Dolphins valiant efforts fall short in Holiday Scholarship Tournament; Camden girl awarded scholarship

December 19, 2017

For Ocracoke news, click here

By Richard Taylor

The addition of a scholarship added a deeper dimension to the 7th Annual Holiday Basketball Scholarship Tournament over the weekend that the First Flight Nighthawks won in both the boys and girls matches.

Cailey Byrum of the Camden County Bruins captured the $2,000 prize.

The Ocracoke School Boosters and SmacNally’s Restaurant each donated $1,000 for which each of the eight teams selected one senior to compete. To be eligible, each athlete had to have a 3.1 unweighted GPA, write an essay on a topic selected by the scholarship committee, submit a resume and two letters of recommendation, play in the tournament and interview with the scholarship committee Friday afternoon.

In her essay, Byrum wrote about her extra-curricular school activities.

“I have really big aspirations for myself,” she said after her win. “So I think that played a part in my drive for writing my essay and creating my portfolio. I’m very proud of myself.”

Byrum said she plans to major in psychology at East Carolina next fall, studying to become a child-life and pediatric oncology specialist.

Lupita Martinez (11) tips off against Lilly Cartwright Camden of Camden County. Photo by Casey Robertson

“She works very hard; she does homework between games; she does volunteer work,” said Lisa Byrum, Cailey’s mother. “I can’t ask for a better daughter. I’m so excited she won.”

Cailey’s father, Gene Byrum, was equally proud of his daughter’s accomplishments.

“She’s amazing,” he said. “She does much better than I could ever do.”

Ingrid Contreras and Liam Caswell were nominated for Ocracoke.

“The scholarship committee was blown away by the athletic talent, academic achievement, community involvement and personal dedication of these young men and women,” said Ocracoke School Assistant Principal Mary McKnight in announcing the recipient Saturday afternoon.

Dolphins Coach David Allewalt had said in a prior interview that tournament organizers earlier this year added the scholarship to emphasize that academics are as important as sports achievements.

This was the Byrum family’s first trip to Ocracoke.

“It’s like a Hallmark movie,” Lisa said about the island. “It’s so beautiful. Everybody was so wonderful. It takes you back and it lets you get away from time.”

In game action, the Ocracoke teams managed only one win, but easily won the hearts and respect of locals and visitors alike with their drive, enthusiasm and sportsmanship over the four-game contest.

Friday evening, the Lady Dolphins lost to the Gateway Christian Crusaders (4-8) from Virginia Beach 70-21. Ingrid Contreras led the team with 7 points, followed by Taylor Fuller with 6 and Hannah Belch with 3. Vanessa Lora and Iris Trejo each scored 2 points, followed by Lupita Martinez with 1. Stats for Gateway were unavailable.

The girls First Flight Nighthawks (5-4) defeated Camden County (2-8) 37-21 in the first round and won the tournament on Saturday beating Gateway 58-31. The boys First Flight team (8-1) beat the Camden County Bruins 80-65 in the first round going on to win the tournament Saturday with their victory over Ocracoke.

The Dolphins boys won Friday’s nightcap 58-31 over Gateway (4-8). Both teams started slow concluding the first quarter in a 6-6 tie. The Dolphins began to heat up in the second, ending the first half with a 23-14 lead and outscored the Crusaders 37-17 in the second half.

Junior Colby Austin led the Dolphins with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Liam Caswell scored 11 points, Kalai Samick and Mason Fuller had 10 each, Cole Gilbert and Sam Evans had 4 each, Darvin Contreras scored 3 and Perry Austin had 1. The Dolphins shot 49 percent from the floor with six 3-pointers.

In Saturday morning’s consolation game, the Dolphins girls lost to the Camden County Bruins, 53-30. Ingrid Contreras scored 15 points, followed by Vanessa Lora, 11 and Taylor Fuller, 4. Hannah Ferebee was high scorer for the Bruins with 12 points.

In the afternoon championship game, poor 3-point shooting and erratic defense doomed the Dolphin boys against 2A powerhouse the First Flight Nighthawks of Kitty Hawk, who won 86-54. Ocracoke is in the lower 1A Atlantic Six conference.

It seemed like First Flight point guard Dylan Blake could not miss from beyond the arch, as the superstar nailed four 3-pointers, three in the first half. Even though they showed valiant hustle and drive, the Dolphins could not keep pace with the Nighthawks’ larger, more experienced team, especially from 3-point land and from under the basket.

