Share: 

DuPont Nature Center to host Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crabs fest May 18

Admission to the fest is free
May 10, 2013

The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Division of Fish and Wildlife facility, will host Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crabs, its fourth-annual festival celebrating the spring spectacle of migrating shorebirds and spawning horseshoe crabs, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 18 at the center. Admission is free.

The festivities will feature children’s games, live music, crafts and vendors, food and a variety of fun and educational activities for everyone. For the kids, a series of Estuary Eco-Challenge stations will be set up on the grounds, with topics including Birding 101; Birds with Bracelets (shorebird banding); Sensation Station (a live-touch tank); Horseshoe Crab Part Smarts; Blue Blood, Great Bait, & Other Gifts Horseshoe Crabs Give to Man; Fins, Scales & Fish Tales; and Plastic Voyages, about how trash in the water and along our beaches can harm aquatic species.

Visitors also will have great viewing opportunities from the center’s large deck to check out migrating shorebirds including the Red Knot, which depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their 9,000-mile journey from South America to their Arctic breeding grounds. Delaware Shorebird Project Team members will be on hand to identify the array of wildlife along the shorelines surrounding the center, including shorebirds.

Parking will be available at the public boat ramp, with shuttles running to the center throughout the day. The festival will be held rain or shine.

Perched on the edge of Mispillion Harbor at the intersection of the mouths of the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek, the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s DuPont Nature Center regularly offers a variety of interactive exhibits, school tours and educational programs. The center is located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, east of Milford. From May 1 through Aug. 31, the center’s regular hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information about “Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crabs,” or about the DuPont Nature Center and its programs, call 302-422-1329. Also go to www.dupontnaturecenter.org.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter