U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Bombay Hook

National Wildlife Refuge

Auto Tour
Welcome to Bombay Hook National

Wildlife Refuge, haven for wildlife

and nature lovers seeking to study,

photograph, and simply enjoy the

environment at its scenic and

protected best. This refuge is

managed primarily for migrating 

and wintering ducks, geese,

shorebirds, and other migratory

birds, including the southern bald

eagle and peregrine falcon. It is also

managed to provide a diverse group

of habitats: freshwater, brackish and

salt marsh, bay, grassland, cropland

and forest which encourages plant

and animal diversity.

Recorded history of the area began 

in 1679 when the Indian Machacksett,

Chief Sachem of Kahansink, sold to

Dutch settlers some marshland called

“Boompies Hoock” (which means tree

thicket or point of trees in German)

for a price of...one gun, fower hands

full of powder, three Mats coats, one

anckor of Liquors and one Kittle...”

The Great Storm of 1878 took out

many of the trees in the marsh. At

low tide one can still see the stumps.

The settlers that followed cut salt hay,

trapped muskrats and terrapins,

hunted waterfowl, and plied the tidal

streams for fish, crabs, and oysters.

History

Tour Stop 1

This brochure

corresponds with

the numbered

signs along the

auto tour route.
The ability to manipulate water levels

in these pools is the key to creating

necessary habitats. Pool levels are

maintained by the use of water

control structures with stoplogs. In

the spring, excess water in the pool is

released to the salt marsh to create

mudflats which provide a food source

for wading birds and shorebirds.

During the summer, emergent plants

like wild millet, three-square bulrush,

cattail, pond weed, wigeon grass, and

wild rice thrive and produce seed in

the shallow waters and exposed pool

margins. Low pool levels that favor

the growth of waterfowl foods also

favor invertebrate species that are a

food source for shorebirds.

Fall rains permit pool water levels to

shallowly flood the seed-bearing

plants. This flooding provides suitable

conditions for waterfowl to feed on

the plants, maximizing their food

supply.

Shearness Pool, on your left, is the

largest of the four freshwater

impoundments. It is the most likely

area on the refuge to see southern

bald eagles, which may be perched in

trees, or feeding on fish, crippled

ducks, or geese. Bald eagles nest on

the refuge.

Bombay Hook Refuge, comprising

15,978 acres, was established March

16, 1937. Soon afterward, Civilian

Conservation Corps members (part of

a program set up by President

Roosevelt to help unemployed men

during the Great Depression Era)

began constructing pools for wildlife

habitat as well as buildings to

administer the area.

Waterfowl habitat management is

very active here, and is done in

conjunction with the North American

Waterfowl Plan’s Atlantic Coast Joint

Venture. The North American Plan is

an agreement by several federal

agencies, states, Canada, Mexico, and

the private sector to conserve, restore

and enhance wetland habitat.

A major refuge wildlife objective is to

support migrating geese and ducks.

Much food for these birds is supplied

by the aquatic environment. However,

crops are planted by local farmers on

a cooperative basis on about 1,100

acres of the refuge to provide

additional food. Corn and soybeans

are the primary crops harvested by

the farmers for market, while other

crops (winter wheat, buckwheat,

grass/clover pasture) are left for

wildlife. Farmers supply some corn

for the refuge to use in conjunction

with waterfowl banding.

The gray-green tower on your left is a

lookout used when geese are captured

for banding. Corn is spread on the

field in front of the carefully-spread

net. Several cannons with black

powder charges are attached to the

net. When enough birds have been

attracted by the corn, the cannons are

fired. This casts the net over the

geese without harming them. All

birds are released after numbered

bands have been placed on their legs.

Cooperative

Farming

Tour Stop 2

Freshwater

Impoundments

Tour Stop 3

Shearness Pool

Tour Stop 4
The mud and reed mounds scattered

across the tidal salt marsh are

muskrat houses. Because a large

population of muskrats can damage

marsh vegetation, trapping by permit

is used to control muskrat numbers.

