Dolphin Uriah Johnson leaps to block a Hobgood player on Jan. 16. Basketball action at home continues on Friday, Jan. 23, in the Ocracoke School gym. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
Ocracoke Alive winter activities begin. To see the full schedule, click here.
Monday, Jan. 19. Martin Luther King Day holiday: Ocracoke Alive: Spanish/English Coffee hour, 8:15 to 9:15 am. Ocracoke Library. Then every Monday through March 23.
Tuesday, Jan. 20: Ocracoke Alive: Cooking/baking with David Tweedie: German almond horns, 6 pm. RSVP requested.
Ocracoke Civic & Business Association board meeting, 6 pm. Community Center. See agenda below.
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Ocracoke Alive: Yoga in Spanish with Sarah Shellow, 8:30 to 9:30 am. Deepwater Theater.
NC ferry Division job fair Hatteras.10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hatteras Inlet Ferry Terminal.
Ocracoke Waterways Commission meets, 6:30 pm. Community Center.
Ocracoke Alive: Creative Writing ~ Poetry with Sarah Shellow (Session 1), 1 to 2:15pm. Deepwater Theater.
Ocracoke Alive: Art: Learning to See Abstractly with Kitty Mitchell, 6 to 8 pm. Deepwater Theater.
Ocracoke Planning Advisory Board meets at 5:30 pm. Community Center. See agenda below.
Friday, Jan. 23: Ocracoke School basketball at home vs. Mattamuskeet: Girls middle school at 2:30 pm; MS Boys will play around 3:30. Then Varsity girls will play around 4:30 and varsity boys will play around 6. Canceled due to threat of inclement weather.
Saturday, Jan. 24: Ocracoke Alive: Hand building Pottery Angels with Marty Freeman (Session 1) (Max 10) 1 to 3 pm. Deepwater Theater.
Community Potluck; Ocracoke Life Saving Church. 5 pm. Story time follows the meal.
Ocracoke Alive: Ocracoke Philosophical Salon ~ Do we have free will? ~ Hosted by Philip Howard, 7 to 9 pm. 30 Lawton Lane.
Sunday, Jan. 25: Church services: Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am
Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am
Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960 but refresh your browser for it to work properly.
Ocracoke School Sunday Supper fundraiser for the 2026 senior class: Mexican food noon to 2 p.m. See flyer below. Sunday, Feb. 1, will be fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans.
Ocracoke Alive: Games/Puzzles for Families & All Ages, 3 to 5 pm. Ocracoke Library.
The Henry Pigott house on Portsmouth Island. Photo by Sara Hassatt
By Peter Vankevich
The Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count took place this year after having been canceled in 2023 and 2024 due to access issues from Ocracoke.
It didn’t look good again in December as Captain Donald Austin, due to a late notice work-related conflict, was unable to ferry the observers over from Ocracoke in his skiff on the scheduled Dec. 30 date. He could, however, take folks over on Thursday, New Year’s Day. That could work because the Ocracoke count, which runs in tandem, would take place on Dec. 31.
This is a reason why the count is RSVP. After some rapid texting and phone calls to those who had signed up, the date was changed.
Then on Wednesday, Captain Austin said the high wind forecast was not conducive to crossing the inlet the next day. Friday would be better.
More furious texting and phone calls. There would be enough observers; 15 of them would be able to available on Jan. 2 and the count was on. But not one of them for some health issues, was the count’s compiler, Peter Vankevich.
Heading to Portsmouth Island. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer
It was worth the wait.
Approaching the island, two observers jumped off the boat and waded to the beach popular with shell collectors. This area has experienced a lot of erosion over the past year.
The others debarked at the Haulover Dock. Two teams covered the village and a third headed to the berms and a once bare salt flat that is now covered with smooth cordgrass and other plants that tolerate high salt concentrations.
The village, battered by hurricanes over the many years, is maintained by the National Park Service’s Cape Lookout National Seashore. Only 20 structures remain: family homes, a Methodist church, schoolhouse, post office and the life-saving station.
Greater Yellowlegs. Photo by Jeff Beane
Founded in 1753 as a lightering hub. Villagers used their smaller boats to transport goods across the Pamlico Sound to the mainland from the large ships arriving from Europe and the Caribbean.
Its peak was around 1860 with one source citing a population of 865 residents.
The Civil War caused a mass exodus and it never recovered. By 1956, only 17 residents remained and continued to diminish. Elma Dixon and Marion Babb left in 1971 after the death of Henry Pigott. They were the final residents.
There is an appeal for visiting the island in the winter when the skies can be stark and the sounds are of the wind and not vehicles and other sounds one hears in urban settings.
“Birding on Portsmouth Island is a unique experience,” commented Hal Broadfoot of Fayetteville, who has participated in every one of these counts, which began in 1988.
“It is isolated and quiet. It offers the chance to bird while walking through a coastal ghost town. Sometimes you’ll see a Peregrine Falcon or an Orange-crowned Warbler, but you’ll always have a good day.”
Birding in Portsmouth Village. Photo by Dan Pope
“I liked how Captain Donald Austin slowed the skiff to let us watch and photograph a pod of dolphins in the inlet,” said Denny Dobbin, who has houses on Ocracoke and Chapel Hill and has participated in the count for a dozen years. “We used to be able to walk from the Village to the beach but there was way too much water this year. It covered the trail through the flats between them, so we couldn’t cross on foot. It was deep enough that even a 4-wheeler would get stuck.”
For Sara Hassatt, who also has homes on Ocracoke and on the mainland, this was her second year participating in this count and her husband Tom’s first.
“We were thrilled to be able to go to Portsmouth this year,” she said. “I enjoyed being with more experienced birders and learning to identifying new species. I added 17 birds to my life list.”
The village, with its open mowed areas, standing trees and bushes makes it a nice wintering grounds for the birds of prey that feed on smaller birds and there were plenty present: Northern Harrier (15), Sharp-shinned Hawk (3), Cooper’s Hawk (3), Bald Eagle (3) and the most unusual were three Red-tailed Hawks, common on the mainland, but not on barrier islands. There were no Peregrine Falcons, but they have been seen on 20 of these counts over the years. Hanging around all day were Turkey Vultures (6).
The ubiquitous Yellow-rumped Warbler on count day. Photo by Jeff Beane
By far, the most common wintering land bird is the Yellow-rumped Warbler and this year 1,150 were tallied. These birds shift their summer diet of primarily insects to berries in the winter, enabling them to thrive on barrier islands like Portsmouth and Ocracoke which have plentiful bayberry, wax myrtle, juniper and poison ivy.
Portsmouth Island is well-known as a North Carolina wintering ground for American Oystercatchers and 11 individuals were recorded.
Christmas Bird Counts, begun in 1900 by ornithologist Frank Chapman of the National Audubon Society, are considered to be the longest-running citizen science project. They include species and the number of individuals observed which help show trends in bird populations, migrations trends and environmental impacts. The first year had 25 counts and they have grown to 2,600 and 80,000 volunteers.
White Ibis. Photo by Sara Hassatt
In North Carolina, there are 53 counts. The Portsmouth count complements the Ocracoke count, offering comparative insights into how birds use these adjacent but ecologically distinct islands.
Ocracoke Alive continues the community cultural activities it began last winter this year with Flavia Burton’s presentation of her adventures in South Africa from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 18) in the Ocracoke School.
Running through March 28, activities during the day and evening at various locations will include art, music, dance, creative writing, wellness and cooking classes as well as films, concerts and presentations.
A special emphasis this year will be the offering of more activities to draw in the Latino community, said Ocracoke Alive Executive Director David Tweedie.
“When we asked the community what they were interested in, they wanted multicultural offerings,” he said.
To that end, he said, the activities this year include Latin dancing, along with a couple of community dances, some cooking classes, coffee conversation hours, creative writing in Spanish and yoga in Spanish.
The online schedule will be translated into Spanish.
Among the new additions this year are Games/Puzzles for Families & All Ages in the Ocracoke Community Library; Ocracoke Philosophical Salon with Philip Howard; A visit with homing pigeons; Seamanship and knots; Hand building Pottery Angels; Improv Theater for Adults; soapmaking; A performance of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” by the Mended Wing Theater Company; a jazz concert; a seminar on “Envisioning the Future of Ocracoke”; and the North Carolina premier of Ben Knight’s new documentary “The Best Day Ever.”
