Still No Horseshoe Crabs But A Beautiful Sunrise And Sunset At Slaughter Beach And Hike At Prime Hook National Wildlife Preserve In Delaware

The sun rose at 5:38 a.m. at Slaughter Beach, Delaware on Saturday morning. I was up before 5 a.m., and after few cups of coffee at my hotel in Milford,  I drove the 12 miles to the beach to watch it rise.   I  just made it to the main public access parking lot near the fire station as it rose in over the Delaware Bay. It was worth waking up early.

There were some beautiful cloud formations as the sun cast it’s  first rays on the beach.  The weather was perfect too, a mild 65 degrees with a pleasant breeze.

I  was the  only one on the beach taking in this spectacular scene.  What was missing were the horseshoe crabs. I came down to see the Spring spawning of these ancient arthropods, more closely related to spiders and scorpions. The Delaware Bay migration is believed to be the oldest migration on the planet. They have been around for almost 450 million years.

I decided to drive to the  far end of Slaughter Beach and walk past the last homes, hoping to see the horseshoe crabs on the more isolated beach. I walked past the last of the homes on the beach.

Many of the homes have purple martin houses. The purple martins were also up. They are busy raising their young here in Delaware after having flown from northern South America  a few weeks ago. The long distance migration of the birds we see here in our Summers always amazes me.

I walked alone on the beach, past the home and saw a few dead overturned  horseshoe crabs.

I only found three still alive and  put them back in the ocean.  I am guessing they may have came ashore during the night. laid there eggs, and returned to the sea. I did see one female that must have been late. She  was slowly crawling back to the ocean leaving a trail in the sand.

There were not many seagulls or other birds  on the beach. I saw a few common grackles,

and a flock of Canada geese that flew overhead.  After walking a mile I left Slaughter Beach starting to believe the horseshoe crab spawning was a myth like morel mushrooms which I also can never find. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web-site with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike.  Delaware Slaughter Beach  May 30 2026.

I decided to take the advice  of the volunteer  at the DuPont Nature Center and visit Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge located about 10 miles south of Slaughter beach.

This 10,000 acre wildlife preserve was established  in 1961 to protect migratory birds. It includes fresh and salt water marshes, grasslands, ponds and forest.  I  was the only one at the parking lot when I arrived at the Visitor Center.  I began my hike on the Dike Trail,

and was greeted by a northern mockingbird. I love seeing these birds on my travels. They were one of my dad’s favorite birds.  They always remind me of my dad and that he  always travels with me.

And I also saw a few cottontail rabbits, including this baby,  along the trail.

Growing along the trail were large loblolly pines which I have also  seen on my hikes along the New Jersey shore.

There were also   bear oak, a shrub like oak, that I have not seen before although I  have now learned  they  also grow in  Pennsylvania.

There were also  winged sumac, red maple, eastern red cedar and many sweet gum trees along  the trail.

There was a dike along one side of the trail. Here I saw a male mallard duck,

and this muskrat swimming in the water.

The trail continued  into some marsh lands,

where I saw red-winged blackbirds perched in trees in the marshes and

An osprey,

a royal tern with a fish,

some Canada geese,

and a few American herring gulls fly overhead.

I didn’t know it at the time,  I thought it was another seagull flying overhead, but when I edited my photos I realized I had captured a bald eagle in flight.

I soon came to  an osprey nest, probably the one I saw fly overhead earlier.

I came to some more ponds in the marsh at the end of the trail and , as I began my hike back, the wind picked up and the temperature drooped.

The wind speed continued to increase causing causing the towering loblolly  pines trees to sway  above the trail.

On the hike back I noticed another oak tree, willow oak which I don’t believe I saw before. It was a beautiful tree,

and had a beautiful indigo bunting singing in it’s branches.

I also saw this northern house wren,

and this common grackle perched in a tree with it’s feathers fluttering in the strong winds.

I walked back to the parking lot and then continued on the Boardwalk Loop Trail. The trail took me through some woodlands and meadows,

where I saw some pretty native hedge bindweed,

and  elderberry flowers blooming along the path.

I soon  smelled the sweet aroma of a plant I was very familiar with from my hikes in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is a heavenly fragrance but, sadly, it is  made by the very invasive Japanese honeysuckle and it was sad to see it in Delaware. This shrub displaces our native plants and wildflowers

I continued on the  trail and it took me on a boardwalk through some wetlands, with more loblolly pine trees towering above the reeds. 

Here I saw some eastern kingbirds perched  high above in the pine trees. I remember where I saw this bird for the first time on a visit to Puerto Rico.

A turkey vulture soared overhead,

as I continued through the wetlands on the boardwalk.

