The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is a slender medium-sized song bird. It is overall dark gray with a black cap and tail and a brick colored under tail. Both sexes look alike.
It is famous for a distinctive call note from which it derives its name and sounds like a cat’s meow.
Catbirds are mimics and the song is a rambling series of single phrases that consists of a series of squeaks, croaks and parts of other bird songs and does not appear to have much structure. Because of its well-developed syrinx, the catbird is able to make two sounds at the same time. The other mimics on the island are the Brown Thrasher which sings in double phrases and the Northern Mockingbird which usually repeats songs of other birds and other sounds about four times. Males may sing in concealed bushes but may also perch at the tops of trees and bushes
Catbirds are migratory and breed throughout much of the United States except for the Southwest and West and well into Canada. They winter in the South and along the Atlantic Coast into Mexico. Flight migration is usually at night.
Best Time to see: Can be seen year round, but mostly from spring into the late fall and early winter. Far fewer on the island from mid-December till spring.
Where: Throughout the island including the village wherever there are dense thickets, vines and shrubs.
Listen:
(Audio provided courtesy of OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons)
Although Brown-headed Cowbirds parasitize the Gray Catbird, they rarely are successful. This bird is one of only about a dozen species known to recognize cowbird eggs and eject them from its nest.
Catbirds can reside in human-associated locations if there is suitable habitat.
The feeding instincts are strongly developed in catbirds, and if they have lost their own young through some misfortune, they may adopt the offspring of others. Ornithologist Arthur Cleveland Bent (1866 – 1954) is notable for an encyclopedic 21-volume work, Life Histories of North American Birds. He cited a case of a brood of orphaned cardinals that were fed and mothered by a catbird, and another where a mother catbird fed a half-grown flicker that had been dislodged from its nest and separated from its parents during a severe storm.
“In the catbird seat” is a common phrase to describe someone who is in an advantageous situation. Its origin is from the James Thurber short story Catbird Seat published in 1942. The phrase was attributed to Red Barbers’ colloquial and creative baseball radio broadcasts to describe situations such as a batter with a 3-0 count.
Kitty Mitchell’s coloring book of drawings is available at the Ocracoke Preservation Society and the Magic Bean.
By Connie Leinbach
Those interested in the lighter side of Ocracoke life might want to get a copy of “The Ocracoke Coloring Book,” by Kitty Martin Mitchell.
First printed in 1976, Mitchell, who will return to her former teaching position at Ocracoke School as the art teacher, said the reprint issued in June wasn’t changed a bit from the original.
Kitty Mitchell timeline photo
“I just let it be as it is—a window into an earlier time,” she said.
The coloring book is a compendium of answers to the question: “Whaddya do fer action around here,” stated right on the cover.
Mitchell, who is married to Gary Mitchell, is an artist and musician having been part of the original Molasses Creek trio, along with Gary and David Tweedie.
“I love to do cartoons and started doing humorous post cards of some of the things that happened around here,” she said. “We started out camping before we bought a house. That’s why a lot of it is about camping.”
Take the ever-present wind.
One page with the caption, “Treacherous winds cause many wrecks on the Outer Banks,” shows an example—a toppled porta potty.
“That happened at the campground,” Mitchell said, laughing.
The pages cover a variety of aspects of life here: crazy questions by tourists, the “wild” ponies, the ubiquitous biting insects and other fauna, Blackbeard, family cemeteries, fishing and fish tales.
Mitchell has never seen one of these books fully colored, nor has she done it herself, she said.
These days, cartooning has given way to the serious art of her painting as well as returning this year to teaching art.
Her work can be seen at several locations on the island, such as Deepwater Theater, Down Creek Gallery where she will be a featured artist Aug. 12, (see story page 12) and the Magic Bean Coffee Shop on School Road, where her coloring books can be purchased.
They also can be purchased at Ocracoke Preservation Society, which facilitated the reprint.
The National Park Service has released more information on the five public scoping meetings that it plans in early August to get input for possible changes to its off-road vehicle management plan at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The public process to consider changes is required by legislation passed by Congress last December as part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act that is intended to provide more public access to seashore beaches.
The legislation required that within 180 days, the Secretary of the Interior review and modify buffers for nesting birds and turtles and do it in accordance with applicable laws and in consultation with the state Wildlife Resources Commission. The buffers were modified in an Environmental Assessment that was completed in June.