The schedule is subject to change and some classes with limited capacity require registration.
For the detailed list of all activities and to sign up, visit the calendar here: www.ocracokealive.org.
On the early morning Swan Quarter ferry. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
By Connie Leinbach
As of Jan. 1, the N.C. Ferry Division has stopped allowing free passes on the toll ferries for residents going to medical appointments.
Tim Hass, Ferry Division spokesman, confirmed this move in an email, noting that while the medical appointments and education exemptions had been allowed in the past, “We did not have authority to exempt them.”
But recent work with their legal team on this led to this change to ensure compliance.
“Over time, several toll exemptions had been allowed administratively, including for medical appointments and education related travel,” he said. “Upon review, NCDOT determined that these particular exemptions were not supported by statutory authority or formal policy approval, even though they had been extended in practice for many years.”
He said that the policy changes align ferry toll exemptions with those that are either:
Explicitly authorized in NC General Statutes, such as Evacuation and Emergency Events – G.S. 136-82(b2), or Court Ordered Appearances – G.S. 7A.312(a).
Formally approved as part of the DOT’s operational authority and oversight to operate the state’s ferry system, as well as toll actions that require and receive approval from the Board of Transportation (BOT).
As part of this alignment, passes to see doctors lacked that authority and were discontinued to ensure consistency, transparency and compliance going forward, Hass said.
Under the DOT’s statutory authority to operate the ferry system, vehicles operated by Ferry Division employees traveling to and from their assigned workstations as part of ferry operations are not charged tolls.
“This is considered an operational function necessary to maintain ferry service, not a discretionary toll exemption,” he said.
An example of BOT-approved exemption is for children age three and under on the passenger only Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry.
Medical passes were granted for vehicles and passengers for physician visits using both vehicle ferries and the passenger-only Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry.
“The only waiver on the toll ferries is for jury duty,” Bob Chestnut, chair of the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association, said in an interview. He also said tht he and the Ocracoke Access Alliance are looking into how this waiver, as well as waivers for school buses and seniors, could be legislatively sanctioned.
In 2025, 297 spaces were granted and in 2024, 258 spaces were granted, Hass said.
Service for most of North Carolina’s seven ferry routes is free, but fares are charged for service on the popular Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke routes as well as the Southport-Fort Fisher route and the Ocracoke Express (Hatteras-Ocracoke) passenger ferry route.
North Carolina’s 100 county boards of elections on Monday, Jan. 12, began sending absentee-by-mail ballots to registered voters who requested a ballot for the 2026 primary election.
This marks the start of voting for North Carolina’s March 3 primary election.
Voters who have already requested absentee-by-mail ballots should receive them in the coming days.
In North Carolina, any eligible voter can request, receive, and vote an absentee ballot by mail. Find more information at Vote By Mail.
The absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Election officials urge voters who wish to vote by mail to request their ballot as early as possible to ensure there is time to receive it and then send it back to their county board of elections so that it is received no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day – March 3.
State law previously provided for a grace period if your ballot was postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to three days after the election. That is no longer the case. The ballot must be at the county board office, not in the mail, by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
In the primary election, voters will select nominees for a political party to move on to the Nov. 3 general election.
In primaries, voters affiliated with a political party will be given a ballot of candidates for their party.
Unaffiliated voters may choose the ballot of any one party that has a primary (Democratic or Republican) or a nonpartisan ballot, if available in their jurisdiction.
The Green Party and Libertarian Party do not have NC primaries in 2026. More information: Upcoming Election.
Lake Mattamuskeet Lodge along New Holland Road, Hyde County. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
From our news services
The Mattamuskeet Lodge Society will host an open house at the historic structure on Saturday (Jan. 17) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring a full day of history, nature and community.
This is a good opportunity to learn more about the wildlife, landscape and conservation efforts that make this area so special, and it coincides with the Mattamuskeet Decoy and Waterfowl Festival, according to a press release.
Stop by the lodge for new merchandise, history, and updates on the future of the building, pair your visit with guided refuge tours.
An Ocracoke canal in Oyster Creek. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
Monday, Jan. 12 Ocracoke School Middle School girls and boys basketball teams play away at Columbia.
