Castaways RV Resort & Campgrounds/Sun Outdoors

Castaways RV Resort & Campgrounds (New Name: Sun Outdoors Ocean City)

12550 Eagles Nest Road, Berlin, MD 21811

Castaways RV Resort and Campground, now known as Sun Outdoors Ocean City, is a privately owned recreation park in Worcester County, located on the Sinexpuxent Bay south of Ocean City. The owners have been very kind in allowing access to considerate birders, especially in the off-season. The campground is located on a sandy beach on the bayshore, and is dotted with pine trees throughout the property. A pier in the southeast corner of the site overlooks Sinepuxent Bay and has good views across the bay to the northern portion of Assateague Island (scope needed). Sandbars in the bay often yield interesting shorebirds. Check the pine trees throughout the property for everything from Brown-headed Nuthatch to Great Horned Owl.

If the office is open (varies seasonally), stop in to ask permission to bird the property. Please be on your best behavior on this private property so that we can retain access. If campers are present, please respect their privacy.

The access road for the campground (Eagles Nest Road) take you past the back side of Eagles Landing Golf Course and the Ocean City Municipal Airport. The golf course and the airport itself are restricted access and generally not open to birding, so bird only from the public roadway. There are several places to stop and pull your car off the road to check the broad grassy roadsides, the occasional clumps of trees and shrubs, and the fields of the golf course and airport. The entrance road, the golf course, and the airport often hold bluebirds, meadowlarks, sparrows, and other field birds, and occasional warblers such as Yellow-rumped.

Hint: If you like to camp, or if you know people who do, consider recommending the campground as a way to return the favor of allowing us to bird there.

Birdlife:

At the campground, winter brings a wide variety of waterfowl including Snow Goose, Brant, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Common and Red-breasted Merganser and Horned Grebe. Shorebirds include American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin and Willet. Winter also regularly brings Northern Gannet, Surf and Black Scoter, Red-necked Grebe, and in the fall, Marbled Godwit. Rarities can include Red Knot, Western Sandpiper, Western Grebe, and sometimes Piping Plover in March.

At the airport and along Eagles Nest Road approaching the campground, expect meadowlarks and other field birds, as well as bluebirds and other passerines.

There is good birding from fall through winter into spring, but the birding gets more difficult when the campground starts to fill up with campers as the weather gets warm.

Wheelchair Access:

There is good access on the paved roads of the campground and at the waterfront. The sandy beach is not wheelchair accessible. No restrooms.

Pet Policy:

Campers who pay to stay at Castaways are allowed to bring pets, but given that it is a privilege to bird this private property, we suggest leaving your pets at home when birding.

Special Designations:

Castaways Resort and Campground/Sun Outdoors is contained within the much larger Maryland Coastal Bays Important Bird Area, as designated by the National Audubon Society. The MD Coastal Bays IBA adjoins the Assateague Island Important Bird Area to the east; Assateague Island is visible from the campground.

Local MOS Chapter:

The Tri-county Bird Club is the local chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society, serving Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset Counties; the club offers field trips to local birding areas and meetings with informative presentations, all free and open to the public.

Parking:

Parking is available on the shoulders of Eagles Nest Road throughout the year. Off-season in the campground, one may park next to the pier and elsewhere in the campground.

Directions:

From Ocean Gateway/US Route 50: Travel south on Stephen Decatur Highway/MD Route 611 for 2.2 miles; then, just past the Ocean City Municipal Airport and a golfing center, turn left onto Eagles Nest Road. Follow Eagles Nest Road for 1.7 miles to the campground. Stop along Eagles Nest Road to bird the back fields of the Ocean City Municipal Airport (observed through the chain link fence) and the wide grassy road edges.

Nearby Sites:

Worcester County: Assateague Island National Seashore & Assateague Island State Park ■  E.A. Vaughn Wildlife Management Area ■ Heron Park (formerly Berlin Falls Park) ■ Isle of Wight Park & Wildlife Management Area ■ Ocean City Inlet & Sunset Park ■ Ocean City: Skimmer Island (4th Street Mudflats) ■Pocomoke River State Park – Shad Landing & Milburn Landing ■  Pocomoke State Forest – Hickory Point Cypress Swamp Natural Area ■ South Point ■ Truitts Landing & Other Bayside Landings ■ West Ocean City Park-n-Ride & Homer Gudelsky Park ■ West Ocean City Pond

Habitats:

Conifers Suburban Neighborhood Sandy Beach or Dunes Jetties & SeawallsMud Flats (Tidal or Non-Tidal)Open Ocean, Bay, or EstuarySalt or Brackish Marsh

Features:

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