The morning of 28 April 2007 found Colin Campbell, Alison Ellicott, Jeff Holmes, Larry Kimble, John Mercer and myself at the parking lot of the Wawa at Routes 47 and 347. I think all of us had already enjoyed seeing a pair of Wild Turkeys by the side of Route 55 on our way in. A quick carpooling maneuver and we soon found ourselves entering Belleplain. A small migrant flock was our first delight including Blue-headed Vireo, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black-and-white Warbler, and Pine Warbler, but the birds were high and backlit so we continued on our way towards The Triangle. Ovenbirds, Pine Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Worm-eating Warblers sang on our way in and a timely phone call by Joe Delesantro alerted us to the presence of a Prothonotary Warbler at the bridge, so we made our way to The Triangle in a more direct fashion. We arrived in time to miss the Prothonotary but we decided to canvass the area for birds to photograph while waiting for the Prothonotary to return. A pair of Wood Ducks was hiding in a tree over the stream. A female Pine Warbler accommodated me with an almost too close approach. A pair of Eastern Phoebes chased each other around the stream area, and Hooded Warblers serenaded us from the woods. Our first photography project was attempting to photograph a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers engaged in nest construction. Then we photographed a territorial male Hooded Warbler. White-eyed Vireos sang all around us and some of us managed a few quick shots of a close-approaching but very fast Blue-gray Gnatcatcher foraging at the side of the road. Moving to the second bridge, we still found no Louisiana Waterthrushes in attendance; although, Yellow-throated Warblers sang in the distance. On a fellow DVOCer’s advice (sorry Bill, I forgot your last name), we made a brief trip out near the intersection of Route 548 and Route 49. There we managed to find a territorial male Prothonotary Warbler that everyone enjoyed photographing. This bird truly was the star of the show, and seemed as aware of it as we were.

Abandoning the Pine Barrens in hope of a little more light at the Bayshore, we made our way to Bivalve. On the way we stopped to listen to Prairie Warblers, as well as a Northern Parula and a Black-throated Blue Warbler along Mauricetown Road, but the Wild Turkeys that initially drew our attention escaped without being photographed. After a quick trip through Port Norris, we wound up listening to Seaside Sparrow, Clapper Rail and both species of yellowlegs. At the same time we had excellent opportunities to photograph Great and Snowy Egrets, both yellowlegs, Willets, Forster’s Terns, Herring Gulls, Dunlins and Short-billed Dowitchers. A second year Bald Eagle flew overhead, and Ospreys were in attendance as well. Small groups of Least Sandpipers flew overhead on occasion. Our next stop was a brief overview of Heislerville WMA, where we found Black Skimmers, Glossy Ibises, Black-crowned Night-herons, more Least Sandpipers, Red-breasted Mergansers and Black-bellied Plovers. Lighting wasn’t the best and we were hoping for some Clapper Rails foraging at low tide, so we moved on to Thompson’s Beach. While the Clapper Rails here were visible, they were a little too distant for optimal photography. Alison watched a pair of Ospreys build their nest, but the birds clearly did not want their antics captured on film. Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, a Glossy Ibis and Laughing Gulls provided flight photography opportunities, while some closer shorebirds also produced some nice photographs. By now our group had shrunk to a foursome, but Colin, Alison, John and I returned to Heislerville for a closer look at the impoundment’s birds. Photographing flying Black Skimmers was a real treat, and John and I had good looks at my first Semipalmated Sandpipers for the year. A compulsive search through the ibises found no White-faced Ibises, but we did have an adult Bald Eagle fly overhead. At the deeper impoundments we enjoyed seeing Blue-winged Teal, American Wigeon and Double-crested Cormorants. On our way out we watched some playful Blue Jays and a secretive Brown Thrasher, and maybe not surprisingly three Bristleheads: Rob Hynson, Mike McGraw, and Tony Croasdale scouting for the World Series of Birding. We exchanged some information, more of it pertaining to navigating the Heislerville area than birding. Afterwards, John Mercer and I returned to Belleplain for a little more birding, but the birding was more notable for what we didn’t see: no Louisiana Waterthrushes nor Prothonotary Warblers put in appearances for us. All in all, we had an excellent day with 90 species of birds and some great photography experiences as well.