July 6, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 228

For more information, contact Matthew Bailey, Wildlife Biologist, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, 302-382-4151, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Plover fledglings on Point now number 10,
new chicks hatch at Gordons Pond

Early this morning, piping plover monitors reported that the southernmost plover nest at Gordons Pond was beginning to hatch, with one chick out of the egg and three eggs left to hatch.

“With intense heat forecast today, we have to be very cautious about disturbing this brood, but we will be making frequent observations from afar to determine where the brood will take their chicks once they have all hatched out,” said Wildlife Biologist Matthew Bailey.

The first piping plover hatch of the season at Gordons Pond occurred July 2. The northernmost nest there hatched all four chicks and the brood is foraging along the shoreline of the pond.

Out on the Point, 10 chicks have graduated to fledgling stage, and one additional chick is very nearly fledged. A piping plover also has been spotted making scrapes and defending a nesting territory out on the Point. “We will continue to observe this area closely to determine if there will be a late plover nest out on the Point,” Bailey said.

A banded piping plover was seen on the bay side of the Point on the afternoon of July 5. A volunteer for the Plover Watch program was showing plovers to interested beachgoers using a spotting scope when a nearby birder with binoculars observed that one of the plovers feeding on the tidal flats had bands on its legs. The volunteer was able to view the plover in the scope and read the band combination.

“This past winter, 57 piping plovers were banded in the Bahamas, and we will contact the banders to determine if this plover was part of that banding operation,” Bailey said. “The Delaware piping plover team is confident that this bird did not breed in Delaware and has arrived on our shores only recently.”

In other beachnester news, a pair of American oystercatchers are making scrapes out on the Point and may still lay eggs. This would be a third nest attempt for this particular pair. No least tern breeding activity has been observed at Cape Henlopen since mid-June.