Birding · Kent County
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
A twelve-mile drive through managed pools, salt marsh and mudflat, most of which you can bird without getting out of the car.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service · Smyrna
Before you go
- Fee
- $4 per vehicle, covering up to four occupants. $2 each on foot or by bike if you've parked at the visitor center. Under 16 free. A $12 annual pass covers the refuge for a year and pays for itself on the fourth visit. Paid through Recreation.gov.
- Hours
- Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, year round
- Restrooms
- Yes
- Birding from the car
- The wildlife drive is the refuge. One of the rare Delaware outings that works better from the car — the vehicle is the blind, and stepping out is what puts birds up.
- Scope
- Open water and mudflat at distance. A scope changes what this place is; binoculars alone leave a lot of gray dots.
- Good for a beginner
- Yes
What can spoil the trip
- Salt marsh in summer means biting insects. May is the reason to come; repellent is the reason the trip stays pleasant.
- Dogs are allowed on a leash of up to ten feet. That is shorter than most retractable leads at full extension.
Current sightings
What people are actually seeing is on eBird, updated by birders rather than by me. This page is the trip; those are the birds. Neither refuge has a single umbrella hotspot — they're split by stop, which is itself worth knowing before you arrive:
- Bombay Hook NWR--Raymond Pool
- Bombay Hook NWR--Shearness Pool
- Bombay Hook NWR--Bear Swamp Pool
- Bombay Hook NWR--Finis Pool
Still to check
- Observation towers: how many, where, and whether any is step-free.
- How long the twelve-mile drive actually takes at birding pace.
Source
- Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge — U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Read 9 August 2026. Publishes the 2026 hunting closure dates and directs fee payment to Recreation.gov without naming an amount.
- Bombay Hook NWR — fees and passes, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Fee schedule via Recreation.gov, opening hours, leash rule and toilet locations. Read 9 August 2026.