Delaware News

Training for volunteer beachnesting bird monitors set for May 13

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Date Posted: Wednesday, May 3, 2017



LEWES – Volunteers who want to help protect Delaware’s endangered piping plovers and other beachnesting birds are invited to join DNREC’s monitoring team and attend a training session held by the Division of Fish & Wildlife from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 13, at Cape Henlopen State Park’s Biden Environmental Training Center, at 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes.

The training session will begin with a slideshow followed by a discussion on the monitoring program and how volunteers can help to ensure that beachnesting shorebirds are not disturbed while rearing their chicks.

Weather permitting, the group will finish the session by venturing out to the Point at Cape Henlopen to look for piping plovers and other shorebirds likely to be feeding on the tidal flats. Birding scopes and binoculars will be available for use, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own optics if they have them.

“Volunteers are critical to our protection efforts. When stationed at the boundaries of the nesting areas, volunteers can help explain facts to those passing by about the breeding birds and the importance of keeping closed areas free of human disturbance,” said Joe Rogerson, program manager for Species Conservation and Research, Division of Fish & Wildlife. “Without volunteers to supplement the coverage our staff provides, many people might never have the chance to better understand how humans can make a difference in the breeding success of beachnesting birds.”

Preregistration for the training is encouraged, but attendees also will be accepted at the door. Park entrance fees will be waived for volunteers attending the training by notifying the fee booth attendant. For more information on the training, beachnesting birds or monitoring efforts, please contact Kevin Bronson at 302-222-6078 or kevin.bronson@delaware.gov.

The piping plover was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1986, with the Division of Fish & Wildlife responsible for its protection in Delaware. Under a binding agreement and species management plan with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the federal agency with oversight of this ESA-protected species, piping plover nesting areas at Cape Henlopen State Park are closed annually to the public to protect the shorebirds during their nesting season from March into September. The closure, which includes the Point and smaller areas around Gordon’s Pond, protects nests and young birds from vehicle and pedestrian traffic in habitats from the dunes to the ocean needed for nesting and feeding, successfully increasing the number of piping plover nesting pairs from a low of two pairs to a high of 10 pairs.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

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Training for volunteer beachnesting bird monitors set for May 13

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Date Posted: Wednesday, May 3, 2017



LEWES – Volunteers who want to help protect Delaware’s endangered piping plovers and other beachnesting birds are invited to join DNREC’s monitoring team and attend a training session held by the Division of Fish & Wildlife from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 13, at Cape Henlopen State Park’s Biden Environmental Training Center, at 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes.

The training session will begin with a slideshow followed by a discussion on the monitoring program and how volunteers can help to ensure that beachnesting shorebirds are not disturbed while rearing their chicks.

Weather permitting, the group will finish the session by venturing out to the Point at Cape Henlopen to look for piping plovers and other shorebirds likely to be feeding on the tidal flats. Birding scopes and binoculars will be available for use, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own optics if they have them.

“Volunteers are critical to our protection efforts. When stationed at the boundaries of the nesting areas, volunteers can help explain facts to those passing by about the breeding birds and the importance of keeping closed areas free of human disturbance,” said Joe Rogerson, program manager for Species Conservation and Research, Division of Fish & Wildlife. “Without volunteers to supplement the coverage our staff provides, many people might never have the chance to better understand how humans can make a difference in the breeding success of beachnesting birds.”

Preregistration for the training is encouraged, but attendees also will be accepted at the door. Park entrance fees will be waived for volunteers attending the training by notifying the fee booth attendant. For more information on the training, beachnesting birds or monitoring efforts, please contact Kevin Bronson at 302-222-6078 or kevin.bronson@delaware.gov.

The piping plover was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1986, with the Division of Fish & Wildlife responsible for its protection in Delaware. Under a binding agreement and species management plan with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the federal agency with oversight of this ESA-protected species, piping plover nesting areas at Cape Henlopen State Park are closed annually to the public to protect the shorebirds during their nesting season from March into September. The closure, which includes the Point and smaller areas around Gordon’s Pond, protects nests and young birds from vehicle and pedestrian traffic in habitats from the dunes to the ocean needed for nesting and feeding, successfully increasing the number of piping plover nesting pairs from a low of two pairs to a high of 10 pairs.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.