For a great seaside birding hike, try going east to the ocean beach, and heading left (N) to the point, where birds tend to congregate. Continue on around the point and down the bay beach to return to the parking lot, except during the Piping Plover nesting season (March 1 - September 1), when the west side of the point is closed and you must retrace your steps. Please check with park staff for updates on beach closures.
While at the point, watch for migrating raptors in season. A volunteer hawk watch is conducted during September and October, from atop a bunker in the oceanside dunes, about 1/2 mile south of the point. Visitors are welcome to participate.
At the south end of the Lewes section of the park, the Fort Miles Historic Area and Herring Point offer commanding views out over the ocean. The rock jetties at Herring Point often have Purple Sandpipers from mid-October well into May. The pines along the park roads in this area harbor roving bands of Brown-headed Nuthatches - listen for their squeaky, "rubber ducky calls."
The Gordons Pond section of the park is accessed by road from Rehoboth Beach. It's about 0.8 mile each way from the parking lot to the observation platform, past habitats ranging from dry pine woods to mudflats to open water. The wide, gravel trail here is also a favorite with bicyclists. Note that the beach between Herring Point and Gordons Pond is closed when Piping Plovers are nesting there. . .
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Other Birding Sites in the Ocean Beaches & Inland Bays Region:
- Cape May - Lewes Ferry
- Cape Henlopen State Park
- Silver Lake
- Delaware Seashore State Park
- James Farm Ecological Preserve
- Assawoman Wildlife Area
