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INSTITUTE FOR FIELD ORNITHOLOGY

DELAWARE BAY: SHOREBIRDS, HORSESHOE CRABS & MORE

CANCELLED

18-23 May 2008
Lewes, Delaware
Instructor: Jeffrey Gordon

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Horseshoe Crabs - © USFWS Sheila Eyler

Tucked away on the seaward side of the East Coast megalopolis lies one of North America's richest ecosystems, the Delaware Bay estuary. Late May here sees peak spawning by the horseshoe crab and an attendant massing of hundreds of thousands of migratory shorebirds hoping to fatten up on crab eggs. This annual event is one of the strangest, most amazing wildlife spectacles anywhere and we'll have several days to fully investigate and experience this phenomenon, including visits to research sites where both crabs and birds are being studied and monitored. We'll also spend significant time in adjacent woodlands and freshwater marshes where an outstanding variety of songbirds and waterbirds is expected. We'll emerge with a broader understanding and appreciation of this unexpectedly diverse, wild region.

INSTRUCTOR

Jeffrey Gordon is a writer and naturalist who lives in Lewes, Delaware. He serves as Field Editor for Bird Watcher's Digest, and is a frequent speaker at various birding and nature festivals around the U.S. A lifelong nature enthusiast, Jeff worked as an interpretive naturalist at national parks including Yosemite and Acadia, and at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. He spent 12 years leading birding tours worldwide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. He authored 11 of the chapters in the 2005 book Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges, contributed an essay to the 2007 collection, Good Birders Don't Wear White: 50 Tips from North America's Top Birders and is project coordinator for the Delaware Birding Trail, published in 2007. Recently, Jeff has been putting his writing, photography and editing skills to use producing educational video podcasts for birders.

WORKSHOP LOCATION

Red Knot - © Bill Schmoker

The historic town of Lewes, DE is a quaint seaside resort at the confluence of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Henlopen. This location gives us easy access to the miles of beaches, trails and bird sanctuaries we will be visiting.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Please note that the group may be walking a maximum of two to three miles each day. We will walk one to two miles at a time, at a slow pace. All of the walking will be done on level surfaces, not hills. We will be traveling on paved roads and trails, but we may find soft sand in a few places.

WORKSHOP PRICES

$1595
Single Room Supplement: $112

Price includes lodging, all meals, and ground transportation during the workshop.

Workshop limited to 16 participants.

ABA Institute for Field Ornithology, ABA
4945 N 30th St, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
719/578-9703 x235 . fax 719/578-1480 . ifo@aba.org