Birds of Ocracoke: The Savannah Sparrow
By Peter Vankevich
The Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) is one of the most common sparrows throughout much of North America, but on Ocracoke, it is only...
Islands off Portsmouth: Shadows of their former selves
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
Three of the islands off Portsmouth Island have seen better days.
Once large enough to support human presence, these days...
Birds of Ocracoke: the Great Horned Owl
N.C. Press Association first place award for spot photograph, 2017.
By Peter Vankevich
Editor's note: To read about the famous Snowy Owls that visited Ocracoke for...
Rare Trumpeter Swan spotted on Ocracoke
For an update on the Trumpeter Swan on Ocracoke, click here
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
Ocracoke has another rare avian visitor this winter,...
Sharks: a natural part of the marine ecosystem
By Connie Leinbach
While there are plenty of sharks in the waters off the coast of Ocracoke and in the Pamlico Sound, they aren’t out...
Red knots and horseshoe crabs: ancient connections, modern peril
By D. Creeksong
One flies to the ends of the earth each year; the other, hatched from an egg barely larger than a grain of...
The history of figs on Ocracoke
Originally published August 2011
By Gael Hawkins
August visitors to Ocracoke are privileged to experience an annual island tradition-the harvesting of Ocracoke figs. For the...
Spotted on Ocracoke: The Lion’s Mane
September 2010
Text and Photo by Peter Vankevich
Two years ago or so, I featured in this column the Cannonball Jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris) that had been...
Spotted: The ghosts of Ocracoke
An earlier version of this article appeared in the July 2008 Ocracoke Observer.
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
No, this is probably not one of...
Spotted on Ocracoke: The Great Black-backed Gull
Spotted on Ocracoke: The Great Black-backed Gull
April 2011
Text and Photo by Peter Vankevich
Most of the year –less so in late spring to midsummer-...