Photography Kevin Fleming on 12 May 2008 05:47 pm
storm damage
Last night and today has been difficult for much of Delaware’s wildlife. There has been so much coastal flooding along the inland bays and ocean that birds like gulls and terns that nest on the ground have had their nests destroyed. Other animals like fox and groundhogs that have underground dens have suffered from the flooding as well. No doubt, the strong winds have destroyed tree nests of many other birds.
on 12 May 2008 at 9:33 pm 1.Beth Isaacs said …
The Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” teaches that extremes of all kinds of weather — not just unusual warming — become routine when we overload Mother Earth with carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
Thanks, Kevin, for reminding us of Nature’s fragility right at our back doors.
on 14 May 2008 at 6:30 am 2.Ed Lewandowski said …
Much of the storm’s impacts to our Inland Bays estuary often go unnoticed. From April through August, birds like gulls, terns and skimmers are nesting in our saltmarshes. These birds literally live on the edge-the edge of the water and the edge of the land. Because they place their nests just above the high tide line, they are subject to washout. Storms like the one we experienced Monday deliver flood tides, high winds, rain and erosion that may wipe out entire nesting colonies. And, as sea level rises, these birds will be under additional pressures to find suitable nesting habitat. Protecting our wetland resources is critical to mitigating storm impacts as well as sustaining a healthy population of colonial nesting birds in our Inland Bays.