Training Set Saturday, May 4 at Cape Henlopen State Park for Helping to Protect State’s Endangered and Threatened Birds
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is seeking volunteers who want to help protect Delaware’s beach-nesting birds – which include federally-listed threatened piping plovers and state-listed endangered American oystercatchers and others. Potential volunteers are invited to join a training session held by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 4 at Cape Henlopen State Park’s Officers Club Mess Hall located on Queens Road in Lewes.
Volunteers who serve as monitors play an important and valuable role in the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s conservation efforts for beach-nesting birds. Stationed on the boundaries of the nesting areas, volunteers explain to beachgoers the importance of closing sections of the beach to prevent human disturbance, thus helping increase the nesting success of the birds.
The volunteer training session will begin with light refreshments and a slideshow presentation, followed by discussion about the beach-nesting bird monitoring program and how volunteers can help to ensure that these shorebirds are not disturbed while nesting and rearing chicks during the summer months. Weather and time permitting, the group will finish the training 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. Binoculars will be available for use, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own optics if they have them.
The Division of Fish and Wildlife encourages volunteers to submit an interest form prior to the training, but volunteer walk-ups can also receive training to become beach-nesting bird monitors. Park entrance fees will be waived for volunteers attending the training at Cape Henlopen State Park. For more information on the training, about beach-nesting birds, or about volunteer monitoring efforts, visit de.gov/pipingplovers or email DNREC Coastal Waterbird Biologist Katherine Christie at deshorebirds@delaware.gov.