LEWES, Del — A federally threatened piping plover known as “Nomad” is back in the wild thanks to a multi-agency rescue and rehabilitation effort led by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists.
The adult male piping plover—banded with the identifier Green 6YP at Assateague Island National Seashore in 2023—had been nesting at Fowler Beach in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge since 2024. But on June 30, biologists observed Nomad unable to fly or walk. They said the bird was alert and without visible injuries, but believed it suffered muscle trauma, possibly from prolonged pursuit by a predator.
Wildlife teams at Prime Hook captured Nomad by hand and transported him to Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research in Newark, where he received veterinary care. According to DNREC within a week, Nomad showed strong signs of recovery and was deemed fit for release.
DNREC officials said, rather than return the plover to Fowler Beach—where predator pressure is currently higher—biologists chose to release him at The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, one of Delaware’s two active piping plover breeding areas and a site Nomad has frequented in recent years.
Since his release, DNREC states that Nomad has been observed foraging and behaving normally, a positive sign for his continued recovery.
“Every individual matters for this vulnerable species, and the major effort between partners to return this bird to the breeding population was an excellent example of collaboration in conservation,” said Kat Christie, DNREC’s Coastal Waterbird Biologist.
According to DNREC. piping plovers are federally listed as threatened, endangered in Delaware, and identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Fowler Beach and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge host the state’s largest nesting population, serving as a vital source of plovers for neighboring states like New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina—areas where the species has experienced significant decline.