To your left is a wildlife food plot,

planted with bicolor lespedeza. Other

food plots on the refuge may consist

of buckwheat, millet, or autumn olive.

These food plots attract a variety of

wildlife, and supplement natural food

sources. Food plots also provide

habitat for ground-nesting birds and

breeding areas for small mammals.

Food plots are sometimes prepared

and planted by neighboring farmers

as part of their cooperative farming

agreements with the refuge.

The islands to your left in the Bear

Swamp Pool are loafing (or resting)

areas for wading birds. Throughout

the summer, these islands are used by

snowy egrets, great egrets, great blue

herons, and black-crowned night

herons. During the fall hunting

season, you may see grass-covered

water blinds, used by Young

Waterfowlers. Under this program,

youths aged 12 to 18 are taught

hunting safety, ethics, regulations,

and waterfowl identification before

participating in a refuge hunt.

The trap beyond the Shearness Pool

parking lot is used to capture ducks

for banding. The trap, which is baited

with corn, allows ducks to enter, but

does not allow them to escape.

Portable duck traps are also used

around the refuge and placed

wherever the ducks are

concentrating.

Tidal saltmarsh supplies organic

materials for the food chain,

circulates nutrients, provides nesting

habitat for waterfowl and serves as a

nursery area for fish.

A variety of waterfowl nest in the

marsh, including black ducks,

mallards, gadwalls, and blue-winged

teal.

Bombay Hook Refuge hosts more

than 100,000 migrating greater snow

geese every year. Large numbers of

geese can “eat out” salt marsh

vegetation when they feed on the

roots of wetland plants. To lessen this

damage, managed snow goose hunts

are used on the refuge to disperse the

flocks. In the spring and through the

fall, shorebirds can be seen feeding on

these flats at mid to low tide, feasting

on invertebrates. Along the bay

shoreline, shorebirds feast on the

eggs of horseshoe crabs.

Tidal Saltmarsh

Tour Stop 5

Wildlife Food Plot

Tour Stop 6

Loafing Area

Tour Stop 7
.3 .1

2.5 miles

.7 mile

.9 mile

.6 mile

.6 mile

.2

1.6 miles

.8 mile

Finis

Pool

Historic Allee House

Open 2 to 5 p.m. Sat. and Sun.

Enter Via Dutch Neck Road

From Route 9

North

9

Shearness 

Pool

Boardwalk Trail (.25 mile)

Salt

Marsh

Bear 

Swamp 

Pool

ck Road

ymond Ne Ra

To Leipsic

0.6 Miles

To Woodland Beach

To Smyrna and

U.S. Route 13

Road Neck hall White

9

6

Road utch Neck D

Visitor Center

and Refuge

Headquarters

Entrance

Parson

Point Trail (1 mile)

Closed Nov. - June

Bear Swamp Trail (.25 mile)

Raymond 

Pool

Legend

Tour Route

Refuge Headquarters

Refuge Boundary

Observation Tower

Foot Trails

Traffic Flow

BOMBAY HOOK

National Wildlife Refuge

Public Tour Route

Kent County, Delaware

0 1 Mile

0 1 Kilometer

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3

4

5

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10

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13
rabbits, pheasants and white-tailed

deer. The old fields are mowed and/or

burned every two to three years to

prevent the growth of woody

vegetation.

Beyond the water to your left is a 410

acre woodland. It is managed to

provide habitat for many species of

plants and animals. Sweet gum, white

oak and black tupelo are the larger

trees in these woods. American holly,

jack-in-the-pulpit, bloodroot, ground

pine, and ground cedar also grow here.

Animal species that use these woods

for food and cover include whitetailed deer, opossums, skunks,

raccoons and foxes. Each spring the

woodland is alive with the sounds of

warblers and other songbirds.

The bin to your left can store corn

used during waterfowl banding. When

banding takes place, the age and sex

of captured birds are recorded and

matched with the numbers on the

band. Information on the birds is sent

to the Migratory Bird Banding

Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. If

you recover a banded bird, the band,

along with information about where

the bird was found, should be sent to

the Bird Banding Laboratory.

