FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2009

CONTACT: Andrew Cripps
302-539-2100 x14

BIRDERS TO FLOCK TO QUIET RESORTS BIRDING WEEKEND

EVENT: Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend

DATES/TIMES: Friday, October 16 to Sunday, October 18, 2009

PLACES: Locations throughout coastal Delaware, and in southern New Jersey and northern coastal Maryland

ADMISSION: Cost of trips varies. A Weekend Package is available for $45 and includes discounts on trips, admission to the Friday evening reception with a guest presenter, and exclusive souvenir cap, and all park entry fees. 

DESCRIPTION: The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is three days of birding in beautiful natural habitats along the Atlantic migratory flyway. Choose from more than a dozen different birding experiences, each hosted by an experienced guide. The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is for birdwatchers of every skill level and experience.

CONTACT: Visit the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce web site at www.TheQuietResorts.com or call 800-962-SURF (7873) toll-free for more information or online registration.

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FENWICK ISLAND, DE - Birding enthusiasts will want to flock to the Bethany Beach/Fenwick Island area for the second annual Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend, October 16 through 18. The event, organized by the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce (BFACC) offers boat tours, paddling expeditions, and hiking treks throughout The Quiet Resorts and nearby areas.  The field trips offer opportunities to sight indigenous birds and those on their fall migration.

The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend enables participants to pick and choose among the many offerings customizing their own event experience.  The trips are designed to please both novice and experienced birders, and all include experienced guides.  Birders recorded 190 species during the spring event.

"After a summer highlighted by the first-ever sighting in Delaware of a roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) here in Fenwick Island, there is increased excitement about this year's Birding Weekend, "said BFACC Executive Director Andrew Cripps. "Our position along the Atlantic migratory flyway ensures that Birding Weekend participants will see a spectacular variety of birds in beautiful natural habitats."

The weekend kicks off on Friday morning, October 16, with the Poor Man's Pelagic on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, which takes you across the Delaware Bay to Higbee's Beach in Cape May to see migrating hawks, falcons and songbirds. On Friday evening, participants can flock together at a welcoming reception, and an entertaining discussion led by a prominent birding expert.

On Saturday and Sunday, guests can paddle, cruise or hike with experienced guides into secluded habitats, some otherwise unavailable to the public, to see the colorful variety of shorebirds that rest in the area on their migration north, as well as terns, herons, egrets, owls, and perhaps some bald eagles. Trip destinations include Trap Pond and Holts Landing State Parks, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Assawoman Wildwlife Refuge, James Farm Ecological Preserve, Assateague Island National Seashore, Newport Farms (a private estate), Thompson Island near Rehoboth, and Savages Ditch in Delaware Seashore State Park.

Registration brochures and registration through the chamber's online store are now available.  For more information contact the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce at 302-539-2100 or visit www.TheQuietResorts.com.

Presenting sponsor for the Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is ResortQuest. Supporting sponsors include the Holiday Inn Express Bethany Beach, and Lynch Printing. The Quiet Resorts Birding Weekend is funded in part by the Delaware Tourism Office. Additional sponsorships are available. For more information contact the BFACC at 302-539-2100.