Bayside Beach to Remain Closed for Shorebird Migration Through Oct. 1

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will reopen The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half-mile along the bay shoreline on Thursday, Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

The area to reopen includes a stretch of ocean beach and dunes that was previously closed on March 1. Since 1993, The Point has closed annually each March for the benefit of threatened and endangered beach-nesters and migratory shorebirds, including red knot, piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns and other species.

The DNREC Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have worked together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beach-nester and migratory shorebird populations.

For more information, contact Cape Henlopen State Park at 302-645-8983, or stop by the park office.

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. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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

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Horseshoe crabs line the shore spawning along the Delaware Bay. DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor is one of the best places to observe this wonder of nature. DNREC photo

Horseshoe Crab Management Effectively Supports Red Knot Population

While this year’s spring shorebird migration has ended in Delaware, with the shorebirds embarking for their Arctic nesting grounds fueled for their journey after consuming abundant horseshoe crab eggs, the horseshoe crabs continue to spawn along the shores of Delaware Bay. The annual spring phenomenon of nature features the ecological relationship between migrating shorebirds that feast on horseshoe crab eggs to help sustain their long-distance migration from their wintering grounds as far away as southern South America to their nesting grounds in the Arctic – a one-way trip that can span more than 9,000 miles for some shorebird species.

Shorebirds more than double their body weight during their brief stopover each spring along Delaware Bay, feasting on the abundant supply of horseshoe crab eggs from an increasing horseshoe crab population managed under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) framework. The ARM framework is an ecosystem-based approach that uses the best-available science to manage the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population to ensure enough eggs to support the migratory red knot population during their annual spring stopover. Under ARM management, the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population has steadily increased over the last decade to an estimated 31.3 million crabs, comprising 21.9 million males and 9.4 million females. More information on the ASMFC ARM can be found at asmfc.org.

Delaware allows a limited harvest of 162,136 only male horseshoe crabs – representing less than 1% of the scientifically-estimated total Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population, with the harvested crabs used as bait for Delaware’s commercial conch fishery. Horseshoe crab harvest in the state is not allowed until June 8 after migrating shorebirds have left to avoid disturbing the birds during their stopover. Delaware does not have a horseshoe crab biomedical collection fishery that exists in other states, including New Jersey.

The red knot is listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act and as an endangered species by the State of Delaware. The estimated red knot population that stops and feeds each spring along Delaware Bay has remained steady over the previous 10 years, at approximately 40,000 to 50,000 birds annually as reported in the Red Knot Stopover Population Estimate for 2021 produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The USGS stopover population estimate is based on extensive, scientific red knot surveys. Numerous factors affect the red knot population in addition to horseshoe crab egg availability, including habitat loss, human disturbance, predator dynamics and climate change at wintering, migration and nesting areas. More information on shorebird research and monitoring, including the U.S. Geological Survey red knot stopover population report, is available at https://de.gov/shorebirds.

The DuPont Nature Center managed by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife located near Slaughter Beach provides great views from the center’s large deck overlooking the Mispillion Harbor of a variety of wildlife, including seasonally spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including the red knot. More information is available from the DuPont Nature Center at de.gov/dnc, where the center’s Mispillion Harbor Cam can be accessed for live views of wildlife visiting the area.

For more information on horseshoe crabs, contact the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Fisheries section at 302-739-9914. For more information on shorebirds, including red knot, contact the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife section at 302-739-9912.

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 68,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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

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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LEWES (Aug. 29, 2019) – The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park will reopen today, August 29, DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation announced. The area to reopen includes a stretch of ocean beach and dunes that was previously closed on March 1 to benefit more than 30 species of shorebirds including up to 11 species of terns, six species of gulls, the brown pelican, and the double-crested cormorant as well as threatened and endangered species such as red knots, piping plovers, least terns, oystercatchers, and others.

Piping plovers, least terns and oystercatchers nest on the upper portion of the beach between the high tide line and the toe of the dunes and on large flat areas known as “washover flats” created by storm waves. The flat areas with no or little vegetation are attractive to these species because they provide direct access to the bay where waves are smaller, and feeding is easier.

Oystercatchers use their long bills to probe into the substrate and feed on bivalve mollusks and invertebrates. Piping plovers east small invertebrates like worms, mollusks and crustaceans gleaned from the surface of wet sand of mud. Various breeds of terns exclusively feed on the fish caught by diving into the water. Other migratory birds feed on invertebrates and by overturning rocks, shells, and debris to catch creatures seeking shelter underneath.

The bayside closure remains in effect until October 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter. Piping plovers migrate to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States; least terns migrate to coastal areas of South America and Central America; oystercatchers typically migrate to the Florida coast and Gulf of Mexico.

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 and is the only undisturbed beach habitat along the Atlantic coast of Delaware.

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

SLAUGHTER BEACH – The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility, will host its 10th annual Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival from noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 18, to celebrate the spring arrival of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds. The center is located near Slaughter Beach at 2992 Lighthouse Road, Milford, DE 19963. Admission is free. The festival will be held rain or shine, except in the case of severe weather or coastal flooding.

Visitors will enjoy fun festivities and educational activities, with food available for purchase. Youth and families attending the festival 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 will have great viewing opportunities from the center’s large deck to see the interaction between horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including federally-listed threatened red knots, which depend on horseshoe crab eggs as food 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 for the Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival will be available at the nearby Lacy E. Nichols Jr. Cedar Creek Boating Access Area located on Lighthouse Road, with a shuttle running to and from 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 DNREC 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 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 de.gov/dnc or call 302-422-1329.

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

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

Vol. 49, No. 120

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