First Flight scored 42 points from beyond the arch; the Dolphins had 24 in eight out of 21 attempts. Blake, just a sophomore, was their high scorer with 23 points and picked up tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors.

The Nighthawks are 8-1 and their only loss this season was to undefeated Division 3-A Northside-Jacksonville.

Both First Flight teams carried winning trophies home to Kitty Hawk, as the Lady Nighthawks beat Gateway 58-31 in the girl’s championship. Lady Dolphin Ingrid Contreras made the all-tournament team.

Perry Austin battles for rebound in Dolphins championship loss to First Flight. Photo by Richard Taylor

Senior Liam Caswell led the Dolphins in scoring in the championship game with 28 points. Darvin Contreras, Reese Gaskins and Mason Fuller each had 5, and Colby Austin had 3 points.

Despite game losses, Allewalt said it was a good tournament.

“They (the Nighthawks) scored 27 points off 25 rebounds,” he said about the final game. “You can’t have that.”

Allewalt said the team missed Kalai Samick, who was out for the last game with a bum knee and is the second leading scorer after Caswell.

WOVV radio play-by-play announcer Bill Cole said the Lady Dolphins are a work-in-progress.

“A lot of the players are new to the team this year and new to a higher level of competition,” he said, “but they keep fighting and they keep working hard. We’ll look to see them improve, which is what you want from high school athletes.”

As for the Dolphins, Cole said they had some shining but also some sloppy moments in the final game.

“But they never quit and they never gave up,” Cole said. “They fought to get in this one. I look for a lot of big things out of that team this year. They are not going to play a (Division 2) team like First Flight from outside our conference week-in and week-out.”

The Dolphin boys next play in the Perquimans Holiday Tournament against the Currituck County Knights in Barco at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec 28.

The Lady Dolphins will take on the Pamlico County Hurricanes (Bayboro) in the Crystal Coast Christmas Classic Tournament in Morehead City at 4 p.m. Dec 21.

Camden’s Brock Colson (5) drives. Photo by Casey Robertson

The victorious First Flight Nighthawks team. Photo: C. Leinbach

Perry Austin, right, shoots for Ocracoke. Tournament MVP Dylan Blake, no. 4 for First Flight, is center. Darvin Contreras is second from right. Photo: C. Leinbach

O’Neals sweep Island Celebration honors

December 18, 2017

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Best of Show winner in this year’s Island Celebration is the home of Bobby and Allison O’Neal.

For Ocracoke news, click here.

Text and photos by Richard Taylor

Saturday night was a good night if your name was O’Neal.

Three of the five winners of the annual Island Celebration, sponsored by the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association, were O’Neals.

The event honors light displays on businesses and homes, and Lighthouse Road is living up to its image with 17 homes having at least some outdoor decorative lighting and two of the winners.

Heather and Fletcher O’Neal’s crab pot Christmas tree on Lighthouse Road nabs the Most Original distinction.

Most Original was Fletcher and Heather O’Neal’s home at 344 Lighthouse Rd., with its stacked crab pot Christmas tree, surrounded by large, colorful inflated presents and a snowman holding a duck by the legs. Local duck hunters and oyster farmers, the O’Neals crafted their display around their trade.

“I’m surprised and most appreciative of this honor,” said Heather, a teacher’s assistant at Ocracoke School, adding that crab pot Christmas trees can often be seen along the N.C. coast.

Best Theme went to Fletcher’s parents, David and Kathy O’Neal, just down the road at 214 Lighthouse Rd., for their “Seaside Wishes and Candy Cane Kisses” nautical motif.

It features flying snow geese pulling red streamers harnessed to Santa’s sleigh — actually a small, decorated fishing skiff loaded with presents — on the porch. Wreaths, ribbons on side windows, candles, large red “JOY” letters, plus a lighted bear and boat anchor in the yard complete the compelling display.

Most Traditional honors went to Chip and Helena Stevens’ historic 1887 Wahab House at Irvin Garrish Highway and Nubbins Ridge for its display of lighted balconies, light-draped shrubbery, lighted deer and presents in the yard and seasonal décor inside.

Eduardo’s Taco Stand, next to the Variety Store, got the Best Business nod for its riot of colorful lights draped all over this food-truck style business.

Best of Show went to Bobby and Allison O’Neal on O’Neal Lane in Oyster Creek for their extensively decorated house, stairs and garage, featuring lighted Christmas mice on posts singing carols. Bobby works for Tideland EMC.

The Beech home, across from the post office, was runner-up.

