DVOC Main Page > 2004 Field Trips > Pocomoke 2004 

DVOC Delmarva Birding & Gourmet Hotspots Weekend:
7-9 May 2004

Leader: Colin Campbell 302 792 2506 h
302 598 2166 cell

  • Please let me know if you intend to join the trip.
  • Please note that I’ll be away April 25 until May 2 and uncontactable.
  • Delaware State Park fees will be in effect. If you plan to visit DE state parks 4 or more times between May and October, it’s worth getting a seasonal sticker ($20).
  • Duck stamp/Golden Eagle/Golden Age passes required for NWRs.
  • Car pool if at all possible.
  • The trip is geared for both campers and motellers.
  • Bring boots and raingear, binocs and scope, maps, cellphone, inter-car radio, insect repellent, sunscreen and a full tank of gas. A reserve stash of munchies and drinks is advisable.

Itinerary
(Gourmet eating suggestions optional! Birding mandatory).

Friday 7 May

Gourmet Breakfast: Helen’s Sausage House 2m N of Smyrna on Rt 13.
Morning: Meet 7.30 am Bombay Hook NWR HQ. Bird all morning here.
Gourmet Lunch: Sambo’s (crabs etc) in Leipsic.
Afternoon: Little Creek WMA; Port Mahon Road, HQ area, Pickering Beach Road. Ted Harvey Conservation area time permitting. Drive to Seaford.
Gourmet Dinner: Nautica (seafood) on US 13 in Seaford - an old fishing boat.
Night: Motellers have many options in Seaford (cheapest amongst the chains seems to be Best Western; Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn etc available) on or near US 13; closer for the next day would be the Marathon Motel (302 875 1554) in Laurel, a few miles to the south on US 13.
Campers will go to Trap Pond State Park, 5 miles east of Laurel on Rt 24. About $20 per night.

Saturday 8 May

Gourmet Breakfast: Hardees on US 13 northbound at Laurel.
Morning: Meet at Philips Landing boat launch in Nanticoke WMA at 6.45am. Directions: From US 13 at Laurel go west on Rt 24 through the town, over the railroad, and hang a right at the gas station on to Rt 492. Follow small brown signs to Philips Landing boat launch, about 6m. from Laurel. We’ll bird Cherry Walk to the Nanticoke River - allow at least 3 hours. After, we’ll cross the river by the free ferry at Woodland and bird Chapel Branch Nature Area near Seaford.
Gourmet Lunch: The Pit at Laurel (BBQ) - opposite the Marathon Motel.
Afternoon: Trussom Pond, Trap Pond State Park, other spots.
Gourmet dinner: The Old Mill at Delmar (Maryland crabs). There may be a wait, but it’s worth while.
Night: As Friday night.

Sunday 9 May

Gourmet Breakfast: The Gumboro “diner“ - the only shop basically. Directions: go east on Rt 24 from Laurel or Trap Pond SP to the T-junction at Rt 26/30. Turn right (s) and proceed to Gumboro - shop on right at junction with Rt 54. About 7am.
Morning: Meet at the bridge at about 7.15am over the Pocomoke in the Cypress Swamp. We’ll be there for at least an hour, so exact timing not essential. Directions (important): Take Rt 54 from Gumboro, but hang a right onto Rt 413 almost immediately (50 yards). Proceed to T-junction and turn right onto Rt 419. Proceed to a second T (Bethel chirch on r) and turn left onto Bethel Road (you’re now in MD and roads are named rather than numbered). In one mile turn left onto Sheppard’s Crossing Rd. The meeting bridge is one mile down this road. In this area most of the morning. Leave the Swamp east to Selbyville for a search for the Collared-Dove.
Gourmet Lunch: Em-Ing’s BBQ just south of Selbyville.
Afternoon: Work our way north. Redden State Forest (Red-headed Woodpecker), Ellendale (Vesper Sparrow), coastal spots.
Gourmet Dinner: Stewarts Brewing Co. at Bear (just s. of Wilmington). The brewer is DVOC member Herc Hoffman’s son.