Wild Delaware

I spent today photographing eggs and shells at the Delaware Museum of Natural History near Wilmington. The museum is internationally famous for their collections of bird eggs, sea shells and bird skins. So do you think you know your bird eggs? How many can you identify in this photograph? I’ll add the names of these eggs on Tuesday but for now here’s a clue. These are all Delaware birds, some of them very common. Each box contains a clutch of eggs from just one nest and each box has eggs from a different species.

eggs unscrambled
If you are a long-time resident of Delaware’s coast you may have been able to identify some of these bird eggs. Getting more than even a few correct would be quite an accomplishment. Here are the eggs identified…

Piping Plovers are one of Delaware’s federally endangered birds.  They are the bane of surf fishermen and sunbathers as they nest just above the high-tide line forcing park officials to close much of the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park to vehicle and foot traffic every spring during nesting season.  But for bird watchers, seeing one of these uncommon two ounce birds up-close is a good day.

Large numbers of adult gannets are here in Delaware now and they will soon be following spring north to their nesting colonies in Canada. Here, a gannet somehow manages to swallow half of a fairly large Atlantic menhaden.

It would be a stretch to say that photographing a squirrel is anything like capturing a fox hunting in the wild or a gannet diving into the ocean for a fish.  But this arboreal, bushy-tailed rodent still makes a great subject.  Eastern Gray Squirrels are our most commonly seen mammals and have adapted well to life in Delaware’s towns and cities.

Selecting the cover photograph for Wild Delaware was no easy task. Seven months of photographs were edited down to four images that were good candidates – the Gannet on March 29th, the Great Blue Heron on November 30th the White-tailed deer on August 2nd and the Red fox on August 23rd. All of these images were clean, strong photographs that would take the cover type well and I think would stand the coffee table test of time. But the image of the fox hunting at sunrise seemed to capture the essence and spirit of Wild Delaware best for me. The next step was to ask my graphic designer Jaime Anderson to find the right combination of text to compliment the photograph. Here are nine possibilities and the current favorite. I hope you like both the photograph selection and the title. As always, your comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kevin

This morning dawned clear to the north and overcast to the south.  Cape Henlopen State Park was where clear skies met the clouds.  A strong, cold wind blew from the east and wildlife was scarce as blowing sand made being low on the beach very uncomfortable.  The winds of the past few days had sculpted a dune near one of the World War II watch towers creating a scene of solitude on Delaware’s coast.  

Yesterday afternoon I found a flock of American Avocets feeding in an impoundment at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge near Lewes.  They feed on mud flats and shallow water by swinging their long bills back and forth in the muck.  Delaware is pretty much the northern end of their range and I hope to have another shot at them as they are quite unique and beautiful birds.

Looking into the incredible eyes of this Great Horned Owl this morning I could see how Native Americans would hold this majestic bird with special reverence. With the ability to gather light from darkness owls were thought to see beyond the physical world looking into the spiritual world. Mice, rabbits and other small to medium-size mammals have an entirely different reality of this nocturnal hunter.

Three White-tailed deer watch the first light of the day from deep in the woods on the grounds of Winterthur Museum near Wilmington.  Winterthur is world-famous for its collection of decorative and fine arts and their 1,000 rolling acres of Delaware piedmont provides habitat for hundreds of species of plants and wildlife.