The Nature of Delaware

By Joe Sebastiani, Members Program Team Leader

Each year in the Spring we take the Delaware Nature Society Teen Naturalist group for an overnight somewhere.  Last week, we spent a night at the Mallard Lodge near Smyrna, DE.  The Mallard Lodge is owned by the Delaware Department of Fish and Wildlife.  If you take a training course, your group can stay at the lodge for free if you are studying the wetland ecology of the surrounding area. 

Last Wednesday was a complete wash out.  It was raining a little when we arrived and unpacked, and when we went out for dip-netting in the marsh…heavy rain!  Twenty minutes later, after having bagged ourselves a few silversides, mummichogs, and grass shrimp, we were soaked through to the skin.  Good thing they have aquariums and live animals at the Aquatic Resource Education Center next door. 

Later that day, the rain slowed and we were able to tour around Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.  One of our best sighting was a Black-necked Stilt on the roadway eating waterlogged worms.

A Black-necked Stilt at Bombay Hook NWR, DE.

In the evening, we put on our waders and went into the nearby freshwater marsh to look for frogs and birds.  Spring Peepers and a few New Jersey Chorus Frogs were calling, but it was fairly cold and we didn’t see any.  It was fun to squat down in the marsh and watch Green-winged Teal and Wilson’s Snipe zoom past us as they looked for a night-time roost.

A Teen Naturalist looks for frogs at the Aquatic Resource Education Center near Smyrna, DE.

In the evening, Jason Beale from Abbott’s Mill Nature Center showed the Teens how to start a fire with a bow drill and a hand drill.  Several of us successfully started a fire, others at least got a good coal to burn. 

Starting a fire with a bow drill. I was impressed that they started fires!

Sunrise at the Mallard Lodge, Smyrna, DE.

Beach combing at Woodland Beach, DE.

We caught a Northern Black Racer while it basked in the morning sunshine.

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By Joe Sebastiani, Members Program Team Leader

Third in a series about the Delaware Nature Society trip to Nebraska.

March in Nebraska weather-wise can be very unpredictable.  It may be in the 70′s one day, and the next…back to winter!  Our second full day in Nebraska, we had quite a surprise when we opened our doors.  Six inches of snow, temperatures in the 20′s, and wind strong enough to huddle up the cattle into tight groups, let alone people.  We set out to see Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying on their lek.  Would they even show up on such a miserable morning?  The answer was yes.  Would they dance?  Well…maybe a little.

Sharp-tailed Grouse staring at each other in the snow and wind. Photo by Marilyn Henry.

The birds flew in, haggled with each other for location, and pretty much stared at each other.  If someone got out of place, they rush one another with tail up, feet stomping, wings shaking and dangling, charge….and stop to stare.  There was a lot of that in the snow and wind that morning.  Eventually, they flew off to roost in the cedar trees.

Since we only got a partial show, we were taken on a four-wheeling expedition of the 12,000-acre ranch.  Over the sandhills…down the sandhills, repeated over and over.  We visited the cattle herd and their newborn calves, being protected by the weather by their mothers. 

A young calf on the ranch. Photo by Marilyn Henry.

We also visited the location of marker honoring a young woman who died here during in the 1800′s as the family made their way west by wagon.  The family never forgot her and returned from California just a  few years ago to pay their respects and place a memorial marker.

Later that day, and sad to leave Calamus Outfitters www.calamusoutfitters.com and our hosts Bruce, Sue Ann, and Adam Switzer, we left for Kearney and the land of the Sandhill Cranes.

Saying goodbye to Calamus Outfitters. Photo by Marilyn Henry.

We left the snow behind us quickly, and proceeded to Fort Kearney Historic Site and Recreation Area.  Here, we walked a rail-trail over the Platte River and got our first view of this important waterway.  For a river that starts in the Rockies of Colorado and Wyoming, and travelling hundreds of miles until this point, it is pitifully small.  Thank a few large dams upstream and huge amounts of water siphoned for irrigation along its length for the river’s modern day reality.  No longer does this beautiful prairie river swell with Rocky Mountain floodwaters and meander along it’s vast grassland floodplain.

The Platte River near Kearney, NE. Photo by Joe Sebastiani

Our walk along the rail-trail was windy and cold, but did produce one bird we were looking for, the Harris’s Sparrow.  In a flock with Dark-eyed Juncos, we found three of these beautiful birds.

A Harris's Sparrow near Kearney, NE. This species winters primarily in the mid-west. Photo by Joe Sebastiani

We looked forward to our adventures the next day…exploring the Rainwater Basin and the dramatic return of the Sandhill Cranes to the Platte River in the evening.  More on that later…

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By Joe Sebastiani, Members Program Team Leader

2nd in a series about the Delaware Nature Society trip to Nebraska in March.

March 25 continued…After a great Prairie-chicken show and a big breakfast, we ventured out to investigate parts of the 12,000-acre Calamus Outfitters Ranch and the nearby Calamus Reservoir.  In late-March, this place ranks right up there with places like Bombay Hook and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges in Delaware, yet it is not even mentioned in the Birding Nebraska booklet.  Someone is overlooking this as a serious birding hot spot in Nebraska!

I kept promising we would visit a Prairie Dogs Town, but there were way too many birds between us and the little rodents.  Every time I would say, “Prairie Dogs, next stop!”, there would be more wonderful birds for us to look at.

We were in "Cattle Country" after all. I overcame my well known fear of cows to get this photo!

The ranch and the Reservoir together make a fantastic birding location in late March.  Ducks are still around by the thousands, and other migrants are coming in.  A few hundred American White Pelicans were on the reservoir and circled in the sky above us.  “Pelicans?  In Nebraska?”, someone usually says.

