Shorebird Stewards
Helping to protect shorebirds on the Delaware Bay
By Larissa Smith, Assistant Biologist
One part of my job that is quite enjoyable is getting to spend time on the Delaware Bay beaches in the spring and working with the Shorebird Stewards. As the CWF volunteer manager I organize the Shorebird Steward program which is part of the International Shorebird Project. During the two week period that stewards are on the beaches I try to get out and check on the beaches and meet with the stewards as much as possible. This season there were 26 stewards and 23 of those had worked as stewards during a previous season.
The main part of the steward’s job is to educate people about the shorebirds and horseshoe crabs, but they do a lot more than that in a day. Stewards also keep people from going into the closed areas of the beaches so that the shorebirds can feed undisturbed. They give directions and send people to the beaches where the most birds have been sighted that day.
- Shorebird Steward Rochelle Gimmillaro points out shorebirds to visitors to Cook’s beach.
If they have time they also count the number of shorebirds on the beaches and if possible record any banded birds that they see. Stewards deal with all types of people and situations. Some beaches are much busier than others, such as Reed’s beach where there is a viewing platform. On many days there is a constant stream of people coming to the view the shorebirds and horseshoe crabs.
This season there were very few problems on the beaches and it is directly due to the shorebird stewards hard work and dedication to the project.
I look forward to getting back on the beaches next shorebird season and working with such a great group of volunteers.