DNREC is using new tactics to improve breeding success for endangered beach-nesting least terns.
The least terns are found each summer along many of the state’s bay and ocean beaches, but recently they have landed on the state endangered species list.
They’re commonly seen at Cape Henlopen State Park between May and August, and during the beach-nesting process they form small colonies above the high tide line where breeding pairs typically lay two eggs.
The problem is that it puts their nests at risk from predators and severe weather.
In order to improve their chances at surviving, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife and Division of Parks and Recreation created two nesting plots or enclosures for least terns at The Point in the state park.
Shaun Sullivan is beach-nesting bird biologist for the Division of Fish and Wildlife.
"So this year we've installed six-foot fencing with a two-foot predator fence, two plots along the ocean side of Cape in the closure area,” said Shaun Sullivan, beach-nesting bird biologist for the Division of Fish and Wildlife. “And it's going to cover about two-and-a-half acres, and this is going to prevent our land-based mammals, mainly red fox, from getting in and eating the eggs and the chicks."
In 2025, state biologists identified 53 nesting attempts, but no fledglings were known to survive from the colony at The Point with risks from summer heat, red foxes, coyotes and others impacting chick survival.
"Once they can start flying then the coyotes and the foxes are not a problem. So what we're trying to do with the fence is give a protected area for the terns to nest, so they can hatch safely, as well as an area where they can keep their chicks," said Sullivan.
Least terns are small, have slivery-gray back and wings, a yellow bill and black cap with a white triangle on their forehead.