Through bird band returns, much

valuable information is gained about

bird populations and migration

patterns. The bird house to the left of

the corn bin is for bluebirds to nest in.

Bluebirds sometime compete with the

tree swallows and house wrens for

these boxes, which are placed in

meadow areas around the refuge. The

50 boxes around the refuge fledge

about 80-90 bluebirds per year. The

concrete slab beneath the corn bin is

all that remains of the Civilian

Conservation Corps (CCC) dining

hall from the depression years.

On a regular basis some fields are

rotated from agricultural production

and planted to the grass/lespedeza

mixture. Areas like this throughout

the upland portions of the refuge

provide ideal nesting or breeding

cover for a wide variety of birds and

mammals, including ducks, quail,

Bird Banding

Tour Stop 8

Old Field

Tour Stop 9

Woodland

Tour Stop 10
Finis Pool contains the freshest water

of any impoundment on the refuge.

Beyond the pool is Finis Branch, the

primary fresh water source for all

impoundments. Beaver and muskrat

can be spotted in this area as well as

an occasional river otter. Barred owls,

green backed and little blue herons

have also thrilled the patient observer.

Wood ducks, which need cavities for

nesting, use the wooden boxes you see

around the refuge. The cone skirts

prevent raccoons and snakes from

getting into the nest and destroying

the eggs or ducklings. Most boxes

have now been moved just inside the

woods of these swamps to reduce the

visibility from one box to another.

Boxes in more visible locations tend

to be used by more than one female,

which may reduce hatch success.

The small land depression to the left

is one of a series of units being

created throughout the refuge to

provide wetland habitat diversity. The

small levee in the ditch to your right

accommodates a water control

structure which allows us to hold up

to several inches of water. Varying

water levels throughout the growing

season in turn encourage desirable

wetland plants to grow. Many species

of birds, mammals, reptiles,

amphibians and invertebrates utilize

moist soil management areas.

This small country-style farm house

of the Queen Anne period preserves a

bit of history on the refuge. Built

about 1753, it is on the National

Register of Historic Places. Tours of

the house are provided on Saturdays

and Sundays from 2-5 p.m. during the

spring and fall. The house is restored,

complete with period furniture.

During the fall, you may notice goose

blinds and elevated deer stands

(platforms) in field and woodlands

along the road near the Allee House.

On specified days, this area is open to

waterfowl and deer hunting on a

permit basis.

Moist Soil

Management

Tour Stop 11

Finis Pool

Tour Stop 13

Allee House

Tour Stop 12
The refuge staff hopes you have

enjoyed your tour. Please let us know

about your wildlife encounters. To do

this, either stop at the Visitor Center

or record your sightings on the

observation list kept in the brochure

rack near the restrooms.

Bombay Hook is one of over 500

refuges in the National Wildlife

Refuge System administered by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The

National Wildlife Refuge System is a

network of lands and waters managed

specifically for the protection of

wildlife and wildlife habitat and

represents the most comprehensive

wildlife management program in the

world. Units of the system stretch

across the United States from

northern Alaska to the Florida Keys

and include small islands in the

Caribbean and South Pacific. The

character of the refuges is as diverse

as the nation itself.

The Service also manages National

Fish Hatcheries, and provides

Federal leadership in habitat

protection, technical assistance, and

the conservation and protection of

migratory birds, certain marine

mammals and threatened and

endangered species.

U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service

All photos by

USFWS unless

otherwise noted. Photo by Shireen Gonzaga
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

2591 Whitehall Neck Road

Smyrna, DE 19977-9764

Office: 302/653 9345

Visitor Center: 302/653 6872

Email: r5rw_bhnwr@fws.gov

Hearing impaired visitors may call the

Delaware Relay Center at 800/232 5460

TDD at 800/232 5470 voice.

U.S. Department of Interior

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

January 2000

Photo by Bryan Feyock