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		The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey New Jersey Home Contact Places We Protect Field Trips & Events Press Releases Volunteer Ways of Giving

Delaware Bayshores Program Area

Places to Visit Bennett Bogs Preserve Cape Island Creek Preserve Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge Eldora Nature Preserve Gandy's Beach Preserve Goshen Ponds Preserve Green Creek Preserve Hand's Landing Preserve Indian Trail Swamp Preserve Lizard Tail Swamp Preserve Lummis Ponds Preserve Manumuskin River Preserve Maurice River Bluffs Preserve Menantico Creek Preserve Reeds Beach Preserve Seabreeze Preserve Sunray Beach Preserve Willow Grove Lake Preserve Learn more about this project in the online Field Guide. Delaware Bayshores (QuickTime, 2.9 MB) Download our fact sheet (.pdf, 446 KB)

Back pond and marsh, Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge
© Harold Malde

Spanning two states, the Delaware Bayshores is a relatively intact natural area acknowledged as one of the Earth’s most important stopovers for migratory birds. The Bayshores’ beaches, wetlands, and forests provide vital feeding and resting grounds for songbirds and shorebirds on their northern migration. In the fall, raptors and other resident birds as well as a host of other threatened and endangered plants and animals find refuge here.

Each spring, a natural phenomenon that has been repeated for millennia occurs, when countless horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn. Migratory birds that travel up to 9,000 miles on the Atlantic Flyway feed on the eggs of these ancient animals. For many birds, the Bayshores’ beaches and marshes are the only stop on an annual odyssey from their winter feeding grounds in South America to Arctic breeding sites. Preserving the health and quality of this key stopover for migratory birds has global conservation implications.

The Progress: Lasting Results
In the Bayshores, the Conservancy has safeguarded nearly 12,300 acres at 18 nature preserves. These special places include the 850-acre Lizard Tail Swamp Preserve, comprising forests and wetlands; Maurice River Bluffs Preserve, more than 534 acres of resting and feeding grounds for raptors and other migratory birds; and Gandy’s Beach Preserve, more than 2,550 acres of beaches, marshes, and forests that provide nesting and feeding grounds for migratory birds.

The Partnerships: How We Work
The Conservancy protects places where plants, animals, and natural communities can survive for generations to come. We use science to identify and preserve ecoregions—large geographic areas of land and water defined by climate, vegetation, geology, and other natural patterns. Conservation by Design, a systematic, science-based strategy, helps us identify and preserve the most critical areas for long-term protection of the plants, animals, and natural communities in the Bayshores.

We use creative conservation strategies that achieve lasting results by finding common ground with local communities. We balance human and ecological needs. We acquire land. We work with conservation minded-landowners. We forge creative partnerships and collaborate with public and private groups to protect natural areas for future generations. Through community outreach, we educate and engage local residents about our conservation. We hold year-round workshops, field trips, and educational programs for local school groups.

Using our science-based conservation as well as our creative partnerships and strategies, we’re addressing threats to the Delaware Bayshores’ natural heritage—loss of habitat, invasive species, and human disturbance. We use science to assess shorebirds, conduct horseshoe crab counts, and monitor the health of other plants, animals and natural communities. We also partner with state and local agencies, the agricultural community, and corporations to protect this special place.