NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
June 11, 2008
Vol. 38, No. 276
For more information, contact Matthew Bailey, Wildlife Biologist, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, 302-739-9912, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
Piping Plover Nests Up to Seven at Cape Henlopen
Undeterred by the recent heat wave, the piping plovers at Cape Henlopen State Park are slowly building their way back to the numbers seen before the May 12 storm that devastated their nesting grounds.
At the time of the storm, eight nests were on the ground. With the discovery of a new plover nest at the Point Monday afternoon and two more this morning (one at the Point and one at Gordons Pond), the current nest count at the park stands at seven, with other areas showing potential to have nests in the near future. The first chicks are expected to hatch during the third week of June.
Monday, June 9 saw the completion of Delaware’s portion of the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Census, which is conducted each year between June 1 and June 9.
“Although no piping plovers were observed outside of Cape Henlopen, this effort is important in definitively determining that no nesting plover pairs go unnoticed,” said Wildlife Biologist Matthew Bailey. In addition to surveying all state-owned beaches along Delaware’s Atlantic coast, Beach Plum Island Nature Preserve, Big Stone Beach and Fowler’s Beach on the Delaware Bay were surveyed, as well as the municipal beaches at Bethany, Dewey and Rehoboth Beaches, he added.
Replacement posts finally came in to complete repairs on the fencing at Delaware Seashore State Park. Two-thirds of a mile of fencing was washed out during the May12 storm. “Yesterday, a team of three Americorps staff and our two piping plover monitors were able to erect the fencing in two hours, despite the 90-degree heat,” Bailey said.
In other beachnester news, least terns have begun nesting on the Point in two separate areas, with a total of eight tern pairs spotted so far. In addition to the least terns nesting at the Point, leasties have been observed nesting at South Bowers Beach on the Delaware Bay. At last observation the pair count there stood at five.
For more information on piping plovers and volunteer plover monitor training, please contact Matt Bailey at 302-739-9912 or email matthew.bailey@state.de.us.
