Delaware Nature Society

Nature Store

Birds of Delaware
by Gene K. Hess, Richard L. West, Maurice V. Barnhill III, Lorraine M. Fleming

- 750 pp., 8.5" x 11"
- 350 drawings
- 1,000 maps and graphs
- Hardcover
- $65.00

Delaware's location in the mid-Atlantic region on the Atlantic flyway, as well as the geologic evolution of Delaware's Piedmont and Coastal Plain, have resulted in a great variety of bird life-virtually all species regularly encountered in the East. Birds of Delaware is the first comprehensive book on birds in the state, containing accounts of 418 species. It is the first state book to integrate breeding bird atlas survey results with all other available information on a state's wild birds. Destined to be a definitive reference work for years to come, Birds of Delaware includes innovative graphic presentations on breeding and seasonal distribution, relative abundance of species, nesting season, and winter population changes.

This scholarly compendium is primarily concerned with species accounts for breeding birds, migrants, and rare visitors. These contain, as appropriate, each bird's status, habitat, documentation of presence in the state, breeding season, migration, and unusual facts about its occurrence in Delaware. Accompanying graphics and tables illustrate breeding distribution, seasonal distribution and abundance, nesting and clutch completion dates, migration patterns gleaned from banding records, and significant population trends. Regular disciplined population studies conducted by the Delmarva Ornithological Society over a thirty-year period have allowed more reliable and detailed population definition than the usual state publication.

Written for both the ornithologist and the enthusiast alike, the authors have included short original essays on geese, hawk migration, spring shorebird migration, blackbird floods, irruptive winter visitors, and other subjects that will give the reader added pleasure. The authors also discuss the conservation measures needed to maintain the rich diversity of species found today, and an original essay provides a fascinating account of three hundred years of ornithology in Delaware.

Authors and Artwork

Richard L. West, Ph.D., was a research chemist and manager for ICI Americas until he elected early retirement in 1987 to devote himself to ornithology. He now lives in Florida where he continues to write and study about birds.

Gene K. Hess is the collections manager (vertebrates) for the Delaware Museum of Natural History. He teaches bird identification at the museum and in the field.

Maurice V. Barnhill III is a physics professor at the University of Delaware, with a strong avocational interest in ornithology.

Lorraine M. Fleming, the Delaware Nature Society's Associate Director, Advocacy, has provided strong support for sound conservation policy in Delaware. She is the author of Delaware's Outstanding Natural Areas and Their Preservation (1978).

Publications Chairman - Winston J. Wayne, Delmarva Ornithological Society
Editorial Consultant - Howard P. Brokaw, Delmarva Ornithological Society
Art Consultant - Nancy C. Willis
Graphics Consultant - Martha B. W. Olson
Scientific Reader - Chandler S. Robbins, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division

Sponsoring Organizations

Delmarva Ornithological Society

Delaware Museum of Natural History

Delaware Nature Society

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Regional Sources

Ashland Nature Center (Delaware Nature Society)
Located at the junction of Brackenville & Barley Mill Rds., Hockessin, DE
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
Delaware Museum of Natural History

Come to the Ashland Nature Center to browse through a copy of this comprehensive (and weighty) book at your leisure! Buy the book at museums and stores or click to Order Form