After dark, Kathryn Waldrop, OCBA administrative assistant, chauffeured three judges around the village to view various displays and select winners.

After the judges made their decision, Waldrop placed award signs in the winners’ yards.

The Wahab House, at Irvin Garrish Hwy and Nubbins Ridge, owned by Chip and Helena Stevens, receives Most Traditional honors.

“We had lots of lights and good displays,” Waldrop said as she prepared to place the last sign. “This year more homes were lit up than last year, more people participated, but some displays were less bold.”

Teresa and Albert O’Neal, who have conducted the contest for the last several years, took a break this year but expect to return to this duty next year.

Judges were winter residents Vinnie and Maureen Ciancio of Buffalo and Juan Galvis of Durham, a regular fisherman who “comes and goes.”

All of the judges own homes here, but none are full-time residents.

Waldrop said she did not knock on doors to alert the winners.

“It’s kind of a surprise they could see when they woke up Sunday,” she said.

Best Theme goes to the home of David and Kathy O’Neal on Lighthouse Road.

Ocracoke events week of Dec. 18 to 25

December 18, 2017

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Members of the Ocracoke Waterways Commission at their November meeting hear a presentation about Hatteras Inlet by Dave Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The commission meets today (Monday, Dec. 18) at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Center. Photo: C. Leinbach

For Ocracoke news, click here.

Updated Dec. 19, 2017

Monday, Dec. 18
Ocracoke Waterways Commission, Community Center, 5:30 pm (To read about last month’s meeting, click here.)
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Aaron Caswell & Jackie Willis, 8 pm

Tuesday, Dec. 19
Gaffer’s: Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, 7 pm

Wednesday, Dec 20
Christmas caroling. Meet at Methodist Church, 5 pm

Thursday, Dec. 21
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Kate McNally, 7 pm

Friday, Dec. 22
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Desiree Christa Ricker leads in a Christmas sing-along. 7 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Karaoke, 9 pm

Saturday, Dec. 23
Live Nativity, United Methodist Church, 5 pm
Ocracoke Oyster Co.: Martin Garrish and Lou Castro, 6 pm
Ocracoke Bar and Grille: Kate McNally, 7 pm

Monday, Dec. 25. Christmas Day
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Aaron Caswell & Jackie Willis, 8 pm

Birds of Ocracoke: The Snow Bunting

December 17, 2017

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Snow bunting on Ocracoke, N.C. — Ocracoke high school math teacher Beth Layton spotted this rare Snow Bunting on Ocracoke last winter. Photo by Beth Layton

For more profiles of the birds of Ocracoke, click here

By Peter Vankevich

Birds are amazing in that they may be found in the most extreme habitats.

One of these is the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis). They have the distinction of being the most northerly passerine bird in the world, breeding on the rocky tundra in the utmost levels of the circumpolar arctic.

Migratory birds, the males, from “balmy” areas such as southern Quebec, return north in April when the weather is still freezing and snow present. Females wait four to six weeks before venturing to their nesting grounds.

Speculation as to why the males arrive so early is that they compete to secure a nesting site amidst a limited number of crevices in the rocks that will be safe from predators and near vegetated tundra for feeding.

Because the rocks are cold, the female will line the nest with moss, fur and feathers to help keep the eggs and nestlings warm. The female must remain on the nest for most of the incubation period while the male feeds her. They also nest in artificial sites including buildings, barrels, cans and stone foundations.

Their winter habitat includes open weedy, grassy and plowed fields, grain stubbles, roadsides and farm yards. They can also be found on shores, beaches and dunes.

In the East, they sometimes can be seen in mixed flocks with Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs.

They are most likely to be seen on the upper Outer Banks from late October into March. Although not unusual to be seen on Pea and Hatteras islands, they are rare on Ocracoke, Portsmouth and points below. Ocracoke’s high school math teacher, Beth Layton, discovered this bunting on a late afternoon walk last winter.

Predators that will kill the birds or take the eggs in these remote parts of the world include Gyrfalcons, Peregrine Falcons, Long-tailed Jaegers, Snowy Owls, Short-tailed weasels and Arctic foxes. Its most dangerous foe, however, is adverse weather that can lead to freezing and starvation.

The female usually lays four to seven eggs starting in mid-June and incubation is only about 10 days. Both parents feed the nestlings, which fledge within about two weeks.

During breeding season, males are white with a black back, wingtips and bill. The female has the same coloration pattern but is reddish-brown instead of black.

