Oystercatchers! A Delaware Trip

On May 13th, I went on an all day trip to Delaware with my bird club. We saw quite a few things, including seabirds, shorebirds, marine life, and unusual vegetation. Unfortunately, the weather was rainy, but I still managed to get 2 life birds!

This is what we saw:

Least Sandpiper

Skunk

Black-bellied Plover

Barn Swallow

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Short-billed Dowitcher

Yellow Warbler

Willet

American Avocet - I spotted the Avocets!

There is a Black Tern in the center of the image. Black Terns are rare in the area. This was a life bird for me.

Snow Geese - they are a peach-headed variation.

Great vs. Little Egret (try to figure out which is which!)

Black-necked Stilt - Sadly, we did not get as good a view as in previous years. Stilts are related to avocets.

Caspian Terns: The world's largest tern species

Laughing Gull - Note the black head.

Canada Geese with goslings

Forster's Terns are skilled at flight maneuvers.

Blue Grosbeak - My best picture yet.

Wet Bald Eagles look rather silly!

American Oystercatcher1 A life bird for me.

Ruddy Turnstones are among my favorite shorebirds.

This is very likely to be a sea cucumber. We found several washed ashore. They were still alive, and we placed them back in the ocean.

This is a female Horseshoe Crab. It was upside down and could not flip over., so we helped it. Eventually, she got her bearings and went back into the ocean.