DuPont Nature Center to Reopen May 1

Visitors will be welcomed at the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve when it reopens for the season Saturday, May 1. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control facility will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is closed Mondays.

COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place, including an indoor visitor capacity of 15 individuals in addition to social distancing requirements. All visitors age kindergarten and above will be required to wear a face covering while in the center or enjoying the center’s deck.

In the spring, the center’s large deck overlooking the harbor offers wildlife watchers an unparalleled view of the spectacle of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including federally-listed threatened red knots that depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their 9,000-mile journey. More information on horseshoe crab and shorebird viewing can be found on the DuPont Nature Center website. Indoor freshwater and saltwater tanks allow a close-up look at a variety of aquatic species, from horseshoe crabs to diamondback terrapins.

The center also offers live views of nesting osprey and wildlife visiting the area through its osprey cam and Mispillion Harbor cam. The live cams can be viewed on the DuPont Nature Center website.

Managed by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, the DuPont Nature Center is located in the heart of Delaware’s Bayshore Region at 2992 Lighthouse Road, near Slaughter Beach, east of Milford. Admission to the center is free and open to the public. For general information about the center, please call 302-422-1329 or visit DuPont Nature Center. For inquiries about the center’s programs and operations, please email lynne.pusey@delaware.gov or call 302-422-1329.

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 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 65,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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CANCELLED: DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center’s Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival on May 19

ADVISORY: Expected inclement weather has caused cancellation of this year’s Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival which was to take place Saturday, May 19 at DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve near Milford.

SLAUGHTER BEACH – The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility, will host its ninth annual Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival, celebrating the spring arrival of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the center, located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, east of Milford, DE 19963, near Slaughter Beach. Admission is free. The festival will be held rain or shine, except in the case of severe weather or flooding.

Visitors will enjoy fun festivities and educational activities, with food available for purchase. Everyone attending also will receive an Estuary Eco-Challenge passport to be stamped as they participate in a series of Eco-Station activities. The Eco-Stations will provide visitors with opportunities to identify shorebirds, get close to live horseshoe crabs and other aquatic species, create a craft, learn about aquatic species that live in the Delaware Bay, and much more!

Visitors also will have great viewing opportunities from the center’s large deck to see the interaction between horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including federally-listed red knots, which depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their long journey from South America to their Arctic breeding grounds. DNREC’s Delaware Shorebird Project Team members will be on hand to identify the shorebirds along the shoreline surrounding the center.

Ample parking will be available at the Lacy E. Nichols Jr. Cedar Creek Boating Access Area, with a shuttle running to the center throughout the day.

Located on the edge of Mispillion Harbor at the intersection of the mouths of the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek, the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s DuPont Nature Center regularly offers a variety of interactive exhibits, school tours and weekly educational programs. To view upcoming educational programs, visit http://de.gov/dnc. Spring and summer hours from May 1 through Aug. 31 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information about the Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival, or about the DuPont Nature Center and its programs, please visit http://de.gov/dnc or call 302-422-1329.

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

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

Vol. 48, No. 119


New DNREC YouTube Channel video tells story of Mispillion Harbor Restoration

NEAR SLAUGHTER BEACH – A new video premiering on DNREC’s YouTube Channel offers a look at ongoing beach restoration work to restore and protect vital wildlife habitat along the shoreline at Mispillion Harbor on Delaware’s Bayshore east of Milford.

The video tells of crucial ecological work done to perpetuate an annual internationally-known Delaware spectacle that also is unique to North America. Every spring, Delaware’s central Bayshore, with the Mispillion Harbor as its epicenter, hosts thousands of migrating shorebirds – including the threatened red knot – stopping to refuel on their long journey to their Arctic breeding grounds. Their arrival coincides with another annual rite of spring: thousands of spawning horseshoe crabs coming ashore to lay their eggs on Bayshore beaches. These eggs serve provide the feast for the hungry shorebirds before continuing their flight.

Hurricane Sandy and other coastal storms have taken a toll on the beaches where these two species meet, eroding away critical habitat. To rebuild these beaches at Mispillion Harbor and to protect this area from future storm events, DNREC’s restoration work includes construction of a 1,700-foot-long stone dike to absorb erosive wave action and adding 30,000 cubic yards of sand to restore the beaches tucked behind it.

View “Mispillion Harbor Restoration” and other DNREC videos on DNREC’s YouTube Channel.


The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park to close for 2017 beachnesting season

LEWES  – 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 Wednesday, 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.

“We appreciate the public’s cooperation in this effort,” said Park Superintendent Paul Faircloth. “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.

Vol. 47, No. 44

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