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The more landward Upper Blackbird Creek Reserve is 477 ha (1180 ac) in designated size, distributed along 9.2 km (5.7 mi) of low-salinity brackish or freshwater tidal creek, starting about 9.3 km (5.8 mi) upstream from where Blackbird Creek empties into the lower Delaware River.

The Blackbird Reserve contains 50 parcels of land held by 46 private landowners, plus the DNERR and one other state agency. Within the Blackbird Reserve’s designated boundaries about 85.8 ha (212 ac) of tidal marshes, upland fields, woodlots, and croplands were purchased by the DNERR in 1990, but the remaining majority of the Reserve is still in private ownership. An additional 74.1 ha (183 ac) of tidal marsh, woodlands, and croplands, across Blackbird Creek from the DNERR property and within the Reserve’s designated boundaries, was purchased in 1996 by DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (as part of the Division’s Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area), and is available for use in DNERR activities.

Much of the expansive tidal marshes and upland borders along Lower Blackbird Creek, downstream of the Upper Blackbird Creek Reserve’s designated boundaries, are owned and managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. This area primarily consists of a large parcel known as The Rocks (which is also part of the Cedar Swamp State Wildlife Area). Upstream of the Reserve, in non-tidal areas west of Rt. 13, are extensive areas of forested wetlands containing unique coastal plain ponds, much of it within Blackbird State Forest, which is owned and managed by the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Section. Blackbird Creek’s watershed is still primarily agricultural or forested, although low-density residential development is increasing.

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