Volunteers wanting to help protect Delaware’s endangered piping plovers and other beachnesting birds are invited to join DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife monitoring team and attend a training session held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 5, at Cape Henlopen State Park’s Biden Environmental Training Center, at 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes 19958.
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 on the boundaries of the nesting areas, volunteers can help explain to passersby the importance of closing these areas for breeding birds to prevent human disturbance,” said Joe Rogerson, program manager for Species Conservation and Research, Division of Fish & Wildlife. “Volunteers who help us cover these areas can give beachgoers a better understanding of how humans can make a difference in the breeding success of beachnesting 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 contact Audrey DeRose-Wilson at 302-735-8667 or Audrey.DeRose-Wilson@state.de.us.
* Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.