The boardwalk ended and I returned to the woodlands where I encountered a large group of young elementary school  aged children out on a nature  and bird watching hike.  It was nice to see them looking at field guides and looking for and listening for birds.

I also came to an old cemetery , the Morris Family Cemetery.  Eight tombstones remained  with dates of the  the deceased ranging from 1818 to 1864.  This areawas one of the first areas to befarme in Delaware.

The trail looped back to the parking lot and I now followed the Black Farm Trail which first took me through some fields were native milkweed flowers were starting to bloom.

Invasive hairy vetch flowers also bloomed in the fields.

I followed the grass covered trail  into some woodlands. It was nice walking on the grass but there were a lot of ticks and I did not put on my repellent. I pulled about a dozen ticks off of me on my hike.

I took a side trail to a photography blind overlooking a marsh and wetland,

I didn’t see any wading birds in the marsh but I did see my first yellow throated warbler  singing on a pine tree,  and,

a prairie warbler in some shrubs.

The winds got stronger as I continued on the trail for about another mile. It took me through some old farm fields and I didn’t see any bird activity here. .

The trail took me to Turtle Pond Road which I crossed and followed the the Blue Goose Trail,

into  an older woodland  with tall oak, tulip and pine trees.   The strong wind blew through the trees tops and there wasn’t much bird activity along  the trail.

I walked out to Turtle pond where I hoped to see some wading birds but there were none.

I did see a eastern wood pee wee in a tree top,

and, a wild turkey, which did not seem too wild. It did not run when it saw me but continued to walk ahead of me on the path and feed on the plants along the trail.   Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web-site with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike. Prime Hook National Wildlife Preserve birds May 30 2026.

I left the wood lands and followed the Turkey Pond Road back to my Jeep.

The strong winds blew across the fields along the road,

where I saw native foxglove beardtongue and

Ohio spiderwort flowers blooming in the fields.  I finished my 5 1/2 mile hike around 11 a.m. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web-site with some more photos from my five mile  hike at the wildlife refuge.  Prime Hook National Wildlife Preserve  May 30 2026.

I had walked over 7 miles in the morning and I was hungry. I drove back to Milford where I had a nice breakfast and different late  breakfast of huevos rancheros at the River Lights Cafe.  It was delicious .

I returned  to my hotel and spent the afternoon editing some photos. working one my blog in my room. I also heard from my law school roommate who has a home in nearby Lewes and we made plans to meet on Sunday. Another lawyer friend also contacted me, he has a home in nearby Rehobth Beach.  Unfortunately, I had already made plans for Sunday but it was a nice chat and I hope to return to the Delaware shore soon.    By late afternoon I was hungry again and decided to eat at the Surf and Turf Bar and Grill. It was another good choice. I had a fresh garden salad,

and a delicious fried seafood platter. There was  a lot of crab in the crab cake.   It was very good and filling.

I was now still very windy and cool. Clouds moved in . I was going to drive back to Slaughter Beach but decided to return  to my hotel and wait until sunset to head back to the beach. The sun set at 8:17 p.m. There was also an almost full moon which rose at 8:12 p.m.  High tide was at 9 p.m. so I was again hoping to see the hordes of horseshoe crabs on the beach. I arrived  around 8 p.m. and first walked to the Marvel  Salt-marsh Preserve,

where I saw an osprey fly overhead,

and listened to a common grackle singing loudly from a cedar tree,

as  I waited for, and watched, a beautiful sunset over the marsh.

I walked across the  road and down to the beach.

The parking lot was now full and a I saw a large crowd were gathering to watch the moon rise and  horseshoe crabs.

Unfortunately, there were no horseshoe crabs,  not a one crawled out of the  rough crashing waves. It was  very cold as a strong wind blew over the ocean.

I walked along the beach  and waited for the moon rise over the Delaware Bay. It  was a beautiful  moonrise. , but I wasn’t going to wait in that cold wind to see if the horseshoe crabs would show up.  I was a little disappointed not seeing the horseshoe crabs, but I enjoyed the beauty of the sunset and moonrise.  Here is a link to another gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from my evening hike on the beach. Delaware Slaughter Beach sunset May 30 2026.

It was after 9 p.m. and dark when I returned to my hotel.   It was another long day and I planned to be up before dawn the next morning. I was going to hike in Cape  Henlopen State Park, also recommended by  the friend who told me to visit Slaughter Beach. So I was soon asleep, excited  to explore more of the Delaware shore in the morning.

 

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, there is a rapture on the lonely shore, there is society, where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but nature more.’ – Lord Byron

‘Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known’  Carl Sagan