by Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart, Ornithologist, Delaware Nature Society

• Favorite Bird Fact: Hummingbirds only weigh the same as a nickel, yet they fly all the way to Delaware from Central America!
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Smyrna. A great place to see lots of different birds every month of the year, sometimes right outside your car window! Different seasons = different birds!
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: Start by watching the birds in your own backyard and learning their names. 

Joshua T. Smith, Visitor Services Manager, Coastal Delaware National Wildlife Refuge Complex

• Favorite Place to Go Birding: Bombay Hook is about as good as it gets in Delaware. The Lewes breakwall can be pretty awesome too.
• Favorite Bird Fact: Birds can sleep while flying and there are some seabirds that can stay aloft for months at a time. 
• #1 Piece of Advice and one resource for New Bird Watchers: Slow down and pay attention. Observe behavior, don't just see the animals.

Ellen Lake, Director of Conservation & Research at Mt. Cuba Center

• Favorite Bird Fact: Some owls have ears that are asymmetrically located on their heads, which helps them pinpoint the exact location that a sound is coming from.
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: My young nephew’s backyard because we can get a close look at birds at his bird feeder without needing binoculars.
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: Find a tool that works with how you learn best. 

Charles Shattuck, Owner, Wild Birds Unlimited-Hockessin

• Favorite Bird Fact: All birds are good birds.
• Favorite Place to Go Birding: My backyard, Auburn Valley State Park, or Ashland Nature Center
• Advice For Fledgling Bird Watchers: Count the birds in your yard, then visit places with a completely different habitat. Look in deep woods, open skies, and along a waterway. Bring a good pair of binoculars to find birds. A camera can capture an image and even a bad photo can give you clues as to the species. 

Jim Rapp, Delmarva Birding Weekends Organizer

• Favorite Place to Go Birding: Cape Henlopen State Park during the winter months. The diversity of bird species there is incredible!
• Favorite Bird Fact: Turkey Vultures are our most common large bird in the sky. They have amazing adaptations for feasting on decaying carcasses. They have bald heads and necks to prevent their feathers from getting dirty and gross while feeding on dead animals, and they vomit to defend themselves!
• #1 Piece of Advice and one resource for New Bird Watchers: Listen as much as you look when birding. You'll discover many more species when you learn their basic songs and calls. The best resource for birding is your observation skills. Even without binoculars, you can identify many species while taking a hike in your neighborhood or favorite park just by looking and listening.

Photo by Charles H. Shattuck IV

Resources

American Birding Association

Delaware Audubon

Delaware Birding Trail

Delaware Ornithological Society

Delaware Valley Ornithological Club

Birding in DE State Parks

The Merlin Bird App

Red Knot Youth Birders