A Day at Gordons Pond Wildlife Area, Whiskey Beach, Delaware

by EJ on 12/31/12

Delaware might be small but this tiny wonder of a state is full of surprises. Last week, the monsters and I discovered Gordon Pond Wildlife Area, hidden (to us) alongside our beloved Cape Henlopen State Park. Grandma was visiting and invited the whole crew on a birding expedition by the sea. Gordon's Pond is a hot spot for congregating birds of all kinds; it's one of four migration super highways in North America. This section of the park is accessed by road from Rehoboth Beach.

Since my GPS was actin' a total fool on Ocean Highway, Grandma turned us to a good old fashioned paper map - yes, that's right, a paper map - to get us to our destination. We had some minor issues with that, too. Issues like... "Are you sure the map isn't upside down?" Grandma assured me, "No, the map is not upside down."

On the drive down Columbia Avenue, then left on Surf Avenue (and right onto Henlopen Avenue), Grandma recalled all the summers she spent biking old town Rehoboth as a child. KM whined to the point of tears in the back seat because her belly was empty. "First, we walk. Then - we eat!" Grandma reminded her.

After parking the car, I let the monsters loose at the head of the wide, gravel trail that wound into the dry pine woods. They ran off in their layers of sweaters, jackets, hats and mittens while the cold air kissed their cheeks and noses red.

A little down the path, we met the water and were instantly gifted with a huge, long-stretching cloud of snow geese that mutated into different shapes as the countless birds traveled across a white winter sky. Grandma and KM were busy documenting their bird sightings, which in only a matter of minutes included a Great Blue Heron, an osprey that flew overhead, a bazillion snow geese and a yellow-rumped warbler.

We continued up the .8 mile trail, past mudflats and open water. Wood ducks floated past the marsh grass while we spied deer tracks in the gravel along the woods' edge. The kids lingered at a small bridge while I tried to soothe the crying baby with my pinky finger.

KM and Grandma looked through a bird book and through binoculars, identifying ducks and such. I was amazed when the kids never complained, never bothered to whine. AJ in particular, was in his true element, the outdoors. He ran past his siblings, shoving playfully, laughing and running away. He hugged his older brother time and time again, then ran off to briefly study some winged thing in the water. An airplane flew overhead and he jumped excitedly, "Bear-pane! Bear-pane! Hi, Bear-pane!" He shoved his fingers into the dirt, displacing rocks and then putting them right back where they belonged.

At the end of the trail, we came to an observation boardwalk and platform lined with pictures of common birds of the area. ML's jacket had split in both directions of the zipper and her hat kept popping off. Her thin, yellow hair fell in front of her face and she laughed when her brothers chased her. Grandma took her aside on the way back down the trail and showed her a heron that stood mostly hidden by the grasses and the bridge.

LT and AJ took turns hopping onto benches, then hopping off and chasing each other past the trees. KM thought she saw skeletons and dinosaur skulls in the woods that turned out to be the roots of fallen trees and pine needles. I joked that there were water bears out in those woods (a long running joke we have in our family) and the kids looked slightly worried but amused, as they always do when I talk about water bears.

By the time we finished the trail, the kids had collected about half a dozen pine cones that ended up in my pockets. We tossed them in the car, shared some cranberries and coconut chips and then headed for Whiskey Beach.

Some guy, all alone on the beach, asked me how many kids I had and I said "Five" to which he replied, "You know you're over populating the world, don't you?" I wanted to say something mean but all that came out was, "Yes, I do."

The monsters traversed the rocks, searched for treasure and drew huge dolphins in the sand. We found a pair of shoes and socks with no person that belonged to them. I turned the new baby toward the ocean and showed her the waves for the first time. I tried to look at the water differently, too and "for the first time" as a new mother of five.

The kids scattered over the rocks, calling to each other. AJ toddled across the sand nearby, looking at the water as though he didn't know yet whether to trust it or not.

I hugged my little people as we left the beach and thanked Grandma for letting us enjoy the beautiful day with her. We thanked the birds, of course, said goodbye to the ocean and returned to the car to feast on more cranberries and coconut chips.