Illustration
State guide
When to catch Delawarethrough the year
We follow 2 places in Delaware for wildflowers, winter wildlife and spring migration: winter at Bombay Hook and spring at Bombay Hook and Prime Hook Refuge. Each timing below is the place's own source, in its words; none is a forecast.
When are you going?
Fall in Delaware
Good in fall
- Bombay HookLate flowers: cardinal flower, rose mallow, then goldenrod and Joe-Pye-weed
- Bombay HookMosquitoes and biting flies
- Bombay HookWaterfowl: fall migration peaks in November, high numbers through December
- Bombay HookLarge numbers of Canada and snow geese arrive
- Prime Hook RefugeFall waterfowl migration peaks (November)
- Prime Hook RefugeMosquitoes, ticks and biting flies can be very high (June–September)
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Winter in Delaware
Good in winter
- Bombay HookWaterfowl: fall migration peaks in November, high numbers through December
- Bombay HookBald eagles nest: building in January, eggs in February, hatching in April
- Bombay HookLarge flocks of pintails arrive with February's first mild weather
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Spring in Delaware
- SEASON · SPRING MIGRATIONMarchPrime Hook Refuge · Delaware
- SEASON · WILDFLOWERSApril and May (full bloom in May)Bombay Hook · Delaware
Good in spring
- Bombay HookSpring wildflowers
- Bombay HookBald eagles nest: building in January, eggs in February, hatching in April
- Bombay HookSpring waterfowl migration peaks: ducks, snow geese and Canada geese
- Bombay HookPeak concentrations of shorebirds
- Prime Hook RefugeSpring waterfowl migration peaks: ducks, snow geese and Canada geese (March)
- Prime Hook RefugeShorebirds: peak concentrations in May; migration continues to mid-June
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Summer in Delaware
Good in summer
- Bombay HookWater lilies bloom
- Bombay HookLate flowers: cardinal flower, rose mallow, then goldenrod and Joe-Pye-weed
- Bombay HookMosquitoes and biting flies
- Prime Hook RefugeShorebirds: peak concentrations in May; migration continues to mid-June
- Prime Hook RefugeMosquitoes, ticks and biting flies can be very high (June–September)
Open places and seasons from each place's sources; no peak claimed.
Places in Delaware
Pin color: each place's season now or next
- Spring
- Winter
Places on this map, as a list
Planning a Delaware trip
Towns to stay in
Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · checked Sep 29 · How we know