Snow on the Beach

Slaughter Beach, Delaware

Detritus on the beach

Slaughter Beach Dunes

Might be whelk eggs

Fish-eye to the sky

Fish-eye close-up of a pine branch

More whelk eggs of some type

Dead horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) on snowy beach

One of my last trips down home I wanted to figure out where the Dupont Nature Center was. This lead to stopping at Slaughter Beach and snapping some pictures of the snow on the beach and other flotsam and jetsam. Among the debris were some whelk egg cases and dead horseshoe crabs which are common sights on Delaware beaches. If you’re in Delaware and interested in participating in a survey of horseshoe crab spawn click the link 🙂

Frozen Delaware River

Ice on the Delaware River

Ice on the Delaware River 2

Battery Park in New Castle, Delaware

Delaware Memorial Bridge

At the end of January I visited New Castle, Delaware for a job interview and on the way back to PA I stopped at the Battery Park in New Castle to take some pictures. The latest bought of arctic temperatures at the end of January lead to a lot of ice in the Delaware River. The river flows into the Delaware Bay and forms an estuary where fresh and salt water mix. Additionally there is a nice vantage of the Delaware Memorial Bridge which provides more direct access to Southern New Jersey. Stay warm!

Winter and Sea gulls

Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) with first winter molt

Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) at rest

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) in flight

Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) in flight

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) coming in for a landing

Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) at rest 2

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) close up

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) landing in the huddle

Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) close up 2

Visiting Rehoboth Beach to see the beach with some snow ended up having less snow but a flock of seagulls (not the band) resting on the beach. Perusing my favorite bird id site lead me to believe that these were ringed-bill gulls on our beach. Gulls are a common site at many beaches, very agile fliers, sometimes too agile as they snatch food out of beach-goers’ hands. This should serve as a reminder that we shouldn’t allow animals to become accustomed to human food, which means throwing out your scraps and not feeding them. Regardless of the fact that the beach may be a resort area and not designated a park or wilderness, what may seem cute and entertaining can quickly become a nightmare. These habits can put people and animals at risk. So enjoy nature, but respect it by ‘taking only pictures and leaving only footprints’ as the Leave no Trace philosophy as well as other ethics go. This too means to use appropriate waste disposal which municipalities have set up and should be regularly maintained. Enjoy!

 

Snow in Delaware

Flock of birds at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge frozen

Two weekends ago there was a great blue heron in the reeds

Shell of a horseshoe crab

Frozen waters of the marsh

Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) at the feeder

White-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Fluffly dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis)

‘Cape’ American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) at Rehoboth Beach, DE

Sunlit sky and snow-clouds

The ‘Big January Snow’ of my last post affected the entire region, including southern Delaware which often does not see too much snow if any from year to year. On the way down, I again stopped at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge to see what it looked like under the ice and snow. Birds could be seen along the roadside where the snow had melted enabling them to get to the ground underneath. There were no herons or seagulls in, or rather on, the frozen water this time but even covered in snow the landscape was beautiful.

At home we have a far greater diversity of birds visiting our feeder, although not all of my pictures turned out well I have posted a few of the best. At the feeder we saw dark-eyed juncos, white-throated sparrows, blue jays, eastern tohees, northern cardinals, and possibly a house wren. We also went out to Rehoboth Beach this same day where the seagulls were conserving warmth on the beach, but I will save those pictures for my next post. However I’ve included a shot of the setting sun and snow-clouds as well as snow on our dunes and beachgrass. The link takes you to a page by Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources (DNREC) about dune restoration on Delaware’s shoreline. Enjoy!