Smith Island Pelican Tours (June) - Delmarva Birding Weekends

Date, Time, Location:

Event Details:

Tours begin and end in Crisfield, MD. Each tour includes an all-day large boat charter, ~two-hour small boat charters at high tide to view nesting pelicans near the village of Ewell and nesting herons and egrets at the Glenn L. Martin National Wildlife Refuge just north of Ewell, lunch at the Drum Point Market and Eatery in the village of Tylerton, a guide, and a visit to the Smith Island Cultural Center.

Each year, the Brown Pelicans arrive in April and May and choose the locations for their nesting colonies. In 2024, they did not settle on locations that had been previously used in 2023 and years prior. In 2024, the pelican nesting colonies were established near the village of Ewell, a location that they had never used before. Our friends on Smith Island have reported that the pelicans have nested again near Ewell.

After the birds have settled and nesting begins, the pelican chicks usually begin to hatch by mid-June. Please note that all eggs do not hatch on the same day. When we visit the nesting colonies, we may discover some nests with eggs and some nests with chicks 3 to 4 weeks old. We typically run our tours from mid-June through mid-July. There is always the chance that the nests may be wiped out due to a spring or summer storm and the associated high tides. If this happens early enough during nesting season, the pelicans should re-nest.

The charter will depart from Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield, MD for the ride out to Smith Island. Once you arrive, you will spend some time birding and exploring the villages of Ewell and Tylerton, and we will enjoy lunch at the Drum Point Market and Eatery. We time our visit to the nesting colonies around high tide, as the small boats we charter to visit the pelicans need a few feet of water to operate. On dates with an early high tide, we will visit the pelicans first. When the high tide is in the afternoon, we will visit the pelicans later in the day. Our small boat charter captains will be Eddie Corbin, Mark Kitching and Craig Evans.

More information is available at https://delmarvabirding.com/2025-smith-island-pelican-tours/

Photo credit: Vincent Dimick

Disclaimers: 

Delmarva Birding Weekends would love to open registration for these summer tours many months in advance, but the unpredictable nature of nesting Brown Pelicans does not allow this. This is the only tour they operate where participants have an expectation of observing a bird species (Brown Pelicans) exhibiting a behavior (nesting) at a location (Smith Island). They will not open registration until they are certain that the Brown Pelicans are nesting within a 15-20 minute boat ride from the villages of Ewell or Tylerton on Smith Island. If the pelicans do not select a nesting site close to the villages, then they will not run these tours

Sadly, many of you know that our dear friend Capt. Larry Laird, Sr., passed away on November 27, 2024. Capt. Larry’s boat, the Capt. Jason II, was our charter from Crisfield, MD to Smith Island. The Capt. Jason II is no longer available for charter tours.

On May 12, 2025, we met with Capt. Alan Parks from nearby Tangier Island, VA. Capt. Alan was recommended to me by several trusted friends. His boat, the Elizabeth Joy II, is a 41″ long 14′ wide Maine lobster boat that Capt. Alan has expertly restored to run charter tours to both Smith Island and Tangier Island. Here is a YouTube video taken on May 12 that is a short virtual tour of the Elizabeth Joy II.

The Elizabeth Joy II is almost through the certification process with the U.S. Coast Guard that will authorize Capt. Alan to transport groups of more than 6 passengers to Smith Island and Tangier Island. He expects certification before mid-June, which is when we will likely begin our 2025 pelican tours.