Birds you could see on the trail

Aix sponsa

Wood ducks are year round residents in Delaware and nest in tree cavities.  Man-made wood duck boxes have helped provide valuable nesting habitat for this species throughout its range.

Tringa semipalmata

This species is often found along the shoreline. The Willet, like the Killdeer, is known to put on a “broken-wing” display to lead predators and humans away from its nest on the ground.

Zonotrichia albicollis

This species is commonly seen during the winter months. It will often take cover in brush piles and is a frequent visitor to bird feeders.

Egretta thula

This large white wading bird is found in Delaware during its migration. It may be distinguished from the similar-looking Great Egret by both its slightly smaller size as well as its mostly black beak, which features a splash of yellow near the eyes.

Dryocopus pileatus

Delaware’s largest woodpecker, this species boasts a distinctive red crest atop its head. The holes it creates in trees are large and rectangular.

Pandion haliaetus

This species is often spotted in Delaware during its breeding season. Its nests may be found on man-made structures, including on intentionally constructed nesting platforms in and around Delaware’s marshes. One of America’s great conservation success stories, Ospreys once faced sharp decline before DDT and other harmful pesticides were banned.

Spatula clypeata

This species is predominantly found around the Great Lakes region and in the Northwestern United States and Canada. It may be identified by its eponymous shovel-shaped beak.

Circus hudsonius

This species is a year-round resident. More than most other hawks, it, like the owls, relies on hearing as well as vision to hunt.

Anas platyrhynchos

Found year-round in Delaware, the Mallard is known to hybridize with other species, most frequently with the American Black Duck.

Egretta caerulea

This species is typically found in Delaware outside of its breeding season. During its first year of life, its coloration is white rather than the dull blue of adults. This is thought to make the heron more tolerable to the Great Egret and to other large white wading birds which might otherwise act aggressively toward it.

Tringa flavipes

This species may be found in Delaware during its migration and, less frequently, over the winter. Despite its name, it is more closely related to the Willet than to the Greater Yellowlegs.

Butorides virescens

Seen in Delaware during its breeding season, this species migrates south for the winter. It is one of only a few bird species which will use sticks, feathers, and insects to attract small fish to the water’s surface when hunting.

Tringa melanoleuca

This species appears in Delaware outside of its breeding season and favors coastal marshes, mudflats, and other shallow wetlands.

Ardea alba

This breeding-season visitor migrates south for the winter. It may be distinguished from the Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret by its larger size and completely yellow beak.

Ardea herodias

A common sight throughout Delaware, this beautiful heron’s specially shaped neck vertebrae allow it to quickly strike at prey. This trait makes it an excellent fisher.

Plegadis falcinellus

This breeding-season visitor favors marsh habitats. It nests in colonies, often among other species of wading birds.

Megascops asio

This small cavity-nesting owl can often be found overwintering in wood-duck boxes.  Research shows that Wood Ducks may evict these owls and reclaim the boxes during their own nesting season.

Picoides pubescens

This species is a year-round resident of Delaware. It is one of the most common woodpeckers to visit backyard bird feeders.

Megaceryle alcyon

This species feeds almost exclusively on aquatic prey, both coastal and inland. It is one of only a few bird species in which the female is more brightly and distinctively colored than the male.

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Our National Bird and one of the largest birds you’ll find in the state.  Juvenile birds don’t develop their distinct white head and tail until their 4th or 5th year