Posted by Ron Duckworth on December 6, 2011 at 12:05 PM
I have some free time at Christmas and was thinking of driving up to Delaware to Bombay Hook and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges as well as possibly the Brigantine unit of the Edwin Forsythe refuge in New Jersey.
My question is: By Christmas will those sites be past peak in numbers of snow geese and other migratory waterfowl or would that be a good time to go?
Hope to get to Bombay Hook tomorrow so I can give you a better report then. But in answer to your question....Heck Yeah! It's a good time to go to either BH or Brig. Sharon
Ron...it's an excellent time to go to either. Peak numbers of waterfowl are there now and will most likely remain through at least mid Jan-Feb. Yesterday at Bombay Hook there were loads of snow geese mostly in the first pool. They provided me with at least 10 spectacular lift offs as they left the pool in large groups...if you've never seen this...it's a must! A splendor of sight and sound! To see the snow geese, you MUST be there at sunrise or late afternoon, as they leave the pool and go off to local farms to feed in fields.
In addition to the snows, yesterday, there were large numbers of shovelers, and several nice groups of tundra swans. Smaller groups of pintails, hooded mergs, ruddies, and mallards and blacks. Also, a harrier, 3 baldies, and a red-tailed hawk. Several swamp sparrows gave me good views, a flock of bluebirds, a belted kingfisher, mockingbirds, several GB herons, and some cardinals. Tons of coots, too. Most likely all of these birds will winter there if conditions remain favorable.
Also, got to spend about an hour with a fox that was busy hunting insects along the road.
Hope you can get there...I always enjoy it there...for me it's definitely worth the drive!
I'm not as familiar with Prime Hook...but BH and the Brig are/should be good. Hopefully, someone else can help you out with Prime Hook.
Sharon
Posted by JOHN SLONINA on December 16, 2011 at 7:52 AM
this is a great time of year to go. the only problem would be if the ponds/lake etc freeze up. then some of the geese will travel south into the carolina's
if you go to prime hook remember there are different sections to the refuge. broadkill road and prime hook road can be great for seeing snow geese. next year we will be leading photo workshops on the delmarva. i hope you get some great shots.
Discussion
3 repliesI have some free time at Christmas and was thinking of driving up to Delaware to Bombay Hook and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges as well as possibly the Brigantine unit of the Edwin Forsythe refuge in New Jersey.
My question is: By Christmas will those sites be past peak in numbers of snow geese and other migratory waterfowl or would that be a good time to go?
Thanks in advance,
Ron Duckworth
In addition to the snows, yesterday, there were large numbers of shovelers, and several nice groups of tundra swans. Smaller groups of pintails, hooded mergs, ruddies, and mallards and blacks. Also, a harrier, 3 baldies, and a red-tailed hawk. Several swamp sparrows gave me good views, a flock of bluebirds, a belted kingfisher, mockingbirds, several GB herons, and some cardinals. Tons of coots, too. Most likely all of these birds will winter there if conditions remain favorable.
Also, got to spend about an hour with a fox that was busy hunting insects along the road.
Hope you can get there...I always enjoy it there...for me it's definitely worth the drive!
I'm not as familiar with Prime Hook...but BH and the Brig are/should be good. Hopefully, someone else can help you out with Prime Hook.
Sharon
if you go to prime hook remember there are different sections to the refuge. broadkill road and prime hook road can be great for seeing snow geese. next year we will be leading photo workshops on the delmarva. i hope you get some great shots.