Get your team ready for our annual Bird-a-thon: May 6-14, 2023!

The Bird-A-Thon is a competitive fundraiser focused on purchasing and conserving critical habitat in Delaware. Over 15 years we have raised over $600,000 and protected 2,100 acres of habitat for shorebirds and other coastal species of concern. Many of these sites are used by long-distance migrants, including the famous Red Knot. A portion of the funds are also used to support the DOS Conservation Science Grants program.
 
President’s Challenge: $100 donation from the DOS President to any team adding Blue-winged Warbler to their Bird-a-thon list. 

New Additional President's Challenge: $500 donation to any team that first discovers a species that is on the Delaware Bird Records Committee review list.
 
Keep an eye on the DOS website for more information.

May is the favorite birding month for many birders and who can deny the thrill of finding a flock of brightly colored spring warblers. But May is also the time for the DOS Bird-a-thon. This is our signature fundraising event and has raised an astounding $718,000 and protected 2,680 acres of critical wetland habitat. I hope you are planning to participate, donate or both in this event which runs from 6-14 May. We recently added a page to the website with more details about the history of the event including the money raised and land purchased.

For many years, the Bird-a-thon focused on the Red Knot. Red Knots also migrate through in May and congregate in places like Slaughter Beach and Mispillion Harbor to feed on the rich abundance of Horseshoe Crab eggs. The last two years were disastrous for the Red Knot because cold weather delayed the spawning of the crabs until after the Red Knots had migrated through. We still do not know how much this impacted the population of this federally endangered Red Knot subspecies. I was relieved to see on a visit to Mispillion Harbor in late April that the crabs are already spawning. So, barring a sudden cold spell, there should be an abundance of crab eggs and we are eagerly awaiting to see how many Knots return to feed on them.
 
A great triumph for Bird-a-thon was completing the purchase of all the shoreline at Mispillion Harbor to help protect the Knot’s feeding areas. Since DOS does not manage land, this land was turned over to the state. After some delays, there are now signs that the state is actively managing this property, most notably a new fence to prevent access to the shoreline.

Another big DOS-sponsored event each spring is Falcon Cam. The Wilmington Falcons Facebook page has over 3,000 followers from all over the world! We are excited that DOS had two additional falcon cams installed this spring with funds from Chemours. The two cameras give us a view outside of the nest box for the first time and will be especially helpful tracking fledglings during the Fledge Watch. Check them out on the DOS webpage.

There has been lots of drama at the falcon nest box this spring. After over a decade of hosting the same pair, named Trinity and Red Girl, a new pair has taken over, named Bridget and Whitman. This new pair has been very slow to lay eggs, but as of this writing there were two eggs in the nest box. We will have to wait and see whether any more will be laid or if they are viable.

Hope your spring is filled with Blackburnians, Cape Mays, and Magnolias and I hope to see you in the field.

 -Michael Moore, DOS President

Below is the list of candidates for DOS Officer positions that will be voted on at the May 2023 meeting. We are excited to announce that Joe Francis has agreed to become the next DOS president. However, Joe cannot start until July of 2024 so we will need to pass a bylaws amendment at the May meeting to allow Mike Moore to serve an additional year until Joe can step in.  

We are still looking for volunteers to serve as Vice President. The primary responsibility of the VP is to find speakers for the monthly meetings. However, Scott Northey has agreed to serve in this position for one year unless someone else steps up.  
 

President: Mike Moore
Vice President: Scott Northey
Secretary: Shannon Modla
Treasurer: Angie Barbato
Councilor:  Matt Halley


Mike Moore is a retired Biology professor who has been a life member of DOS since he moved to Delaware from Arizona in 2009. He started his life list when he was 11 years old and has been an avid lister ever since.  He serves as an eBird reviewer for Delaware. As current DOS president, he has tried to help advance DOS’s multifaceted mission, strengthen its relationship with partners. and increase its visibility in the birding community. 