The new law also requires that seashore officials conduct a public process to consider changes to hours that the beaches open in the morning, dates for seasonal ORV routes, and locations of vehicle-free areas (VFAs).
The additional information came in the form of a newsletter on the public scoping meetings, the dates of which were announced last week.
The newsletter reviews the purpose and need for the meetings, how to participate and comment, and provides some examples of changes the park could make to regulations on hours, seasonal routes, and VFAs. In addition, it says that the seashore is also considering changes to the length of time that ORV permits are valid and access improvements.
Seashore Superintendent David Hallac explained earlier this week that the Park Service is exploring these changes with a different public process than it used with the wildlife buffers.
For the buffer modifications, the Park Service released a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) with its preferred changes, then held public scoping meetings to get input and issued its final plan.
This time around, Hallac said, seashore officials are asking for input from the seashore users “right off” at the “starting line.”
In the newsletter, the park presents some preliminary options for changes to opening hours, seasonal closures, VFAs, access locations, and permitting. Then it invites the public to suggest alternative options.
The Park Service will review the public scoping comments and refine the alternatives and then release a draft EA and begin a public review period in December.
According to the schedule published in the newsletter, NPS will review and respond to public comments to the draft document next winter, issue a decision document in the spring, and modify the final ORV rule and implement the selected alternative next summer and fall.
The Park Service is required by the legislation to report back to Congress by December on what measures it has enacted.
Here are the preliminary alternatives that the Park Service has presented in the newsletter.
MORNING BEACH OPENINGS
Currently all ORV-accessible beaches open at 7 a.m., after resource management staff have marked the location of any new turtle nests, false crawls, or turtle hatches that have occurred overnight. The NPS developed preliminary options for opening beaches earlier than 7 a.m.
These preliminary options are:
Designating priority beaches that are cleared by resource management staff and opened at 6:30 a.m.
Allowing visitors to follow resource management staff onto the beach at a designated ramp and to drive a safe distance behind staff as they clear the beach.
SEASONAL ORV ROUTES
Currently, seasonal ORV routes, located in front of the villages and Ocracoke campground, are open from Nov. 1 through March 31. An additional seasonal ORV route on Bodie Island is open from Sept. 15 through March 14. That seasonal route period is due to resource considerations, and park staff indicate that the current seasonal route period has been consistent with bird activity in that location. Therefore, the NPS would like to focus on the village and campground ORV route locations. For the seasonal ORV routes in front of the villages and Ocracoke campground, the NPS preliminary alternatives include extending the ORV route period for:
An additional two weeks in the fall and spring
An additional four weeks in the fall and spring
An additional six weeks in the fall and Spring
An extension in the fall only
VEHICLE-FREE AREAS
Current locations of VFAs and designated ORV routes were developed throughout the ORV management plan/Environmental Impact Statement planning process, which concluded in 2010. Throughout that process, factors that were considered in designating ORV and pedestrian-only locations (or VFAs) included:
Proximity to villages, ensuring both the pedestrian and ORV visitor experience was available within a reasonable distance from each village.
Presence of adequate parking, high-density day use areas, and lifeguarded beaches, which could better support VFAs.
Resource management concerns, including the location of wintering shorebird activities.
Providing for a balance between ORV areas and VFAs.
What locations do you see as potential areas for modification?
ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS
Existing ORV routes and ramps were designated at certain locations with the intent to provide access on either side of an ORV route to allow for reliable access, even if one ramp is unusable due to a resource closure. The 2010 ORV EIS also proposed new or expanded parking areas to improve pedestrian and ORV access. What are some key locations where changes to parking or ramp configurations could improve beach or soundside access?
PERMITS
Under the Final Rule, the NPS can issue annual permits that are valid only for the calendar year or seven days. Based on visitor feedback, the NPS would like to explore different permit lengths, and some options being considered include:
Three-day permits
10-day permits
14-day permits
Annual permits, valid for a year from issue date
PLANNED MEETINGS
The five public meetings are scheduled as follows:
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ocracoke School, 1 Schoolhouse Road, Ocracoke.
Thursday, Aug. 6, 6 to 8 p.m. McKimmon Conference & Training Center, 1101 Gorman Street, NC State University Campus, Raleigh, N.C.
Monday, Aug. 10, 6 to 8 p.m. –Cape Hatteras Secondary School, 48576 Hwy 12, Buxton.
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 6 to 8 p.m. – Hilton Garden Inn, 5353 Virginia Dare Trail, Kitty Hawk.
