DELAWARE - There is a little bit of good news and a little bit of bad news to report on the Delaware Piping Plover population. According to the DNREC the Piping Plover, which is considered a federally-threatened and state-endangered species, saw a drop in adult pairs but an increase in nesting success in 2024.
This year, DNREC recorded seven pairs of piping plovers nesting at Cape Henlopen State Park and 17 at Fowler Beach, that's down from 31 pairs in 2023. However 41 chicks reached fledging age, that's up from just 29 the previous year.
Katherine Christie, a DNREC Coastal Waterbird biologist, credited partnerships with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies for helping understand the birds' population changes.
“Partners are working together to better understand the drivers of population change and behavior, such as a study investigating piping plover chick and fledgling movement,” Christie said. “Trained biologists fit each plover with a unique combination of plastic leg bands allowing them to be identified using a spotting scope or binoculars.”
Delaware's 2024 nest productivity of 1.71 fledglings per pair surpassed the recovery goal set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.