The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park reopens Sunday

The Point will be open for the first time since March. (Photo from DNREC)

A chunk of Cape Henlopen State Park , where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean in Lewes, will reopen Sunday.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced that “The Point” will be open to the public Sept. 1 after being closed off since March.

It’s an annual closure that’s happened since 1993 to protect threatened and endangered beach-nesters and migratory shorebirds.

Notably, those birds include piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns, red knots and others.

The Point has a rich history: for years, native people lived off the land’s abundant and rich resources.

In the late 17th Century, William Penn granted the land and allowed citizens to harvest some of those resources.

Its position led to the construction of Fort Miles during World War II with its fire control towers along the Atlantic coast which served as a federal defensive site, training area and testing location.

Closing The Point to visitors has allowed an area of undisturbed beach and intertidal habitat for birds to rest and feed after the breeding season.

This year, eight piping plover chicks successfully fledged from nests here, and at least 11 least tern chicks hatched.

Also, 24 species of shorebirds, 10 species of terns – including the federally threatened roseate tern – and seven species of gull are among the species observed at The Point.

The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.