DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife schedules training in Lewes for volunteer beachnesting bird monitors

LEWES (April 11, 2019) – Volunteers wanting to help protect Delaware’s beachnesting birds, including federally-listed threatened piping plovers, are invited to join DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife monitoring team at a training session to be held from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 4, at Cape Henlopen State Park’s Biden Environmental Training Center, 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes, DE 19958.

The training session will begin with a slideshow, followed by a discussion about the monitoring program and how volunteers can help ensure that beachnesting shorebirds are not disturbed while nesting and rearing their chicks. Light refreshments will be provided.

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 an important component in the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s conservation efforts. When stationed on the boundaries of the bird nesting areas, volunteers can explain to beachgoers the importance of closing these nesting areas to prevent human disturbance and to increase the nesting success of the birds.

Pre-registration for the training is encouraged, but volunteers also will be accepted at the door. Park entrance fees will be waived for volunteers attending the training. For more information on the training, beachnesting birds, or monitoring efforts, please visit piping plover or contact Henrietta Bellman at 302-735-3612 or Henrietta.Bellman@delaware.gov.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

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

Vol. 49, No. 91


DNREC announces the Point at Cape Henlopen to close March 1 for 2019 beachnesting season

LEWES – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation today announced that the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half mile along the bay shoreline, will close beginning Friday, March 1, for the benefit of threatened and endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds, including red knot, piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns, and other species.

The nesting habitat on the ocean side will reopen Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

DNREC’s Divisions of Parks & Recreation, Fish & Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have been working together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations. The Point has been closed annually since 1993.

For more information, contact Cape Henlopen State Park at 302-645-8983.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No. 42


DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation announces the Point at Cape Henlopen to reopen Sept. 1 following closure for beachnesting season

LEWES – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation today announced that the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half mile along the bay shoreline, will reopen beginning Saturday, Sept. 1. The Point was closed on March 1 for the benefit of threatened and endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds, including red knots, piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns, and other species.

The nesting habitat on the ocean side will reopen Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

DNREC’s Divisions of Parks & Recreation, Fish & Wildlife and Watershed Stewardship have been working together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations. The Point has been closed annually since 1993.

“We appreciate the public’s cooperation in this effort,” said Coastal Regional Administrator Pat Cooper. “DNREC is committed to providing protection for these species, hopefully to prevent them from disappearing in Delaware.”

For more information, contact Cape Henlopen State Park at 302-645-8983.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 236