One of the great things about birding is that some birds are incredibly challenging to find, requiring skill, patience, and, maybe most of all, luck. The ABA and Birding magazine are dedicated to helping birders increase their chances of finding the ABA Area’s most difficult birds by providing tips and tricks by top birding experts. That’s the philosophy behind the new Codebreakers series, of which Heather Hill’s column on finding Black Rails is the first entry.
On May 26 and 27, Carol and I ventured to Delaware beaches following the advice of famed naturalist, ornithologist, and artist Roger Tory Peterson to “Stay at least a day or two and take in the ancient mystical conjunction of planetary and biological forces” of spawning horseshoe crabs and famished shorebirds.
Thrice cursed Charles Island now a sanctuary
Kendra Wingate
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Charles Island, a 14-acre island located approximately 0.5 miles off the coast of Milford, boasts a long and storied past. The unassuming island is steeped in decades of history, is said to be “thrice cursed,” and is a now cherished state resource for native wildlife.
The first curse was said to have been laid upon the land by a Paugusset chief in 1639 when he lost the land, which he believed to be home to the sacred spirits, to European settlers. Resulting in ill will, he cursed the island, any structure that was erected on the island and anyone who tried to live there. The second was laid on the island in 1699 by Scottish pirate and notorious high sea robber Captain William Kidd, who was lured into a trap on the island leading to his trial and execution, but not before he buried treasure. He, like any good pirate, cursed the island, believing if you curse the land, you’ll scare off any would