Smyrna, De.--- This is what the Bear Swamp Pool in the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge used to look like. And this is what it looks like now. The refuge and surrounding areas are experiencing abnormally dry conditions. Kate Toniolo is the project leader for the coastal Delaware national wildlife refuge complex and she says the lack of tropical activity is to blame for these dry conditions.
"so drought conditions are not particularly rare it depends on the year," Toniolo said. "That we have, but a drought at the level, this is actually a rear occurrence to have the water be quite this low but there hasn't been a whole lot of rain or a lot of tropical activity this summer."
She also says the birds are benefitting from the more localized water.
"There's actually a lot of birds that are concentrated in smaller areas and that's because the fish are also being consecrated in these smaller areas," Toniolo said. "So this becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet for the birds."
This is good news for birdwatchers like Ryan Johnson and his dog Jax who visit the refuge.
"The massive size of this place I can't imagine birds are frequently this close to the road," Johnson said. "So having this many, hundreds if not thousands of birds even without binoculars it's almost identifiable from the road has to be, has to be pretty awesome. "
So with the peak of hurricane season right around the corner, the drought condition may soon be over.