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. – Embassy Suites Hampton Inn, 1700 Coliseum Drive, Hampton, VA 23666
Submit written comments by mail to: Superintendent, Outer Banks Group/Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954.
The Park Service asks that comments be submitted electronically or by mail. Faxed comments and e-mails will not be accepted. Please be sure to include your full name and e-mail address, if available, with the comments, so you can be added to the mailing list for information about the planning process. For your comments to be the most useful in developing the EA, please submit comments by Aug. 21.
You should be aware that your entire comment– including personal identifying information such as your address, phone number, and email address–may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Comments submitted by individuals or organizations on behalf of other individuals or organizations will not be accepted.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Click here to see the five-page newsletter on public scoping and to view a map of designated ORV routes.
Riding the ferry to Ocracoke is part of the magic. Photo by C. Leinbach
By Connie Leinbach
The NCDOT Ferry Division will hold a public meeting on the passenger ferry study from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, in the Ocracoke Community Center.
While more details on the content of this meeting will be released closer to the date, ferry officials at a July 13 meeting on the island said that the study is done and data results should be available.
Ed Goodwin, Ferry Division chief, also said that, should the department decide to test passenger ferries from Hatteras to Ocracoke Village, they would be looking to rent a boat and also to create a public-private partnership.
“One to two passenger ferries would alleviate the pressure (at the Hatteras ferry docks,)” he said.
One snag is that all the potentially available ferries are already leased. “
The decision to build (a ferry) must be made by September,” he added. “We’ll have several critical decision points coming up.”
Under consideration would be a landing site, places to stage passengers, parking and transportation for the passengers. However, the chance of having a trial passenger ferry next year is “a little slim,” he said, since it takes about eight months to build a new ferry. Moreover, he said, planning for the ferry division’s future is a 20-year-plan.
As for the long route that’s currently the official route between Hatteras and Ocracoke, Goodwin said an NCDOT survey team was surveying the long route to determine if some of its length can be shortened to lessen the crossing time.
The surveying is being paid for by some contingency money left over from the $300,000 allocated for the passenger study by Volkert Inc. of Raleigh, said Jed Dixon, deputy Ferry Division director.
Goodwin said a section of the long route has already changed since the last time he rode the ferry in June.
Hatteras Island. Waiting to board for Ocracoke. Photo by C. Leinbach
“Some places in the channel are changing,” Dixon added. “Some of the aids to navigation will have to change.” The Coast Guard, whose job it is to place markers, or aids to navigation, along waterway routes, are doing that, he also said.
As for the Hatteras ferry, Dixon noted that traffic numbers are better this summer than last year, and while the stacking lanes have been full, he thought the longest wait time is probably 90 minutes.
“We’re getting parking lots full,” he said, “but we’re getting them out,” Dixon said.
The NC Ferry Division has a created a video on the ferry system. The possibility of a forthcoming Hatteras/Ocracoke passenger ferry is mentioned.
Sailors Parker Gaskill, Nathan Modlin, Bill Cole and Peyton Piquard pine for an “Ocracoke Cutie” in “A Tale of Blackbeard” 2015
Editor’s note: Last year, after a 20-year hiatus, Ocracoke Alive revived the original musical about Ocracoke, “A Tale of Blackbeard.” This year, the show is being presented Monday nights through Aug. 17 in the Ocracoke School Gym, which has more seating than last year. It has a new cast and director, and though some cast members returned from last year, they may be in different roles.
The photos with this story are from this year’s production, but the story below tells the history of the musical. This year’s cast and crew are listed at the end.
June 2014
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
The revival of the play “A Tale of Blackbeard” after a 20-year hiatus is the talk of Ocracoke.
An original musical by part-time islander Julia Howard, the show (runs Monday nights at 8 in the Ocracoke School Gym.)
“I’m having a blast,” noted Trish Davis, who never acted before and who plays Euphemia, one of the female leads.
That’s the general feeling of all the cast members.
Matt Tolson, the head daytime chef at the Flying Melon Café, is Blackbeard and also a first-time thespian, and is having a great time stretching himself.
“I wrote on the audition sheet ‘not a singer,’ and, five minutes later I was Blackbeard,” he said. “I grabbed it with both horns. I have big shoes to fill, following the legendary Dave Frum, Gary Mitchell and David Senseney.”
Rob Touhey is Blackbeard this year.
