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Kitts Hummock Beach, Delaware

4/14/2012

4 Comments

 


Another Delaware Bay Beach at Kitts Hummock 

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Kitts Hummock Beach, Delaware

Every time I drive past the Dover Air Force Base along Delaware Route 1S, I smile when I see the exit sign for Kitts Hummock. Why? It always brings up images in my mind of my cats snoozing away on a summer day, all comfortably stretched out in a gently swaying green hammock. 

What exactly is a hammock, errr, I mean, "hummock"? A hummock is a small hill or area that is on higher ground than the rest of the surrounding landscape. According to the Delaware Public Archives, which operates a Historical Marker Program throughout the state, Kitts Hummock has an interesting history, based upon its land formation: "Like the Native Americans before them, European settlers used this rising ground or “hummock” on the shore of the Delaware Bay as a place for fishing and recreation. In 1738, Jehu Curtis received a patent for lands that he called “Kitt’s Hammock” (sic). By the early 1800s, the Pleasanton family had established a tavern here for the entertainment of visitors. Around 1846, a hotel was built nearby. Known for a time as the Bay View Hotel, it was long the center of local activities. In the latter decades of the 19th century, a number of small cottages were erected here. Many were owned by residents of Dover who left the sweltering heat of summer behind for the cooling effects of the waters and bay breezes. Kitts Hummock continues to provide a peaceful refuge for residents and visitors alike." 

Kitts Hummock is also an official sanctuary for horseshoe crabs, Delaware's state marine animal. Each May and June, thousands of horseshoe crabs spawn on the beaches of the Delaware Bay, attracting tourists to see the huge numbers of crabs coming ashore, and to see the migrating birds stopping along the shore to eat many of the crabs' eggs. Delaware provides colorful, informative placards at these beach spawning sites describing the horseshoe crabs and their contribution to medicine. I'll write about the horseshoe crabs in more detail on another upcoming post. In the meantime, you may want to follow this link   http://www.ecodelaware.com/place.php?id=355 for more information from the State of Delaware. 

Kitts Hummock Beach is a very wide, sandy beach, flanked by evergreen trees, shrubs, dune grasses, and low-growing cacti. The very calm bay waters here appear good for swimming, but upon closer inspection, you will discover that the few feet of visible water actually flows on top of vast mud flats, making even walking in the water difficult, and in places, dangerous. The mud layers are so deep that you could easily sink in a few feet. The mud flats become most evident at low tide, when only a few inches of water appear to be flowing across the muddy bay. Kitts Hummock Beach is a beautiful place to beachcomb and walk, but not so much for wading or swimming. Even kayaking, canoeing, or rafting could pose difficulties if you were suddenly tipped over and had to find a solid footing to stand on. The best part about Kitts Hummock Beach is that the beach area is quiet and clean, and with all the vegetation growing nearby, a walk on this Delaware Bay beach has the effect of feeling like you are walking along your own tropical island. 

So, no cats swinging merrily in the breeze in a comfortable hammock, but a lot of historical significance and environmental beauty for the people in the area and the tourists visiting Kitts Hummock Beach, Delaware.  

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Public Beach Access to Kitts Hummock Beach
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Beach Access Lined with Green Shrubs and Pines
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Looking North Up Kitts Hummock Beach
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Plenty of Evergreen Growth at Kitts Hummock Beach and Low Growing Cacti
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Close-up View of Ground Cover Cacti at Kitts Hummock
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Looking South Along the Beach at Kitts Hummock
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Looking North Along the Beach at Kitts Hummock, Delaware
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Direct View of the Sandy Beach at Kitts Hummock From the Dune
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Mud Flats in the Water During Low Tide at Kitts Hummock Beach

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Rock and Sea Glass Collecting at Kitts Hummock Beach in Delaware. Can You Spot the Brown Sea Glass, aka Bay Glass?
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Intrusion of the Mud Flats at Water's Edge onto the Beach at Kitts Hummock Beach, Delaware, at Low Tide.
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Dark Brown Mud Flats Apparent at Low Tide at Kitts Hummock Beach Inhibit Walking, Wading, and Swimming
4 Comments

Lewes Beach and Roosevelt Beach, Delaware

3/31/2012

7 Comments

 

Lewes Beach and Roosevelt Beach Along the Delaware Bay

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View of Lewes Beach South to Cape Henlopen

Lewes Beach in Lewes, Delaware (pronounced Lewis), is one of the area's beautiful, family beaches stretching along the Delaware Bay. Its gently sloping shoreline creates two to three foot waves that provide a safe place for children to swim and play. The sandy beach extends south in a crescent shape to Cape Henlopen State Park and north to nearby Roosevelt Beach, which is adjacent to the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal that connects the two cities. At the entrance to the canal, the University of Delaware docks its fleet of ships which includes their newest seagoing research experiment vessel, the  R/V Hugh R. Sharp. Lining the canal are numerous docks, boathouses, lovely family homes, and well-known eating and shopping establishments. 

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View of Lewes Beach North to Roosevelt Beach

Walking along the shoreline from Lewes Beach to Roosevelt Beach, beachcombers find a variety of shells, whelks, conches, horseshoe crab shells, seaweed, minerals, stones, rocks, sea glass, and shipwreck artifacts. Along the way, several jetties designed for small craft launching and for holding the sandy shore in place, jut out into the gentle bay, often accumulating barnacles, starfish, and other water life while providing feeding habitat for small bay fishes. 

