Date: 5/21/25 11:44 am From: Robert McLean <tmclean1090...> Subject: Re: [de-birds] Slaughter beach question - no sighting
If you have some time today, look for Whimbrels with Piping Plover, Dunlin? and an outside shot at Red Knot at Cape Henlopen DE (west side/bay side of Cape Henlopen). Around low tide is best, if not a must. Henlopen Bay side can also harbor late Red-throated Loon, scoters, and other goodies. Also, you can always scan the ocean side from the Henlopen Hawk watch platform - for possible jaegers and Sooty Shearwater, and Wilson’s Storm Petrel.
My understanding of shorebirding on the Delaware Bay is that the Cape May side of the bay is far superior, but that sounds way too far out of the way for you.
So with all the rains we are having, the later half of the Blackwater Loop (obviously in Maryland) could be good to excellent for shorebirds. Looking at the areas inside the road/loop you may find peeps, including White-rumped Sandpipers, other migrating shorebirds with outside chance of Avocet, Black-necked Stilt. You can get to one area for shorebirds from the Blackwater Refuge building. Correct rain levels are crucial, as too much and too little rain is a killer.
Good birding!
Taylor McLean Baltimore, MD
Sent from my iPhone
> On May 21, 2025, at 10:10 AM, m b <marlabeth...> wrote: > > I was wondering if anybody's been seeing lots of shorebirds at Slaughter beach. I only had a chance to go May 12th, and although the tide was incoming, I was closer to Mid tide. I didn't really see much. Tomorrow I have to leave Delaware, and I can either take the southern route and go to Redden state forest and Blackwater, looking for Delmarva fox squirrels and whatever remnants of warbler migration there might be. > > Or I can take the northern route, and go back to Slaughter beach again, in hopes of maybe seeing some shorebirds. If anyone's been seeing lots of shorebirds at Slaughter Beach at a higher tide, I would love to know. > > Thanks everyone! And thank you everyone for answering my "could I possibly have seen a falcon on the boardwalk at bethany" question. > > By the way, yesterday afternoon there was a blue grosbeak in the beach grass on the dunes at bethany. It's quite usual for me to see them over at Bethany Nature Center on 26, but I've never seen one on the beach before. It's been a very interesting trip! Two different whales, two weeks apart, both breaching, some kind of falcon on the boardwalk, a blue grosbeak in the dunes! > > Happy birding > > Mb visiting Delaware > > Sent from my phone, so please excuse all typos, gibberish, and horrifying misspellings > > > List archives: https://lists.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=DE-BIRDS > List help: <DE-BIRDS-request...>