In flight the clear contrast between the white and black of the wings is evident. The female resembles the male, but has a grey-brown head and back. Both sexes have a black bill and legs. In winter plumage the male has brownish upper-parts that have black streaks. The crown, sides of the head and the breast have a yellow-brown tinge. The female in winter plumage is more buff than in summer. The bill of both sexes is yellow during winter.

The song has been described as short, but musical, bold and loud for size and with fair variety of phrasing. Typical version might be rendered “turee-turee-tureet-turiwee.”

These are ground birds, sometimes seen individually but often in flocks up to 100 or more. Their primary food source is seeds of grass and weeds. During breeding season, they will also feed on invertebrates.

Snow Buntings were hunted in the past for food. A New York Times article in 1903 noted a person on trial in violation of a state law for possession of 30,000 dead birds harvested in Canada.

Because of their remote breeding range in the high arctic and their nomadic habits during winter, they have not been closely studied.

Update: Two Snow Buntings were observed during the Ocracoke Island Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 30, 2023. This was the first time recorded on this count that began in 1981.

Snow Bunting observed on Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count, Dec. 30, 2023. Photo: P. Vankevich

Listen:

(audio provided courtesy of OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons)

Best time to see: Unusual but possibly mid-fall through winter

Where: Beach and dunes, pony pasture

Click here for the Birds of the Outer Banks Checklist

A curious note about this species is that John James Audubon in his “Birds of America,” first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838, noted that only a single nest of this bird had been found within the limits of the United States (Alaska was not yet a state).

“It was seen by J. Wright Boott Esq. of Boston, on a declivity of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the month of July 1831. That gentleman described it to me as being fixed on the ground amid low bushes, and formed like that of the Song Sparrow. It contained young ones.” Boott was a prominent, though eccentric and troubled, Bostonian who had a passion for plants, especially orchids. He discovered a small previously unknown species of Prenanthes that is now known as Alpine Rattlesnake root, Prenanthes boottii.

Two Snow Buntings seen on the Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count, De. 30, 2023. Photo by Peter Vankevich

What’s open on Ocracoke through December; lodgings open all year

December 16, 2017

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The Ocracoke lighthouse cat awaits visitors. Photo: C. Leinbach

Shopping through the end of December

Island Ragpicker: open daily, 11 to 4 pm
Island Artworks: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm
Mermaid’s Folly: open every day from 11 am to 4 pm
Books to be Red: open daily 10 am to 5 pm
Roxy’s Antiques in Spencer’s Market: Thursday through Saturday, 11 am 5 pm
Ocracoke Garden Center: at shop until Dec. 10, then phone number on door for assistance.
Village Thrift: Wed to Sat, 11 am to 4 pm until Dec. 31. Then Thurs to Saturday 1 to 4 pm; closed for a couple of weeks in January; open rest of the winter.
Village Craftsmen: open every day 10 am to 5 pm, except 10 am – 3 pm on Dec. 24. Closed Dec 25 & 26. On Dec 31, open 10 am to 3 pm. 2018: closed until mid-March
Captain’s Cargo: opened most days from 10 am to 5 pm. Please go to the Captain’s Landing office to gain entrance.
Kitty Hawk Kites: open 9:30 am to 5:30 pm Dec. 16 to 31.
Down Creek Gallery: Daily 11 am to 5 pm
Ride the Wind: 10 to 5 daily through Dec. 31 and weekends throughout winter
Variety Store and Community Store: open all year
Ocracoke Station: open all year
Pirates Chest, closed until Easter

FOOD & DRINK
During the winter months:
Eduardo’s: open 8 am to 3 pm and 4 to7 pm Open all year except for a winter break in February.
Gaffer’s, open daily. NFL Every Sunday Special: 75 cent wings and Bloody Mary Bar.
Ocracoke Bar & Grille: Open Daily from 4 to 6 p.m. On Sundays, opens at 11 a.m. for NFL Football with all you can eat Taco and Bratwurst Bar. Daily specials on oysters and shrimp.
Ocracoke Station open daily at 6 am to 9 pm; breakfast and lunch from 6 am to 5 pm.
Ocracoke Oyster Co. winter break from Feb. 13 to March 1.
Jasons’s: re-opening on Valentine’s Day
1718 Brewing Co. Open weekends for most of the winter. Call 252-588-BEER for hours.
Thai Moon and School Road Deli open dependent on business.
The Magic Bean open all winter from 7 am to 4 pm Tuesday to Saturday.
Zillie’s Island Pantry hours through Dec. 23: Monday to Thursday 4 to 7:30 pm; Friday 4 to 8 pm; Saturday 1 to 8 pm; Sunday 1 to 7:30 pm; Dec. 26 to 30: Noon to 8 pm.; Dec. 31: noon to 6 pm. Holiday Wine Tasting: Thursday, Dec. 28, 6 pm. Special Wine Dinner at the Berkley Manor
Friday, Dec. 29, 6 pm. For details and reservations on all events, visit zillies.com, or call 252-928-9036.

