Beach-nesting bird monitor volunteer training set May 6

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is seeking volunteers to help protect Delaware’s beach-nesting birds, which include federally listed threatened piping plovers and state-listed endangered American oystercatchers.

Potential volunteers are invited to join a training session held by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 6, at the Cape Henlopen State Park Officer’s Club.

Volunteers who act as monitors are an important and valued component of the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s conservation efforts for beach-nesting bird species. Stationed on the boundaries of the nesting areas, volunteers explain to visitors the importance of closing certain beach sections to prevent human disturbance, thus helping increase the birds’ nesting success.

The May 6 volunteer training session will begin with light refreshments and a slideshow presentation, followed by a discussion about the beach-nesting bird monitoring program and how volunteers can help ensure that these shorebirds are not disturbed while nesting and rearing their chicks during the summer months. Weather permitting, the group will finish the training session by walking 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.

Preregistration for the training is encouraged, 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. For more information on the training, beach-nesting birds or volunteer monitoring efforts, go to de.gov/pipingplovers or email Samantha Robinson, DNREC avian conservation program manager, at deshorebirds@delaware.gov.