Wellfleet Public Library

The Herring River Estuary in Wellfleet and Truro is home to a rich biological diversity, including salt marsh and freshwater wetland plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The last two decades have seen extensive studies of the ecology of the Herring River, including its physical features, hydrology, and the aquatic plants, fishes, turtles, and birds that live and breed there. Two hundred and thirty species of birds have been documented in the Herring River Estuary, including representatives of most North American bird families. Among them are some secretive and elusive marsh birds. The ongoing Herring River Restoration Project is projected to restore nearly 1,000 acres of highly productive salt marsh to an ecosystem degraded by the 1909-10 construction of the Chequessett Neck Dike. This talk focuses on the breeding birds of the estuary and the population changes that will come with the restoration of tidal flow into the estuary.