Delaware News

Stretch of Beach at Gordons Pond That Closed for Protection of Threatened Piping Plovers is Reopened After Nest Failure

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Division of Parks and Recreation | News | Date Posted: Friday, July 7, 2023


A piping plover chick with parent at Cape Henlopen State Park

The first piping plover nest found at Gordons Pond since 2016 failed because of predation from red foxes. A stretch of beach within Cape Henlopen State Park that had been closed for protection of the plovers was reopened today to beachgoers and surf fishers, and the pilot surf fishing program reservation system is again taking weekend reservations for the area. /Photo by Shelagh Lynch

 

Surf Fishing Reservations Again Being Taken for Weekend Access of Area

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that a stretch of beach at Gordons Pond within Cape Henlopen State Park has been reopened to beachgoers and surf fishers after the failure of a piping plover nest that was discovered there in late May. The area, closed off June 26 to protect the piping plovers – a state-endangered species in Delaware and federally-threatened and Endangered Species Act-listed beach-nesting shorebird – is to reopen immediately for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, to include permitted surf fishing vehicles with weekend drive-on reservations.

The suspected cause of the piping plover nest failure was predation by red foxes which are believed to have claimed one of the parent plovers and all three chicks that hatched last month. The nest was protected against predation by an exclosure erected around it by DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists, but the adults were susceptible when they left the nest to feed, as were the chicks once they hatched and began venturing outside the nest area.

DNREC staff from the Divisions of Fish and Wildlife and Parks and Recreation removed 800 feet of fencing Friday that had cordoned off the area around the nest to public encroachment. Though the first such closure for protection of piping plovers at Gordons Pond in seven years, the species has nested there on a number of occasions since its ESA listing in 1986. The protective fencing had extended to the high water mark on a portion of Cape Henlopen’s ocean beach while symbolic fencing – cautionary signage on fence posts tied off by twine – also was removed from the area as it reopened Friday to beachgoers and anglers.

Another stretch of beach at Cape Henlopen, The Point, is currently closed through Sept. 1 (Oct. 1 for The Point’s bayside beach), as it has been annually since 1993 for the benefit of threatened and endangered beach-nesting and migratory shorebird species to include red knots, piping plovers, American oystercatchers and least terns. The DNREC Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have worked together since 1990 on a management plan to help grow shorebird populations in Delaware – with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversight for protective measures on the shorebirds’ behalf.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Stretch of Beach at Gordons Pond That Closed for Protection of Threatened Piping Plovers is Reopened After Nest Failure

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Division of Parks and Recreation | News | Date Posted: Friday, July 7, 2023


A piping plover chick with parent at Cape Henlopen State Park

The first piping plover nest found at Gordons Pond since 2016 failed because of predation from red foxes. A stretch of beach within Cape Henlopen State Park that had been closed for protection of the plovers was reopened today to beachgoers and surf fishers, and the pilot surf fishing program reservation system is again taking weekend reservations for the area. /Photo by Shelagh Lynch

 

Surf Fishing Reservations Again Being Taken for Weekend Access of Area

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that a stretch of beach at Gordons Pond within Cape Henlopen State Park has been reopened to beachgoers and surf fishers after the failure of a piping plover nest that was discovered there in late May. The area, closed off June 26 to protect the piping plovers – a state-endangered species in Delaware and federally-threatened and Endangered Species Act-listed beach-nesting shorebird – is to reopen immediately for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, to include permitted surf fishing vehicles with weekend drive-on reservations.

The suspected cause of the piping plover nest failure was predation by red foxes which are believed to have claimed one of the parent plovers and all three chicks that hatched last month. The nest was protected against predation by an exclosure erected around it by DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists, but the adults were susceptible when they left the nest to feed, as were the chicks once they hatched and began venturing outside the nest area.

DNREC staff from the Divisions of Fish and Wildlife and Parks and Recreation removed 800 feet of fencing Friday that had cordoned off the area around the nest to public encroachment. Though the first such closure for protection of piping plovers at Gordons Pond in seven years, the species has nested there on a number of occasions since its ESA listing in 1986. The protective fencing had extended to the high water mark on a portion of Cape Henlopen’s ocean beach while symbolic fencing – cautionary signage on fence posts tied off by twine – also was removed from the area as it reopened Friday to beachgoers and anglers.

Another stretch of beach at Cape Henlopen, The Point, is currently closed through Sept. 1 (Oct. 1 for The Point’s bayside beach), as it has been annually since 1993 for the benefit of threatened and endangered beach-nesting and migratory shorebird species to include red knots, piping plovers, American oystercatchers and least terns. The DNREC Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have worked together since 1990 on a management plan to help grow shorebird populations in Delaware – with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversight for protective measures on the shorebirds’ behalf.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

###

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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.