LEWES, Del.- DNREC reported moderate nesting success for the endangered Piping Plover in 2022.
The Piping Plover saw 24 breeding pairs in 2022, compared to only six in all of the Delaware in 2016.
"We have seen annual increase of the number of breeding pairs," said Henrietta Bellman with DNREC. "We attribute this to the fact that there was an increase of nesting habitat. So these birds rely on sandy, unvegetated beaches."
Environmentalists say spring storms and predators like foxes caused a high chick loss. The new numbers are encouraging, but there's still a long way to go.
"Last year, We finally met the goal of two thousand breeding pairs along the Atlantic coast, which is great news.," said Bellman. "But it's just one year, so we know there's going to have be consistent management and continued management into the future to make sure that we can sustain the population we have now."
Piping Plovers need calm beaches to breed. Human activity often scares them away.