Myer: I haven't been to Bombay Hook this winter due to some family health issues. I will ask some of my birding friends who frequent the area to see what's present. That may not be appropriate information for photography, but if some interesting species are present it may be worth a try. You might consider Blackwater WR near Cambridge as well. The wildlife drive there is very nice and you have different perspectives to get the water species as well as a very good number of bald eagles which should be nest building about now.
Another possibility is Ocean city which has some interesting areas for shore birds as well as Assateague Island.
Myer: I might be able to get you some more information by then as to what is happening around here. There are some alternatives as well. For example, there are tundra swans in the Bay area and in Feb. they might be starting on their northward migration. And Bald eagles will be nesting in Blackwater.
Meyer, there's always something happening at Bombay Hook NWR. I live about 20 minutes away and I shoot there almost every weekend of the year. Lots of Snow and Canadian Geese here right now, along with blue herons, tundra swans, mallards, pintails, green wing teal, buffleheads, black ducks, common and hooded mergansers, american coots, the occasional pied bill grebe. Still a few shore birds around and we have american avocets that over winter here. I see bald eagles almost every trip as we have a nesting pair on the refuge, northern harriers and red tails are common. Lots of Red Foxes, plus the coats are really beautiful with the cold we're having this year. By Feb. there should be some ring neck ducks around too. It's really a great place for wildlife photography, I've been shooting out there almost every weekend for over 10 years and I'm still getting stuff that I don't have. I find it's best for photography in the morning hours as you're shooting into the fresh water impoundments with the sun to your back. Though it can be easier to shoot he mergansers and buffleheads in the evening as they tend to be more on the salt mash side of the refuge. Getting on the refuge before the sun breaks the horizon is a definite must as the snow geese do a big fly off at sunrise. Quite something to see. Sunsets are great in the winter here, you can get beautiful orange sky's, full of incoming geese and ducks. Hope this helps.
Meyer, Bombay hook has such a great staff, and is so photographer friendly, that we asked them several years ago if they would open it earlier than sunrise for us photographers and they were happy to do it. It helps that the deputy director is a photographer too. I usually get there an hour before sunrise to make sure I can be where I want to be on the refuge before the sun breaks the horizon. You can stay on the refuge until the sun is totally gone too, as they have an automatic gate. All you have to do is pull up to it after it closes and it will open for you. I've shot at a lot of refuges around the country and Bombay Hook is one of the best I've been to. I'm very lucky to live so close. It's just a hobby with me, maybe "obsession" is a better word. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with in the area. Earl
Meyer, I was at Bombay Hook yesterday and it seems you won't have to worry about getting onto the refuge for the morning fly off. The snow geese aren't here in any numbers this year, they were coming in like usual in Nov. and early Dec.. We had such a cold spell in the middle of Dec. until the middle of Jan. that the freshwater impoundments froze over completely. That pushed the snow geese off the refuge and probably farther south. There are still some at the refuge, just not the hundreds of thousands there should be. Yesterday I saw tundra swans, pintails, black ducks, wigeons, mallards, pied bill grebe, bald eagle, harriers, kestrel, red bellied woodpeckers, common and hooded mergansers, blue herons, snow and canadian geese, and a belted kingfisher.
Myer, We're having quite a winter, all the impoundments are froze over so most everything has been pushed off the refuge. As much as I love Bombay Hook I'd suggest one of the refuges along the S. Carolina coast or even Santee Cooper would serve you better this year. We have lots of snow and more coming.
Earl Knew the storm was coming so left for Florida at 6:30 PM Monday Night Santee today was pouring Rain but had a good few hours at Savanna NWR
Thanks again
How have things been looking at Bombay Hook since the beginning of February? I have this friday off from work, would I be disappointed if I make the 90 minute drive?
We're supposed to get rain during the day on Friday.Things are really good out there now. I took a drive through the refuge yesterday. All the freshwater impoundments are ice free now. It's a bit muddy in spots. We've got the most water I've ever seen out there. Signs of spring are starting to show. On the quick drive through yesterday there was a lot of activity. I saw a bald eagle, a red tail, pintails, mergansers, buffleheads, black ducks, mallards, snow and Canadian geese, tundra swans, wild turkeys, harriers, pied-billed grebe, blue herons, eastern bluebirds, muskrats, and a red fox. There were tundra swans feeding in the fields on whitehall neck rd. (the road to the refuge), which is something I haven't seen before. Hope this helps. We are in for a great Sat and Sun, weather wise, this weekend.
Bill, It's my pleasure, if anyone ever needs any info on the area just give me a shout! I just realized that I left out that the Northern Shovelers are starting to show up in some numbers too.
Benjamin, I was just checking the weather for Friday and it's going to be cloudy during the day, but the rain is supposed to hold off until about sundown. Weekend looks to be great, sunny Saturday and partly to mostly cloudy on Sunday. Temps in the low 50's.
Earl, thanks for the helpful info. I wound up going last friday and had a good trip, with a Bald Eagle being the highlight for me. I also saw for the first time the Tundra Swans and Pintails. A few Harriers were nice to see, and there were of course more Snow Geese than I could count. With all the rain this weekend, my next trip will have to wait until next weekend again, hopefully the sun will cooperate.
Question re Bombay Hook
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