DELAWARE 



Delaware information was the nost incomplete of any of the 10 coastal 

 States due to inadequate published records (Table 34). 



Seabirds 



No records of herring gulls nesting in the State prior to 1976 were 

 found. Small numbers of herring gulls nesting on marsh islands (as in New 

 Jersey and Maryland) may have been overlooked. Nesting by laughing gulls also 

 was not recorded until 1976 (M. A. Byrd pers. comm.). Black skimmers have 

 decreased from a peak of 100-125 pairs in 1967 (W. Wayne pers. comm., DO) to 

 only 27 pairs at four sites in 1977. Three of the four locations are marsh 

 islands. The once large, traditional tern and skimmer colony at Cape Henlopen 

 State Park, used by skimmers during the 1960's, had been abandoned for several 

 years but was reoccupied in 1977. Common terns peaked in 1967 (AFN, DO) at 

 about 1,675 pairs at two colonies, but have declined in recent years. Most of 

 the 451 pairs in 1977 nested on marsh islands in Rehoboth Bay. Least tern 

 colonies persist at four locations along the oceanfront and the Cape Henlopen 

 colonies appear to be returning to former sizes of 150-170 pairs found in the 

 early 1970's (Downing 1973, Fisk 1974). Human intrusion and raccoon predation 

 probably have caused reductions in some years. In 1976, the largest least 

 tern colony ever found in the State (est. 400 pairs) was reported at Delaware 

 Beaches State Park (M. Barnhill pers. comm.). With adequate protection, the 

 terns and skimmers should be able to maintain present populations despite 

 coastal development. The Rehoboth Bay-Indian River estuary appears to have 

 high secondary productivity and in 1967, 1,300 pairs of terns and skimmers 

 nested at one dredge deposition island near the inlet. 



Wading Birds 



Most of the recent information on wader abundance is based upon J. 

 Wiese's observations at Pea Patch Island. 



Glossy ibises increased rapidly from 1964 to 1968, reached a peak in 

 1975, but declined sharply in 1976 and 1977 at Pea Patch Island (Wiese and 

 Smith-Kenneal ly 1977, Wiese pers. comm.). Great blue herons were the most 

 abundant wading bird in 1915 (Miller 1943) but numbers have decreased since 

 then while other species have increased. Their numbers appear to have stabi- 

 lized since 1975. Many still nest at two woodland sites but the Pea Patch 

 Island colony was nearly deserted in 1977 (Wiese and Smith-Kenneal ly 1977). 

 In 1977 great egret numbers increased at Pea Patch to 250 pairs (Stone 1937, 

 AFN, Wiese and Smith-Kenneal ly 1977) after a reduction from a peak of 600 

 pairs in 1974 to 175 pairs in 1975-76. Snowy egret populations have fluc- 

 tuated also, with a peak of 1,000 pairs in 1977 at Pea Patch Island (Wiese 

 pers. comm., Wiese and Smith-Kenneal ly 1977). Louisiana heron numbers appear 

 to be fairly stable. Cattle egrets have expanded in number to become the most 

 abundant wading bird in Delaware (Wiese and Smith-Kenneal ly 1977). Only two 

 pairs of green herons were found in 1977 but many others probably nest inland 

 and in small numbers along the coastal bays. Yellow-crowned night heron 

 numbers doubled from 1975 to 1976 at Pea Patch (Wiese and Smith-Kenneal ly 

 1977). 



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