DNREC discovers Dagsboro heronry

By Jonathan Starkey
Staff Reporter

More than two weeks ago — while standing on her back porch — a Dagsboro resident spotted a group of herons flying over the marshes behind her home. Across from Cripple Creek golf course, the marshland sits adjacent to the land marked for Centex Homes’ Seagrass Plantations — Dagsboro’s newest approved development.

Curious about the significance of the herons’ appearance in Sussex County’s wetlands, and concerned about a possible conflict between the wildlife and the new construction, that resident called officials at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

DNREC Zoologist Christopher Heckscher flew over the site last Friday and noticed something rare for this part of the state. Great blue herons had built 15 to 20 nests in the Dagsboro marsh. Only a heronry on Middle Island, west of Bethany Beach, rivals the Dagsboro finding in Delaware’s Inland Bay area, Heckscher said, and there are only about five other similarly sized heronries across the state.

“To have this many birds nesting in one spot, it’s pretty unique,” he said. “What we’re doing now is working with the developer to get voluntary measures in place.”

Herons’ nesting season starts in March and lasts through the middle of June, Heckscher said. He added he was worried that construction for the 208-single-family-home development would disturb the birds, perhaps tempting them to abandon the area and leaving their nests open to predation.

The U.S. Migratory Bird Act protects the nest themselves but doesn’t address disturbance surrounding the nests, the zoologist said. Only a Delaware 50-foot wetland buffer addresses the issue, Heckscher said.

With the buffer separating the marshland and the lot lines for the development, and a 25-foot setback from the lot-line to the buildings on each lot, there would be at least 75 feet from the buildings to the nests.

But Heckscher said the herons still may feel threatened. So without much legal muscle to back him up, Heckscher met with Centex Homes’ representatives on Friday to discuss possible voluntary actions they could take to minimize disturbance during the birds’ nesting season.

“We’re in, clearing the site, but we don’t plan to be directly adjacent to the heronry in this nesting season,” said Josh Mastrangelo, Centex’s Eastern Shore land planner. “I don’t think anything we do will be detrimental, and we plan to work around (the heronry).”

Mastrangelo said that Centex officials will be developing the 137 acres of land for the Seagrass Plantations until the middle of the summer, when home construction is scheduled to start.

Land and homes closest to the heronry will be developed and built last, he added, to help minimize disturbance. Also, walkways connecting the land to the marshes were removed from development plans.

And finally — in a move that pleased Heckscher — Centex officials vowed to leave trees standing in the 25-foot setback, essentially establishing another buffer between the development and the birds. Heckscher said that move will go a long way to help the herons feel more comfortable in their surroundings.

“We’re certainly not interested in disturbing a heron rookery,” Mastrangelo said. “It’s an amenity to the community.”

Heckscher said that having herons — predatory species’ which feed on small amphibians and fish — in the marshland is a sign of a healthy ecological environment. If left undisturbed, he added, they could continue to nest in the area for years or even decades.

Although Heckscher said that DNREC likely won’t study the birds, the heronry could be another incredible resource for environmentalists and bird-watchers in an area that is already a known home to eagles, owls and ospreys.

“With something like this, it’s worth our time to get involved,” Heckscher said. “I would consider this a fairly significant resource. It’s worthy of protection.”