Scott Northey joined DOS Council in 2020 and has since served a three-year term as a Council Member-at-Large. Scott played an instrumental role in working with DOS leadership on a successful grant application through his employer, Chemours, which has the potential to award over $100,000 towards DOS initiatives such as youth birding, the annual Wilmington Falcon Watch, and the Delaware Bird-A-Thon. Scott is an Environmental Compliance and Strategy Manager at Chemours’ Chambers Works Facility in Deepwater, NJ. He has spent almost 30 years working in the environmental field in the areas of chemical manufacturing, regulatory compliance, remediation, and sustainability.


Shannon Modla began birding in 2009 in Delaware and enjoys using photography to capture the beauty of birds and other flora and fauna. She is grateful for the conservation efforts put forth by DOS and their ability to secure important habitats that will support populations of birds and other creatures. Shannon has recently become enthusiastic about the implementation of native plants in residential landscapes and their ability to provide ecological benefits.





Angela Barbato: Raptors! Raptors! Raptors! They are what took me beyond backyard birds. I started as a volunteer at the Ashland Hawk Watch in 2012, then joined DOS shortly thereafter and have seen so many amazing things and met so many fantastic people thanks to this membership. Hawk Watch, Falcon Watch, and Bird Banding have been my favorite activities, and now I look forward to taking on a larger role in this one of a kind organization. 





Matthew Halley is an ornithologist and historian from Chester County, PA, who has been active in the Delaware Valley birding community for more than a decade. He is the author of numerous research papers and a popular blog about the evolutionary biology of American birds and the history of American science. He earned an MS degree from Delaware State University (2014) and a PhD from Drexel University (2021), where he conducted extensive research on Catharus thrushes and other American songbirds. Halley is also known for relocating lost artifacts, specimens, and manuscripts which have transformed our understanding of the history of American ornithology. He currently serves as the Interim Curator of Birds at the Delaware Museum of Nature & Science and is a Research Associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

Upcoming Field Trips

Cataldi Bird and Nature Walk with Matt Sarver
May 6th @ 8am-10:30am EDT

 

Sign up at [email protected] to receive field trip schedules and other updates for the fall.

Read the full report here.

First State National Historic Park
Trip Report
 

The trip to First State National Historic Park on May 3rd was a great success! Despite the past week’s chilly weather slowing migration and some rain during the walk putting a damper on bird activity, we still ended up with nine warbler species including a vocal Blue-winged, Black-and-white, and Prairie. Other migrants seen and/or heard included both species of oriole, Indigo Bunting, and Yellow-throated Vireo. Thanks so much to everyone who joined me for this walk and I look forward to running another DOS trip at First State during fall migration.”  — Declan O’Neil

Sally O'Byrne is leading a trip to Veracruz, Mexico to see the River of Raptors next September. It is a Delaware Nature Society trip working with ProNatura Veracruz.

This trip will not only feature the largest migration in the Western Hemisphere, there will also be birding in a variety of habitats around Veracruz as well as historic and cultural sites.

Here is the link to the brochure and detailed itinerary.   

Sally can answer anyone’s questions about the details here.

Don't forget: Conservation Access Passes are required to visit state wildlife areas such as Augustine (including Ashton Tract), Assawoman, Cedar Swamp, and Woodland Beach.
 

Photo by David Lewis.

 

Mark your calendars: our annual June Picnic will be held on the 24th. Location to be announced.

The DOS specialty license plates are starting to show up in the wild! Have you gotten yours yet? They are available at your local DMV, details here.

- Your backyard bird feeding specialist -



"Don't take down your feeders, the best is yet to come!"

Wild Birds Unlimited-Hockessin 
Open Monday to Saturday 9 am to 5 pm.

Lancaster Pike & Yorklyn Road
Hockessin, DE
(302)-239-9071
www.wbu.com/hockessin

Andrew Dunn is well in the lead, gaining 26 species in the last month. Can he be caught? Migration is in full swing -- keep your eyes on your yard birds!

Compete by submitting eBird checklists from your own yard. 

Learn more here.