Bird's-Eye View
Bird's-Eye View
The Baileys’ 23-acre patch of land winding around Cedar Creek, just south of Milford, Del., (pop. 6,557) is remote, although beast and bird don’t have a problem finding it. So many animals call the Baileys’ land home that it’s been designated an official nature preserve by Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. A certificate on their cabin door proves it.
Their property is a preserve because they volunteered to preserve it. The Baileys contacted Delaware’s Land Preservation office in 1990 and committed themselves to caring for their land—which includes never developing it or changing its natural landscape.
“A lot of private folks aren’t able or willing to do what it takes to commit to a nature preserve, but this is something the Baileys wanted to do,” says Ron Vickers, land preservation chief with Delaware Parks & Recreation. “They signed a legal document putting a conservation easement on a portion of their property. It basically says they’ll protect it … It’s the highest level of land protection in the state.”
Part of their property is an Atlantic white cedar swamp, which attracts unique plant and animal species, Vickers says. “The wood is prized for its insect and weather resistance. If the Baileys weren’t protecting it, we could never predict what someone might want to do—clear the land for a better water view or initiate logging.”
When the Baileys retired in 1986, they moved from New Jersey to Milford, smack in the middle of dense woods bordering wetlands. They hadn’t planned on creating a nature preserve and, according to Ed, the couple really doesn’t consider themselves “official” bird watchers.
“If I had to guess, I’d probably have to say I’ve seen about 125 different species of birds visit since we moved here. We just like birds,” Ed says. “We’ve always lived in a country setting, and we’ve always liked wildlife in general. When we moved here, we put up a couple of feeders.”
But feeders were only the beginning. The pair planted serviceberry, blueberry and other bird-friendly plants, constructed ponds from stones they gathered from the Delaware River, and built 730-feet of boardwalk running through their wetlands. Some sections extend to watchtowers and blinds, one of them 14-feet high.
“Well, we needed to get there from here,” Ed says, laughing. “It takes quite a bit of effort to maintain it.”
Birds come to the preserve from all over. “Most are migratory, some are native to the area,” Ed adds.
Fall brings Canada geese, snow geese, mallards, black ducks, and wood ducks to the Baileys’ area, and many spend their entire winter along the shore. Spring and summer is always busy, with visits from red knots, sandpipers, and the like. Occasionally they spot pileated woodpeckers. Normally shy birds, the woodpeckers probably will live out their lives in the dense forest cover.
The Baileys spread mixtures of peanut butter, lard, and cornmeal along scraps of oak tree bark year-round. One feeder is surrounded by wire to allow in tiny fliers such as chickadees, thrashers, and phoebes, and to keep out squirrels. An extra wooden rail is just for the woodpeckers to peck on, and a suet feeder is nearby.
The Baileys, who are active members of The Sussex County Bird Club, occasionally have the whole membership over for bird watching, but often it’s just the two of them, taking their morning coffee or afternoon tea on a large screened porch that gives them a bird’s-eye view of the woods.
“We just love to watch the birds,” says Elsie, 79. “That’s why we do it.”
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