Lodgings open all year:
Bluff Shoal Motel: 252-928-4301
Captain’s Landing: 252-928-1999
Crews Inn B&B: 252-928-7011
Pony Island Motel: 252-928-4411
Sand Dollar Motel: Office hours 9am–7pm daily. 252-928-5571
Thurston House Inn: Open through December. 252-928-6037

Atención a los empleados en turimo de Ocracoke

December 16, 2017

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This is a notice in Spanish that Dr. Whitney Knollenberg (NC State) is seeking input from tourism business owners, tourism employees, and residents of Ocracoke to gain a better understanding of what resources are currently supporting the island’s tourism workforce and what resources require greater development.

One of the sessions will be in Spanish at the Deepwater Theater on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. To read more, click here

Este es un aviso en español que el Dr. Whitney .Knollenberg (NC State) está solicitando información de los propietarios de negocios de turismo, empleados de turismo y residentes de Ocracoke para obtener una mejor comprensión de los recursos que actualmente están apoyando a la fuerza de trabajo de la isla y qué recursos requieren un mayor desarrollo. Una de las sesiones será en español en el Deepwater Theatre el miércoles, 20 de diciembre, a las 7 p.m. Para leer más, haga clic aquí

Island holiday lights contest to be held Saturday night

December 15, 2017

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This home will be among those under consideration for best display tomorrow night for the annual Island Celebration holiday lights contest. Photo: Richard Taylor

Judging for the annual Ocracoke Island Celebration, in which the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association makes awards to residences and businesses for best holiday lights, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 16).

Randomly selected judges will travel around the village during that time, view the various displays and select recipients for the honors. Awards will be made for Best Theme, Most Traditional, Most Original, Best of Show and Best Business.

Honorees will learn if they won if they see the award sign in their yard the next morning.

Ocracoke School’s 7th Annual Holiday Basketball Tournament tips off today

December 15, 2017

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Dolphins Paul Jordan drives on Aidan Caricof. Photo by Casey Robertson

The 7th Annual Holiday Basketball Tournament starts today in the Ocracoke School gym. Lady Dolphins tip-off at 6 p.m., boys follow.

Games will be broadcast by WOVV’s “Voice of the Dolphins,” Bill Cole. 90.1 FM on the island and online at wovv.org. Dolphin games will also be broadcast tomorrow, times to be determined based on results today.

Here is the schedule:

Friday

3 p.m. Girls: Camden vs. First Flight
4:30 p.m. Boys: Camden vs. First Flight
6 p.m. Girls: Ocracoke vs. Gateway Christian Academy
7:30 p.m. Boys: Ocracoke vs. Gateway Christian Academy

8:45 Social gathering at the Community Center

Saturday

10 a.m. Girls consolation game
11:30 a.m. Boys consolation game
1 p.m. Girls championship game
2:30 p.m. Boys championship game

Ocracoke Waterways Commission seeks shorter ferry route

December 15, 2017

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North end of Ocracoke Island, N.C. Photo: C. Leinbach — Dredge spoil sand is deposited at the north end of the island where fall hurricanes and storms breached the roadway. Dave Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said this recent sand deposit washed away four days later. Photo: C. Leinbach

For Ocracoke news, click here

By Connie Leinbach

The Ocracoke Waterways Commission is looking for a way to make the ferry ride between Hatteras and Ocracoke shorter.

At their Nov. 20 meeting, the N.C. Ferry Division agreed to survey areas of the current route that may lend themselves to dredging and possibly creating a shorter ride between the islands.

Deleting a minimum of 10 minutes would be necessary to bring the crossing time to about 45 minutes, said Harold Thomas, Ferry Division director, who attended the Nov. 20 meeting with Jed Dixon, deputy director, and several other state and federal officials.

“If we could take off 10 minutes, we could get another trip in,” Dixon said.

“That would get you back to what you’re used to,” Thomas added about the numbers of visitors.