“He was it,” noted co-director/choreographer Desiree Ricker about Tolson’s appearance—tall and commanding, with a dark beard to boot.
Part of Tolson’s costume is a necklace of dolphin teeth he calls a “mystical trinket” that Senseney and Philip Howard had crafted. Tolson was 12 when he found the necklace in 1993 on the Southpoint beach. Since the community knew that Senseney had lost it, Tolson returned the necklace and forgot about it.
“Opening night, there’s a package from David and a two-page letter,” Tolson said. The letter related how Senseney had lost it.
“And you found it,” Senseney wrote in the letter. “Please wear it on stage.”
“The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I read that,” Tolson said. “It gave me the chills.”
Opening night of the May previews went well, Tolson said. “It kind of set the bar.”
“It was the best opening night I’ve ever had from a cast,” added director Charles Temple.
The crafting of the show is kind of mystical itself in that author-composer Julia Howard, though an English major and music minor in college, had never composed much of anything before or after this work.
“It was all because of Danny Garrish,” said Howard, who was married to islander Philip Howard in the 1970s when the play began. “The PTA was doing little skits and variety shows in the winter, and at one of the cast parties, Danny said, ‘What we need is a play about Blackbeard.’ ”
The late Garrish ran the Community Store and was an Ocracoke icon, she said. There were 500 people living on the island and a nascent tourist industry.
Caroline Temple and Waylon Underwood are the young lovers this year.
“He was a great singer and had a good stage presence,” Howard said about Danny, who played Blackbeard’s cook.
During the fall and winter of 1973 and ’74, she worked on the piece.
At night, while she lay in bed before falling asleep, the music and lyrics would come to her and she’d write it down the next day.
The well-crafted songs are catchy and clever—the kind of songs one can easily pick up and hum along, and the dialog links the songs. Howard still works from handwritten music on the electronic keyboard she uses for accompaniment as musical director.
The only nonfiction characters in the play are Blackbeard, who was killed off Ocracoke Nov. 22, 1718, by Lt. Robert Maynard, and Euphemia Curtis, who really had a boarding house on Ocracoke but about two centuries after Blackbeard.
“It’s total fantasy,” Howard said about the play.
In 1715, there was no village here, but the colonial legislature recognized the island as Pilot Town, and some ship pilots were housed in the Springer’s Point area.
The show has a conflicted Blackbeard the night before his date with destiny, scruffy sailors growling “Arrghh!” who are interested in the charms of the “village girls” at the boarding house, two young ingénue roles, a bickering husband and wife and comic-relief in the two cooks.
There’s a William Howard character “because I had to have a Howard in the show,” Howard said. History says there was a William Howard on Blackbeard’s crew, but Philip cannot verify if he and all the other Howards on the island are descendants.
The 12 to 14 songs and characters have changed over the years depending on who’s in the cast.
“I wrote the part of Katherine for Amy because she wanted to be in the play,” she said about her daughter Amy Howard, who is the OPS administrator.
‘Richard’ and ‘Blackbeard’ clash.
The costumes are newly designed and built by Linda Ward and Heather Johnson. Several of the costumes from earlier plays are on view in the Ocracoke Preservation Society.
Ocracoke Alive, which is the successor nonprofit to the Ocracoke Players, produced the show.
Again for this year, half of the tickets for each show will be available online at http://www.ocrafolkfestival.org/blackbeard-tickets, which includes all the details. The other half will be available, first-come, first-served at the door.
Players this year are: Rob Touhey, Blackbeard; Waylon Underwood, Richard; Bill Cole, Ezekiel; Mark Brown and Tom Pahl, William Howard; Peyton Piquard, helmsman; David Tweedie, Oliver Farthingham; Trisha Davis, Victoria Farthingham; Caroline Temple, Elizabeth Farthingham; Emilia Jordan and Katie Kinnion, Katherine Farthingham; Megan Spencer, Miss Euphemia; DeAnna Locke, Marjorie O’Neal.
Sailors are Derek Gilliam, Nathan Modlin, John Brodisch II and Parker Gaskill. Village girls are Callie Daivsson, Chrisi Gaskill, Amy Howard, Lori Masaitis and Mary-Chandler Storrs.
Directed by Courtney Conner and Desiree Christa Ricker; Julia Howard, book/music & lyrics/musical director/accompanist; Charles Temple/Mark Brown, set design; Charles Temple and crew, lighting design; Desiree Christa Ricker, choreography; Molly Lovejoy, sound; Linda Ward & Heather Johnson, costume design.
