Delaware’s Piping Plover Population Experiences Slight Increase but Diminished Breeding Success

A 2025 Delaware piping plover fledgling, nicknamed Phantom, on the beach next to a ruddy turnstone. /Delaware DNREC photo: Liz Turner

Beach-nesting piping plovers - a federally-listed threatened species and Delaware state-listed endangered species - experienced mixed results in Delaware in 2025. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reported an increase in adult pair numbers, but nesting success faltered, largely due to predation and unfavorable climate conditions.

At The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, biologists with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife recorded nine pairs of nesting piping plovers - a record high for the site since intensive monitoring began. Counting 21 nesting pairs documented at Fowler Beach on Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, a total of 30 nesting piping plover pairs were recorded within the state, partially driven by the birds' use of beach-nesting habitat at The Point.

Pair counts in Delaware had steadily increased since 2016, when Fowler Beach was restored after impacts from Hurricane Sandy. The pair count stabilized at 24 in 2021 and 2022 but rose to 31 in 2023 before declining to 24 in 2024.

"We also saw breeding adults that had high success in 2024 returning to Delaware this spring, as well as some new birds, and some second and third year birds making their first known breeding attempt near their birth sites," said Katherine "Kat" Christie, DNREC coastal waterbird biologist and leader of the Delaware Shorebird Project.

However, she said, piping plovers faced many challenges across their breeding territories in Delaware this year. Predation by owls at Fowler Beach, Delaware's most densely-packed piping plover breeding area - in addition to the ever-present threat from red foxes, coyotes, ghost crabs, and other predators, posed a significant hazard. Christie noted that there were adult mortalities and also evidence of attempted predation, as occurred with the rehabilitated plover 'Nomad.' Weather conditions also posed challenges to the birds, with excessive heat in late June potentially contributing to chick and nest loss during a critical and vulnerable period for the breeding birds.

The piping plover recovery in Delaware relies on partnerships between the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services.

"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."

Individual identifiers allow biologists to understand the movement of birds to and from Delaware breeding sites, to see how the state's piping plover population fits into the region - these also enable DNREC and USFWS biologists to definitively identify broods and count fledglings. Statewide, Delaware's piping plovers produced fewer fledglings than in 2024, with 27 chicks raised to fledging, or flying age (25 days old), compared to 41 a year ago. No piping plover pairs attempted to nest at historically active breeding habitat at Gordon's Pond on Cape Henlopen this year or last, the last attempt in 2023 when a pair tried but ultimately failed to breed there.

Productivity - calculated as fledglings per breeding pair - was 1.0 in 2025, which fits with typical productivity values from 2021-2023 (0.8-1.4), but is lower than 2024 (1.71 fledglings per pair) and the record highs observed from 2018-2020. While Delaware's 1.0 fledglings per pair productivity value does not meet the recovery goal metric of 1.5 fledglings per pair established in 1996 by USFWS as part of the piping plover recovery plan, it does exceed preliminary productivity values reported in many nearby states.

Delaware's nesting productivity has only met this goal once since 2020, though pair numbers have fluctuated during that time and have increased since pre-2020 pair counts.

Beach-nesting bird species update

• American oystercatchers: Two pairs nested at The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, two pairs at Delaware Seashore State Park, and one pair at Fowler Beach. However, while several nest attempts successfully hatched, no American oystercatcher chicks fledged on monitored beaches in 2025. Marsh-nesting American oystercatchers did experience some fledging success, with the six detected pairs producing five fledglings total across several islands in Indian River and Rehoboth Bays.

• Least terns: The species bred at The Point again this year, with 53 nesting attempts identified. Breeding populations of least terns at The Point are known to fluctuate annually, with no breeding at all in 2023 and a smaller breeding colony with 16 nest attempts identified in 2024. Biologists were able to confirm many hatched least tern nests, though no fledging was confirmed from the colony at The Point, as risks from heat, red foxes, coyotes, and other wildlife likely impacted chick survival.Least tern colonies at Fowler Beach, similar to piping plovers there, had lower breeding success but higher pair counts than in 2024, with 92 incubating adults observed this year. At least 42 fledglings were confirmed, though more may have fledged and left the site early at after a red fox incursion into the fenced nesting area there.

Nesting areas at The Point and Fowler Beach remain closed through Oct. 1 to provide an undisturbed foraging area for southbound migrant shorebirds, including many fledglings making their way out of their natal grounds for the first time. During regular surveys, biologists have observed adults and fledgling piping plovers, American oystercatchers, royal terns, ruddy turnstone, sanderling, semipalmated plovers, black-bellied plovers, lesser black-backed gulls, and more utilizing this critical stretch of beach on the Delaware Bay. More information is available at de.gov/beachnesters or by emailing [email protected].

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state's natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware's fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on more than 68,000 acres of public land. The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo and Indian River Marina. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, [email protected]; Nikki Lavoie, [email protected]

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