Ernie Foster, a charter boat captain in Hatteras and a member of the Dare County Waterways Commission, who also attended the meeting, said this long route puts the whole area in jeopardy.

“We have common cause,” he said, noting the Coast Guard wants a shorter route as well in order to get out to the ocean faster for rescues. “A more viable route would benefit everyone.”

The idea of adding dredge sand to the end of Hatteras also was discussed, but the experts say no, said David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, who attended with Mark Dowdle, deputy superintendent.

Hallac noted that Dare County is spending $25 million to put 2.6 million cubic yards of sand along the Buxton beaches in a two-mile stretch from Canadian Hole area to the site of the first jetty.

“The life span of that project is up to 10 years,” he said, but how much sand would be needed to adequately shore up the end of Hatteras Island?

This slide in Dave Hallac’s presentation shows the eroding ends of Ocracoke and Hatteras islands.

Hallac gave a slide presentation that showed how the Hatteras inlet has continued to change. In 1846, Hatteras Inlet opened after having been almost closed since some time in the 1700s.

“These inlets are dynamic by nature,” he said, adding that the recent addition of dredge spoil sand to the north end of Ocracoke has washed away in a few days.

As for dumping sand at the end of Hatteras to help recreate a buffer, he said it’s iffy.

“Do you want to put sand in one of the fastest eroding parts of the Outer Banks?” he asked.

Jurisdiction and oversight of this waterway is under several different agencies: the federal Army Corps of Engineers and the state (including some environmental agencies), with the National Park Service having approval powers of where dredge spoil should go.

Jim Medlock of the Army Corps, who attended via conference call, outlined the limited jurisdiction the Army Corps has in the area, which is to the middle of the “gorge,” or the area in the middle of the inlet.

Dave Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, explains the dynamic nature of ocean inlets to the Ocracoke Waterways Commission. Photo: C. Leinbach

“We’ve never had authorization from the gorge to the Ocracoke side,” he said. “Congress hasn’t made a change to our authorization for decades.”

Dredging by the Army Corps was authorized by a Congressional act in the 1930s, allowing the corps (with federal funds) to dredge from the Barney Slough at Hatteras out to the end of the island but no further.

Ironically, the current long route is not under anyone’s jurisdiction, Medlock said.

After Hurricane Irene in the fall of 2012 further shoaled the Hatteras Inlet, the historical short route became unnavigable for ferries, charter boats and the Coast Guard to get out to the ocean. Restoring the short route by dredging in the last few years has been unsuccessful.

In the winter of 2013, Hatteras charter boat captains found a natural channel farther west into the Pamlico Sound, which takes about an hour to navigate. That channel was officially sanctioned in 2014 and while it has maintained access between the islands, the longer crossing time has resulted in fewer vehicles with visitors being able to come to Ocracoke.

Concurrently, erosion of the south end of Hatteras and the north end of Ocracoke has widened the channel and eliminated the land buffer that has historically protected the inlet.

In this slide, the yellow lines show the historic ends of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands and the blue lines show the erosion of beach.

Ocracoke and Portsmouth island Christmas Bird counts set

December 15, 2017

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Double-crested Cormorants on Ocracoke, NC . Photo by Peter Vankevich — Double-crested Cormorants commute along the Ocracoke shore . Photo by Peter Vankevich

At the end of each year, Ocracoke and Portsmouth islands are among the thousands of areas that participate in the nationwide Christmas Bird Count from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5.

The resulting data becomes part of the longest wildlife census in the nation and can help track whether certain species are decreasing or increasing.

The larger paler Ipswich subspecies of the Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) breeds on Sable Island, NS and can be seen on these counts as this one was on last year’s Ocracoke CBC. This year an alert was sent out to look for colored banded birds as part of a research project. Photo: Peter Vankevich

This year, the local counts will be held Saturday, Dec. 30, on Portsmouth and Sunday, Dec. 31, on Ocracoke.

Last year, 80 species were tallied on Ocracoke and 71 on Portsmouth. Northern Gannets, Brown Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants are regulars over the waters, and the Yellow-rumped (Myrtle race) Warbler is the most common land bird. Usually one or two Peregrine Falcons are reported.

The Portsmouth bird count will be over in time for participants to attend the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Oyster Roast in the afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m.

The tallying ends with a pot luck dinner Dec. 31 to share in camaraderie and learn how many species were recorded including any rare birds for the region.

To participate, contact Peter Vankevich, 202 468-287, or email: petevankevich@gmail.com.

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