By Peter Vankevich Ocracoke is a pretty good island to see a family of wading birds known as herons, egrets and bitterns. Twelve species are possible, though two are rare; the Reddish […]
Birds of Ocracoke: The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Spotted on Ocracoke: A Great Horned Owl
By Peter Vankevich Editor’s note: To read about the famous Snowy Owls that visited Ocracoke for an extended time during the winter of 2014, click here and here. For a narrow barrier […]
Birds of Ocracoke: The Prairie Warbler
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich For those not that familiar with the birds of the Outer Banks or know that there are many species that poorly named, one may think that […]
Spotted on Ocracoke: A Razorbill
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich Ocracoke gets unusual visitors throughout the year and some of them have wings. The Observer was alerted of one from the subarctic when Muskie Cates of […]
How an albatross got to Portsmouth Island
For Ocracoke news, click here. By Peter Vankevich Visitors to Portsmouth Island may notice a photograph in the school exhibit of a teacher and two students with a large seabird. It is […]
Birds of Ocracoke: The Northern Gannet
To see more profiles in the Birds of Ocracoke series, click here Morus bassanus By Peter Vankevich If one were to choose a bird that represents the character of Ocracoke–tough, resilient, thrives […]
Birds of Ocracoke: The Red-breasted Nuthatch, an irruptive little fella
To see more profiles in the Birds of Ocracoke series, click here Sitta canadensis By Peter Vankevich Starting in the early fall and into the early spring, on Ocracoke you may hear […]
Young birders join in local Christmas Bird Counts
For Ocracoke news, click here By Connie Leinbach Jack Rogers, a high-school student from South Carolina, loves bird watching for the simple thrill of seeing something he’s never seen before. Rogers, 16, […]
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 sand, never willingly travels outside the waters […]
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 they are barely noticeable as you […]
