Saturday, May 4, 2013

Bombay Hook NWR

I am linking up Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.

Last weekend hubby and I took a daytrip to Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware. Another one of my favorite wildlife refuges to visit.  We saw tons of birds, one of the largest flocks of Dunlins, Plovers and other shorebirds mixed in. We saw American Avocets, Black necked Stilts, some cute Common Yellowthroats, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets,  Great Blue Herons, Cormorants, Laughing Gulls, Black Crowned Night Herons and more.


One of the first sights you see when you enter Bombay Hook NWR  is the Purple Martin houses they are close to the visitor center.


Then you can start the wildlife drive, the first pond is a must stop to check out all the birds. On this day they were plentiful. Above are some American Avocets along with some Bellied Bellied Plovers and Dunlins.


Some days are like this, the birds pick up, flying in unison usually to confuse a hawk.


What an amazing number of shorebirds!


I have witnessed this scene many times and it still is just amazing to see. After they calm down, they land and start feeding again.



What ever scared the Dunlins to take off did not seem to bother the Avocets, they stayed in their same happy spot.


The photo above show some of the Bombay Hook marshland habitat. You can see the Cormorant, Egrets and Great Blue Heron are doing well at Bombay Hook.


The Black Necked Stilts are one of my favorite shorebirds. They are so cute!


Sorry, these shots are not the best they were all taken from my car window. I really liked this Snowy Egret perched on a tree. I hope you enjoyed my birds and  post.

I hope everyone has a happy weekend. Thanks for stopping by and I always appreciate your comments. To see more beautiful photos and cute critters please visit:  Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious hosts Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.

42 comments:

  1. Oh my Eileen what a feast for the eys of a bird watcher.

    We recently saw a wonderful BBC TV series on The Flights of Birds across continents.
    There was one section of starlings photographed in the skies above Rome, swarming like this and they had a hawk/falcon on their tails - it was AMAZING!

    Here is the link on Youtube:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IgfSaKlPbM

    Enjoy your weekend and happy bird watching.
    Shane ♥ (in New Zealand)

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  2. The number of shorebirds you captured is mind-boggling! The black necked stilts are awesome. I've never seen one, but I love your shots. The long legs and black and white markings are so striking.

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  3. Hallo Eileen!!Exellent shots as always!!Beautiful photos!!I'm sure you enjoyed seeing so many diferent birds!!Thank you for sharing!Have a lovely weekend!
    Dimi..

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  4. I think your images are fabulous, you sure did get lucky!! Pretty snowy egret, I like his yellow galoshes!!

    Have a happy weekend!!

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  5. I certainly did enjoy your birds and post . . . especially seeing the massive flight . . .

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  6. What solidarity between those Dunlins and what a sight to behold. Thanks for sharing this phenomena with us. I love Avocets and Stilts too. Hope you're having a great [birding] weekend and are safe and well too. Jo

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  7. Beautiful scene on the lake, my favourites are the Herons and Egrets.

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  8. Hi Eileen, Thank you for sharing these magnificent shots. A real treat for me to see. Have a wonderful Saturday.

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  9. the flying shorebirds would be amazing to see! LOVE the handsome avocets and the stilts, too. i saw a snowy here yesterday and was very happy. last summer i got to see 3 for the very first time, so i'm glad they're around now!

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  10. It is amazing to see so many birds in a single flock! It makes the flock look like a living creature. This would be my kind of place! Fantastic photos!

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  11. I can see why it's a favorite place to visit. WOW!! [those martin homes are super] ---but the birds in flight just off the water's edge are spectacular.

    Anni @ Hootin' Anni's and I'd Rather B Birdin'.

    Have a super Saturday Eileen.

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  12. Hi Eileen, I love that shot of the Egret! Your pictures are great! Glad you enjoyed your visit to the bird and wildlife area. Have a fine weekend!

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  13. Geeezzz!!
    That is a lot of birds indeed!
    What an amazing place!
    I bet the both of you had a marvellous time! :)
    Great pics Eileen, I hope you have more to show!

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  14. So glad you visited Bombay Hook again. I just love this place (virtually, I wish we'd visited it in person when we were 'up East')......The stilt photo is magic.

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  15. Oh my goodness that is a lot of birds.
    I think your photos are great!!!

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  16. Loved ALL of them, but the Avocets,/plovers/dunlins is my favorite. That would make a great LARGE picture on the wall.
    Looks like such a nice place.
    Have a great weekend, Eileen.
    :)

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  17. What an amazing number of birds. I think your shots are fabulous. To get them all taking off and landing is a clever capture.

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  18. The scenes and sounds would have been amazing. You have captured it well with your photos too.

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  19. I always love your bird photos! These are all very good.Love all those Avocets. We get them here as well.

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  20. Ohhh my!! All those shore birds!! Flying at once! That would mystify a hawk or any other bird that feeds on them.
    Lovely!!

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  21. I love those Black Necked Stilts too! Very cute!

    I swore I was going to get up to the Forsythe NWR this week...since they finally opened the road after Sandy damage...but sadly I did not!
    I need to see me an egret!

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  22. Wow! That's a lot of birds, Eileen ;-) The bird feeders in the top photo are awesome. They remind me of helicopters. Have a great weekend.

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  23. Hi Eileen,
    The flight of dunlins reminded me of a video I saw of starlings flying in unison. The flock could have been dancing, it was beautiful.

    I have some feeders up this year, and have seen birds never before noticed at my house: not uncommon birds, just un-noticed until now. I enjoy seeing how close they will let me get to the window before they fly!

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  24. Beautiful photos Eileen, what an amazing place, now wonder you love it so much. I can totally see why.
    I can't wait for the day the Purple Martins return to my yard, it should be very soon hopefully.

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  25. Wow, what great shots of the mass of birds in flight! I like the birdhouses too!

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  26. Great photos, Eileen. I love the snowy egrets. Beautiful!

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  27. Your photos are beautiful -- I especially like the Egret -- he's a very handsome fellow!

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  28. All the photographs are gorgeous!!

    Happy weekend!

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  29. Wow - so many birds. What a beautiful sight.

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  30. Awesome shots! That's an incredible number of birds.

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  31. This is a Perfect bird post.
    Well done!

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  32. Great to see the size of these populations. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  33. So many of the birds you have in these photos are rare here, such as the snowy egret and American avocet. Lucky you!

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  34. You don't ever have to apologize for your shots..They are 100% better than mine :-)

    Love the flock of birds in the air shots! Just amazing to see!

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  35. wow, such a big crowd of birds... Bombay is a city in India, its the commercial capital of the country... Wonder if this NWR is related to this city.

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  36. Beautiful pictures ! Looks like a cloud of birds !

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  37. wow, that is a lot of birds taking off... amazing!! great views. ( :

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  38. Amazing shots, Eileen. I most like the cloud of huge amount of birds.
    Look fantastic!
    Thanks for dropping by, have a great week :)

    www.1sthappyfamily.com

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  39. Eileen; your photos of the swarming flocks of birds are amazing; I meant to also tell you I really like your new header.

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  40. Very nice car ride! I could handle something like that:) Bird and drive!!! That would be right up Kathie's alley! Incredible all of the birds flying around in large masses. I love when they do that....and you have the images captured perfectly to show this.

    Sorry for getting to all of your posts now. You know how it is over here for me. I'm always on the run and today I get to sit down and read!!! I'm loving your pics from the various areas.

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  41. That looks like birding paradise right there. I'd probably never leave! Great great photos!!!

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