Hundreds of White Pelicans stop at Calamus Reservoir in migration. It is a dramatic sight to witness dozens of these birds in a thermal, circling in the sky.

Ducks such as Wood Duck, Mallards, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, and Common Merganser were plentiful.  A single Trumpeter Swan, part of a flock of 15 that spent the winter here, was still on the reservoir.  Flocks of Rusty Blackbirds were feeding in the swampy edges, and songbirds were plentiful.  Bald Eagles numbered around 40 on the west end of Calamus Reservoir.

We found a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds in the swampy areas of Calamus Reservoir.

In winter, shad die in the reservior as part of their normal life-cycle.  After the ice thaws, the bodies are released to the surface, and the day prior to our arrival, the wind blew the shad carcasses to the east end of the reservoir.  It was a Ring-billed Gull feast!  No wonder there were so many eagles at the reservoir.

Thousands of Ring-billed Gulls feed on shad that died over the winter, are trapped under ice, then blown up to the dam at Calamus Reservoir.

At the end of the day, we stopped at another part of the ranch to see a Great Horned Owl nesting and Wild Turkeys.  They usually feed at the hay piles.  We thought we would see a few.  Check it out in the video below. 

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By Derek Stoner, Middle Run Reforestation Coordinator

While leading a hike at Middle Run Natural Area recently, our group came across a beautiful spring ephemeral: a beautiful flower of the forest that grows and blooms and quickly dies back in the spring.

The bloodroot is a member of the poppy family, and each spring, the plant sends up one leaf and a single flower.  The flower has white lobes (petals) and a yellow center (the stamen and pistils).  These flowers only open when the sun is out, and close up each night during their brief bloom period. 

Bloodroot is one of the first native wildflowers to bloom in spring.

The root of the bloodroot has a reddish colored juice (sap), which gives the plant its name.  When the stem or root is cut, it appears to be bleeding.  The Native Americans used the juice as an insect repellent, for the treatment of fungus infections such as ringworm, and for the treatment of rheumatism. 

Fun Fact: Bloodroot is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory.  The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants.  The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate.  The seeds also get the added bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris.

If you are interested in visiting Middle Run Natural Area, an 800-acre natural area owned by New Castle County, you may want to join us for Delaware’s first ever Bio-Blitz.  On Sunday, April 26, volunteers will join up with experts to survey the area’s plant and animal life, and try to document as many species as possible.  A Bio-Blitz is a great opportunity to learn more about the interesting diversity of life found living in our local habitats.  For more information, visit: http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/pdfs/bioblitz09.pdf.

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By Derek Stoner: Education Programs Assistant

The weekly bird walk at Bucktoe Creek Preserve on Monday, March 30 provided the ten participants with a variety of good, close “scope looks” at birds.

We encountered a few Golden-crowned Kinglets along the Red Clay Creek, and enjoyed a rare sight: a kinglet sitting still!  Normally frenetic and tough to observe, this particular kinglet perched on a branch for almost 10 minutes.  Perhaps he was tired from migrating the night before and just needed to rest.  Looking at this kinglet through the spotting scope, we could study his minuscule beak and trademark crown stripes.

Walking along the Red Clay Creek, we found a group of nine Wood Ducks swimming in a deep pool.  The gorgeous males with their rainbow hues and the camouflaged females with their brownish tones gave us long looks.  When they took flight in an explosion of color, Hank Davis’s camera caught the action.

A male Wood Duck splashes away from the group as it takes flight. Photo by Hank Davis.

A Pileated Woodpecker at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve, Kennett Square, Chester County, PA. Photo by Hank Davis.

Join us any Monday at 7:45 a.m. at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve for the free bird walk.  Directions can be found at www.delawarenaturesociety.org on the “Our Locations” page.

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By Joe Sebastiani, Members Program Team Leader:

Last week, I led the annual Delaware Nature Society trip with 5 great participants to Nebraska to see the Sandhill Crane migration on the Platte River as well as to catch other highlights of local wildlife.  This year, our trip began at the Calamus Outfitters near Burwell, Nebraska.  Calamus Outfitters is located in the Sandhills region of the state.  This 20,000 square-mile area is the largest sand-dune formation in the western hemisphere.  The sand-dunes are stabilized by prairie grass and wildflowers, making it one of the last great grassland ecosystems of America.

We had finally arrived at one of my favorite places...Calamus Outfitters in the Nebraska Sandhill region.

Calamus Outfitters is a 12,000-acre cattle ranch that also offers tours in the spring to see Greater Prairie-chicken and Sharp-tailed Grouse on their display ground (lek).  They have facilities for overnight stays, and they feed you very, very well.  The Switzer family, who run the operation, are wonderfully hospitable and very enjoyable…happily explaining their way of life and the operation of the ranch.

Sunset over the Sandhills on our first night at Calamus Outfitters.

After some much needed rest, we woke early to view Greater Prairie-chickens on the lek.  Calamus Outfitters takes you to a blind in front of the displaying birds, which is a school bus parked on the prairie.  I call it a “Blus”.

A Greater Prairie-chicken hoots with it's bright orange throat sacs, feet from our Blus.

The display from the males is altogether comical, beautiful, haunting, and aggressive.  The strange sounds the birds make are bizarre, and their fighting, entertaining.  I picture the extinct Heath Hen from our area carrying out this ritual long ago in Delaware, and think about how different it must have been when this bird lived in our state.  The Sandhills area of Nebraska is a stronghold for this declining species, and it was great to know that places like this still exist.  We enjoyed every minute of it, cold hands and all.

To see a short video of the Greater Prairie-chickens displaying in front of us, click here.

After the chicken show, we looked forward to a hearty Nebraska breakfast, and more birding around the ranch and Calamus Reservoir later that day.  Stay tuned for the next installment of the story of our trip…

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