To watch the video and listen to Waterbound, click link below.
Molasses Creek gets its name from one of the beautiful creeks on the Sound side that one can see crossing the island from the Hatteras Inlet to the village,
Molasses Creek. Photo by P. Vankevich
It formed in 1993 as a trio of guitarist/vocalist Gary Mitchell, bass player/vocalist Kitty Mitchell, and vocalist/fiddler David Tweedie, better known as “Fiddler Dave.”
For the past several years, they were joined by Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro of Coyote fame after Kitty decided to retire and concentrate on her art. Gerald Hampton records and plays with the group, but mostly when they go on the road.
Molasses Creek changed personnel this year. Kim France, hailing from Asheville and who plays upright bass, guitar and sings, joined the group following the departure of Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro at the end of 2014 .
“Kim’s a phenomenal acoustic bass player and a lot of fun to play with,” noted Fiddler Dave. “She brings a jazzy, world music flair on the bass.”
Molasses Creek performing at the 2015 Orcafolk Festival. Photo by P. Vankevich
The group is noted for founding and hosting the very popular Ocrafolk Festival that occurs during the first weekend in June. During the summer they present multiple shows each week in the Deepwater Theateralong School Road, Wednesday nights with the Ocrafolk Opry and Thursday nights in a stand-alone concert.
The group has just released its latest album “Waterbound,” a mix of original and cover songs.
As good as their recordings are, Molasses Creek fans realize that it is necessary to catch a live show to fully appreciate their infectious sense of humor and love of performing.
Molasses Creek’s songs include folk, traditional bluegrass, and originals, making the band difficult to categorize.
Fuller arrangements that include mandolin and lead guitar also mark both 1996’s “Wildheart” and 1998’s “Citybound.”
In 2000, Molasses Creek was invited to be one of six contestants on Prairie Home Companion’s Talent from Towns under Two Thousand, where they won second place.
In 2013, they were ranked in the national top 10 in folk music across the United States with their new CD “An Island Out of Time.” It was the fifth most played album on the folk radio scene and they were the No. 9 artist, based on 13,326 air plays from 150 different DJs across the United States.
They have released 12 CDs that can be found in many shops on Ocracoke or purchased on their website. Fiddler Dave has also released two solo albums.
Hatteras Island. Waiting to board for Ocracoke. Photo by C. Leinbach
July 2015
Many summer visitors experience frustration with the long lines at the Hatteras ferry terminal to visit Ocracoke. (Hint: to avoid long lines, arrive early or late in the day.)
If you haven’t been reading the Ocracoke Observer and other local news services over the last year, you may not be aware that the NC Ferry Division is doing a feasibility study to see if visitors would be willing to leave their vehicles on Hatteras island and board a passenger ferry that would go directly into Ocracoke village.
A passenger ferry that could accommodate up to 150 people (including bicyclists) was tested in early May and the travel time took just over an hour from Hatteras to the Silver Lake dock.
To make this a go, there would have to be infrastructure adjuncts such as open tram-style buses making stops in the village, at the lighthouse and very possibly to the island’s famous Lifeguard Beach.
Golf carts, bicycles , boats and SUVs for beach driving are already available for daily rentals.
If many visitors opt to take a passenger ferry, it could shorten considerably the wait for those that want or need to take a car ferry.
We are looking forward to reading this report, scheduled to be released in August, and we will keep you informed.
Also related to ferries–well hidden in the recently passed General Assembly Senate budget (page 423 of a 500+ page document)–is a proposal that anyone who wants a pass to be in the priority lane for the Hatteras ferry would have to purchase one for $150.
We know that folks waiting in line for hours have seen islanders and vendors drive right up to the dock and board.
This privilege may seem unfair to those having to wait. So here is our view.
The priority lane at the ferries was established to expedite islanders’ and vendors’ access to and from their homes and businesses. Only island residents and vendors may get into this lane. Ocracoke residents do not have access to anywhere near the level of services that urban America has.
They have to go off island for many things–medical specialists, veterinarians, dental care, youth sports and shopping for items not available on the island.
The Ocracoke economy/work cycle is very different from most places.
Those living on Ocracoke must put in long hours during the short tourist season, many working two and three jobs. These workers are desperately needed on the island to support the tourist economy.
Off-island trips have to be in the shortest time possible.
