Photo By: USFWS Date: May 9, 2008 Location: Refuge Impoundments near Broadkill Beach, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Details: Birders observing the rare wood sandpiper.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge has become a very popular destination among birding enthusiasts since the recent sighting of a wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola, in refuge impoundments.  Since it was positively identified on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, hundreds of birders have transcended upon the refuge near Broadkill Beach to catch a glimpse of this migrant shorebird.  The last recorded sighting of the wood sandpiper was in 1990 in Rye, New York and then all of the way back to 1907 for the last sighting in the continental United States.  Normally migrating from Europe to Africa and southern Asia, this rare occurrence in Delaware has provided a unique opportunity for birders and has heightened awareness of the National Wildlife Refuge System at Prime Hook.