| Blackbird Creek - Delaware Fauna (Animal Life) Black duck, mallard and wood duck are among the most common nesting bird species at the Blackbird Creek Component. During the spring and fall migration periods, extensive use is made of the area by most waterfowl in the mid-Atlantic region, including Canada geese, greenwinged teal, bluewinged teal, gadwall, pintail, wigeon and shoveler. Wading birds, shorebirds and raptors also frequent the area for breeding, migration, feeding and resting. The most common species include great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, glossy ibis, yellowlegs, sandpipers, kestrels, marsh hawk, osprey and bald eagle. The forests support deer, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, rabbit and squirrel, while large numbers of muskrat occur in the brackish and freshwater wetlands, together with beaver and river otter in lesser numbers. Insects, snakes, turtles, frogs, toads and salamanders are all residents of the component, utilizing both aquatic and terrestrial environments. The estuary provides important nursery and feeding habitat for several species of fish, including white and channel catfish, weakfish, hogchoker, white perch, black drum, bay anchovy, menhaden, spot and eel, together with a diversity of benthic organisms including blue crabs. In the more landward recesses of the Reserve, where the waters are essentially fresh, American eel, eastern minnow, redfin pickerel, golden and spottail shiners, creek chubsucker, pirate perch, brown bullhead, white and channel catfishes, yellow and white perches, pumpkinseed, bluegill sunfishes and tessellated darter all gather. |
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Revised February 18, 2004 by NERRS Webmaster
Ocean and Coastal Resource Management | Ocean Service | NOAA | Department of Commerce
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Ocean and Coastal Resource Management | Ocean Service | NOAA | Department of Commerce
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer http://nerrs.noaa.gov/Delaware/FaunaBlackbird.html