February 13, 2026

Where: Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Leipsic, DE

When: 11:30 am - sundown

Bird Species: black vulture, turkey vulture, yellow-rumped warbler, white-throated sparrow, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, mallard, American black duck, northern pintail, Canada geese, great blue heron, American robin, northern mockingbird, song sparrow, Cooper's hawk, tundra swan, red-winged blackbird, ring-billed gull, northern harrier, northern cardinal, mourning dove, bufflehead duck (lifer), hooded merganser

SKW BOTD BEHIND THE SCENES:

So, candidly, I did not bring my A-game today. You'd think I would, you'd think I must. I wanted to get out of town, it was sunny and gorgeous, I was in a National Wildlife Refuge, and look at that list, 23 species. Yet it was still a bit of a bust: there was very little open water and nothing especially close. I'd get out of my car and have my camera but not my binos, or vice versa, and I had a much harder time than usual just getting out of my head. I started out trying to be aware of the Things I Thought About, but they were all busy and anxious and distracting, and replays of conversations that have already happened. I just could not get it together.

And of course, I had made the fatal mistake of checking the Hook's Facebook photo group and eBird for yesterday, just to see what lifers and surprises I might come across, and I encountered none of them. People are seeing horned larks, but did I see a horned lark? I did not. People saw a screech owl in a nest box, but did I? I did not even see the right nest box. I very quickly was sure that I was going to spend four hours in the car today to see birds I see every morning and not even feel chilled out.

I did settle down eventually, but pretty much too late for the light. Around 2:00 I stumbled upon a tiny pond with a single heron in it, on the edge of the ice, fishing, and eating frogs and crawfish and tiny fish after tiny fish in a row. I think I blacked out? At least, the next time I looked at my watch it had been over an hour. I think he plans to stay there until he gets them all. He was still there when I drove out three hours later.

BOTD: Quite late, on my last loop, I saw those bufflehead ducks, unfocus-able through the reeds. So I got my lifer after all, and a lifer will always be the bird of the day. There were about ten of them. They were so funny; they acted just like fat, round hoodies. It was good to see a lot of waterfowl again.

Here are a few other photos from the Hook today, in lieu of vivacious commentary.