Part of a beach in a Delaware state park has been shut down to protect an endangered bird that has nested.
Eight hundred feet of beach at Gordons Pond in Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes is temporarily closed to the public after a piping plover nest was discovered in a sand dune, according to a Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control press release. The closure, which went into effect Monday, could last through August to protect the piping plover nest and any chicks that may hatch.
The DNREC will install protective fencing around the nest and cautionary signage on fence posts around the dune where the nest is located. The fenced area may be extended if the piping plover and its potential chicks move within the park.
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Because of the closure, surf fishing access will be limited, and driving through the area is prohibited. The discovery marks the first time since 2016 that a piping plover nest has been found at Gordons Pond.
A different stretch of oceanside beach at Cape Henlopen, named The Point, just north of Gordons Pond, is closed until Sept. 1 to benefit any threatened or endangered beach-nesting and migratory shorebirds. The bayside beach at The Point will remain closed until Oct. 1.
What is a piping plover?
The piping lover is one of 21 endangered birds on the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s endangered species list. They are small migratory birds that nest and feed along coastal areas, such as Delaware’s beaches, sandbars and small islands, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They are typically grayish brown in color and have white underparts. Their average lifespan is five to six years.
As for their food source, piping plovers will eat macroinvertebrates, such as insects, snails and crayfish.
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