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Entrance to Roosevelt Beach Over the Dunes

Entrance to both bay beaches is an easy walk along designated paths over the dunes or along pathways from parking areas. Lewes Beach has a metered, paved parking lot, and Roosevelt Beach has a free, graveled parking area. Lifeguards are on duty during the summer season at Lewes Beach, but Roosevelt Beach does not have lifeguards. Instead, families watch their children play in the slight surf where sailboats and kayaks launch out into the gentle bay waters. 

7 Comments

Mahon Beach, Delaware

3/9/2012

11 Comments

 
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Mahon Beach Is Ideal for Field Trips for Earth Sciences, Biology, and Geology Courses --- Plus Local History, Fishing and Bird Watching!

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Entrance Road to Mahon Beach

East of Dover, Delaware, Port Mahon Road extends nearly four miles from Delaware Route 9 toward the remains of an old fish factory and adjacent piers along the western side of the Delaware Bay. 

The area is an excellent bird watching area and is near the ponds and marshes of the Little Creek Preserve. Since water sometimes covers the road during heavy rainfalls and high tides, there are some eroded areas that drivers must be careful to avoid. 

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Boulders Line the Bay Side of Port Mahon Road.

Boulders and large rocks line the bay side of the road, providing protection from washouts and entertainment for the rock hunting set who love to identify all the different kinds of rocks and minerals here that are so easy to access.   

Planned field trips for Earth Sciences classes and Geology courses would keep students busy all afternoon identifying the various boulders, and granite enthusiasts might enjoy seeing their granite counter top material in the rough.   

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Shore Birds Occupy the Old Pier Pillars

One of the nicest things about Mahon Beach is that the road is so close to the water and the water fowl that persons with disabilities and limited walking abilities can observe nature up close from their cars. 

One of the disappointing things about this beach is that . . . there is no beach here!  There are just a few small coves of sand, covered in stones and cracked shells that the birds have left behind. Bird watchers, however, will enjoy the large variety of shore birds and inland birds present along the bay shore and inland marshes. At the end of the road in the large parking area for the boat docks, there is an osprey nest on top of a tall pole. 


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Modern Piers Stretch Out Into the Delaware Bay
Several long, modern piers jut out into the Delaware Bay, in sharp contrast to the old, weathered pilings still upright about ten to twenty feet from shore. They remain as a testament to the once busy piers that supplied the area's prominent fish factory. 

The local history of Port Mahon and Mahon Beach attracts history buffs and photographers who reconstruct the fallen architecture while people interesting in fishing the bay today set out from three newly constructed boat launches.

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Three Boat Launch Docks Are Near the 75 Car Parking Lot
11 Comments

Pickering Beach, Delaware

3/3/2012

1 Comment

 


A Quiet Beach Along the Delaware Bay--Pickering Beach 

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The Approach to Pickering Beach Along Delaware Route 9

Looking for a quick trip to the beach without having to drive to the Atlantic Ocean? Try the beaches along the shore of the Delaware Bay. Last week, I featured Woodland Beach near Smyrna, Delaware. This week I visited Pickering Beach and brought back photos for you. 

Pickering Beach is a small beach town about 8 miles southeast of Dover, the capital of Delaware. Travelling along Delaware State Route 1 S to Dover, take Exit 98 
to State Route 8 toward Downtown Dover. Follow 
Route 8 until you are able to make a slight right onto 
State Route 9. After 2.8 miles, turn left onto Pickering 
Beach Road, and in 1.8 miles you will see a small village 
of beach homes lining the Delaware Bay. 

As you approach the central crossroads in Pickering  Beach, you will see to the left of center a Delaware Public Beach Access sign indicating the allowed path across the protected dunes to the sandy beach. 

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Delaware Public Beach Access Across the Dune at Pickering Beach

Every time I walk across a dune and see the expanse of water on the other side, I am awed by the splendor, beauty, and peacefulness. After six years of walking along the Delaware shore, that feeling has never diminished. 

Pickering Beach is serene, uncrowded, and beautiful. 


 
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Across the Dune at Pickering Beach and Suddenly--The Delaware Bay
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View to the Left of the Entrance to Pickering Beach
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View to the Right of the Entrance to Pickering Beach
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A Multitude of Stones Washed Up on the Beach


Pickering Beach has white sandy beaches and gentle waves that wash up a variety of rocks, minerals, plant life, and sea/bay glass. Rock collectors will enjoy identifying a wide selection of pummeled stones, and beachcombers will find something new on the beach every time they visit.  

To learn more about another Delaware Bay beach, read about Woodland Beach near Smyrna, Delaware:                     www.norenemoskalski.com/norenes-environmental-blog.html 

1 Comment

    Author

    Dr. Norene Moskalski can often be found walking the beaches of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, collecting sea glass, weathered minerals, unusual shells, and artifacts from colonial shipwrecks. A naturalist and environmentalist by nature, and a medical diagnostician by avocation, she has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and has held administrative and teaching positions at Penn State University and Temple University. She has spent most of her life preparing administrators and teachers to lead and teach ethically with love and respect for everyone. The settings for her novels are authentic vignettes from university campuses and places around the world she has visited. Each novel presents a variation on a theme, using literary techniques and musical innuendos to move the action forward. Her plots revolve around the unexpected: What if the most beautiful things in the world are the most dangerous?

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