Venders delivering goods to the island’s stores and restaurants must also be able to make deliveries as quickly as possible.
We strongly oppose any fee for this important need for Ocracoke.
Potentially worse, the legislation in the Senate budget includes a call for potential business interest to privatize the ferry system.
Our very real fear with a privatized ferry system–in order for a company to make a profit—is that such a scenario would drastically cut back on the number of ferry trips per day, both on and off-season.
We will have more to say on this later.
For those who say running a ferry system is costly and a government handout, consider the yearly state costs for bridge and road maintenance, snow, ice and rock-slide removal throughout the state.
According to DOT figures, spending on snow and ice removal is $64 million so far this year. Last year it was $77 million. By contrast, the ferry system has a budget of $38.2 million, according to the NCDOT website.
Ocracoke residents pay taxes like everyone else, and this money helps pay transportation costs for the entire state.
This budget bill was enthusiastically supported by our one of our representatives, Senator Bill Cook (R-District 1). He issued a press release extolling the many benefits of this legislation, but neglected to mention that Ocracokers might have to pay $150 yearly for a priority pass and that ferry system might be privatized.
We asked him for an explanation and he responded. We are printing only the parts of his lengthy response:
Unfortunately, the priority pass language was included in the proposed budget from the Senate. Again, I am opposed to the priority pass provision. I intend to continue to work to find alternative solutions. However, I supported the budget because (while it) is not perfect, overall it does a great deal of good for the constituents of Senate District 1.
Senator Cook’s press release can be found on the Ocracoke Observer website. Click here .
The General Assembly House budget bill does not have these two ferry provisions. So, we hope they will be removed as the House and Senate work out an agreement.
Ocracoke’s House representative, Paul Tine (U-District 6), said he will oppose these two measures.
Island artist Barbara Adams will continue the “Expose Yourself to Art” openings in Down Creek Gallery from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday with new paintings portraying Ocracoke, the natural elements of the Outer Banks and surrounding areas.
“I try to paint weekly,” Adams says about her work in oils, watercolors, and resin. “There is a beauty in this little village that has always inspired my painting. The people are real, friendly, and capturing small-town life with a brush and paint can be a challenge.”
She sometimes adds elements such as raised surfaces and images on wooden boards and canvas, which she then coats in resin to complete the piece. She has built her own frames out of seashells and found objects to complete painted works on canvas.
“I enjoy capturing light and shadows which sometimes leads me to new challenges and techniques,” she adds. “With a combination or mixture of impressionism in the background, I attempt to bring out a realist image.”
All openings include refreshments and are open to the public.
To see more profiles in the Birds of Ocracoke series, click here
Hirundo rustica
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
The Barn Swallow is the most widely-distributed swallow in the world. Swallows are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding for their main food source which is insects. Barn Swallows prefer open habitats and near water. They have an orange face and throat, blue upper parts and pale underneath and a long forked tail.The song consists of a series of twitters, squeaks and chatter.
The Barn Swallow is rather easily identified in flight by its long-forked tail which separates it from other swallows and another unrelated aerial forager, the Chimney Swift, that is seen on Ocracoke in migration.
When to see: From mid-spring to mid-fall. Absent in winter
Where: Nests in Ocracoke village, especially in the Oyster Creek area. Silver Lake Drive is a good location. They can be seen in flight over the island and may be seen perching on dune bushes and grasses, and on the island’s power lines during migration.
Listen:
(audio provided courtesy of OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons)
The reason for the Barn Swallow’s abundance can be surmised from its name. Whereas many bird species have suffered from loss of habitat to accommodate human needs, the Barn Swallow has adapted to human created environments. Originally this bird preferred nesting in hollow trees, rock crevices and caves. Over the past couple of centuries, it has been highly adaptive by building its mud nest using man-made structures such as the eaves of buildings, boat docks and bridges.
Both the male and female help build the nest which consists of mud pellets and grasses. The nests are lined with soft material including feathers.
The word “swallow” appears to derive from an old English word meaning to move to and fro which is one way to categorize its flight pattern. Barn Swallows are long-distant migrants, arriving in the spring from their wintering grounds in Central and South America.
On-site signage, of the beaches in the Seashore, is the most accurate and current indications of areas that are open to public access or closed to entry. Closed areas are clearly marked with symbolic fencing and signs that are subject to change during the wildlife breeding season.
Additional webpage links that may be of interest are:
