Thursday, February 9, Evening Field Experience:
Swanfall – An Exploration of the Tundra Swan
4:00-7:00pm
Maximum 20 participants
Transportation provided from Ward Museum to observation site
Departure Location: Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art Parking Lot, 909 South Schumaker Drive, Salisbury MD 21804
Journey with Tom Horton to the banks of the Nanticoke River to view hundreds of Tundra Swans fall out of the sky to roost on the river, a spectacle referred to by Tom as a Swanfall. As its name implies, the Tundra Swan which is among the world’s largest and heaviest flighted birds, breeds on the high tundra at the top of North America. Throughout the evening you will have an opportunity to discuss what compels these swans to journey 4000 miles from arctic breeding grounds to winter on the Delmarva Peninsula. Receive a copy of the new edition of Swanfall: Journey of the Tundra Swan by Tom Horton and David Harp. Additional Fee: $10.00
Sunday, February 12th Field Experiences
Winter Bird Walk - Exploring Inlet Hotspots
7:30am - 11:30am
Location: Meet in the hotel lobby
Bring your binoculars and enjoy outdoor education opportunities while identifying winter bird residents in the local environs. Join Wayne Bell, who has conducted winter birding trips to Ocean City for more than 20 years, and explore inland hot spots to identify wintering bird life with emphasis on northern species that do not breed in Maryland. Possibilities include Common and Red-throated Loons, Great Cormorant, Northern Gannet, Peregrine Falcon, Bonaparte’s Gull, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, and many other species of sea duck and puddle duck.
Mr. Bell is senior associate, Washington College and past-president, Maryland Ornithological Society. Bring your own binoculars; spotting scopes also useful and those available will be shared. Layers of warm clothing essential. Beginning birders of all ages welcome.
Winter Canoeing on the Pocomoke River
9:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Participants will meet at the Pocomoke River Canoe Company in Snow Hill, Maryland, located at the drawbridge at 312 North Washington Street in Snow Hill. For directions or more information, please visit: http://www.atbeach.com/amuse/md/canoe/
Join Jim Rapp, Director of the Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center, for a winter paddle on the dark waters of the Pocomoke River. The Pocomoke is known as the northernmost of the southern swamps. The bald cypress swamp is home to the pileated woodpecker, barred owl, beaver, and river otter.
From Snow Hill, vans will carry participants to the Nassawango Creek canoe launch at Red House Road. We will paddle through sections of The Nature Conservancy’s Nassawango Creek Preserve back to Snow Hill.
For information about the Preserve: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/preserves/art21134.html
Additional Fee: $25 includes canoe, paddle and PFD. Please dress for winter weather, and bring binoculars! For more information or last minute updates, please call Jim Rapp at 443-614-0261 or email dlitedirector@comcast.net. |