Tuesday, Jan. 13 Ocracoke School Varsity girls and boys basketball teams play at home vs. Bear Grass. Girls start at 4 pm; boys should start around 5:30.
Wednesday, Jan. 14 Roanoke Island Animal Clinic sees patients in the Community Center. Call 252-473-3117 for appointments and check Facebook for last minute changes.
Friday, Jan. 16 Ocracoke School Varsity girls and boys play at home vs. Hobgood. Girls start at 4 pm; boys should start around 5:30.
Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ray Murray, 7 pm
Saturday, Jan. 17 Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ocracoke Rockers with Jay Turner, 7:30 pm
Sunday, Jan. 18 Church services: Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am
Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am
Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960 but refresh your browser for it to work properly.
Ocracoke on the last day of 2025. Photo by Dennis McCunney
By Peter Vankevich
The birds of Ocracoke proved watcher-friendly for the annual Christmas Bird Count held on Dec. 31. For the second consecutive year, observers tallied more than 100 species—reaching 102 in all. This marks a notable achievement, as most counts since the tradition began in 1981 typically record between 80 and 90 species.
About 20 observers braved mid-30s temperatures, fanning out across the island starting at dawn. Wade Austin spent the day leading a duck hunting party, observing waterfowl species from his boat and blind, including approximately 500 Redheads—ducks that winter by the thousands in the Outer Banks region.
The count runs for a full 24 hours, allowing for nocturnal species as well. Black-crowned Night Herons and Great Horned Owls, both vocal at this time of year, were among those recorded.
One of four Eastern Meadowlarks seen at the airport on count day. Photo by Peter Vankevich
Even in seasonably cold weather, there’s an undeniable appeal to being out in the field. For Will Mackin, a biologist from Raleigh who has spent years bird banding in the Caribbean, this was his first Ocracoke count.
“Ocracoke is one of the few places on the East Coast where you can see the transition from interior forest to dune to beach habitat,” Mackin said. “It’s home to wintering songbirds feeding on juniper berries and other fruits, and it was a great way to end 2025—seeing a healthy plant community full of native birds.”
Stephanie Horton, who has been participating in the counts for the past 28 years, reflected on what keeps her coming back.
“My love of bird watching really began in the mountains when I saw an American Goldfinch, Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager in the same brightly sunlit shrub on a college field trip,” she said.
Her group found no Marsh or Sedge Wrens this year for the first time.
“The windy weather made birds huddle in sheltered areas and not sing, but we got good views of American bitterns and Clapper Rails,” she said. We did flush a Bald Eagle, which flew all over the island. So all of the groups spotted it. These counts give us a chance to see old friends as well as contribute to community science. Peter and Mary Vankevich’s wonderful tally rally party is always a highlight.”
Since the count began in 1981, 181 species have been recorded. This year, the Brown-headed Nuthatch was a new addition to the list. Bald Eagles—two were spotted—have been appearing in the past couple of years, a sign of the species’ continued recovery.
Some numbers were staggering: an estimated 12,122 Double-crested Cormorants were tallied, though this was actually a fraction of the numbers seen in the area over the past month. Record highs were set for Forster’s Terns (287), Black-crowned Night Herons (27) and White Ibis (707).
On the other end of the spectrum, just a single Cooper’s Hawk was reported. These urbanized raptors are often seen in the village chasing down Yellow-rumped Warblers and other birds.
Eurasian Collared-Doves have become a common wire bird in Ocracoke village. Photo by Jeff Beane
Eurasian Collared-Doves are now a common sight in the village with 204 individuals reported. They thrive in human-assisted habitat and so are rarely seen beyond Howard’s Pub, leaving the rest of the island for their cousins, Mourning Doves.
In terms of individual birds, seven species had the highest number since the count began: Hooded Merganser: 44, Willet: 506, Black-crowned Night Heron: 27, Turkey Vulture: 8, Lesser Black-backed Gull:118, Forster’s Tern: 287 and Eurasian Collared-Dove:205
In addition to the official count-day tally, 13 species were documented as “count week birds”—species not seen on Dec. 31 but observed within three days before or after the count circle. These included Parasitic Jaeger, Razorbill and Chuck-will’s-widow.
For many participants, the Christmas Bird Count is about more than just numbers. It’s a chance to connect with the community and contribute to long-term ecological understanding.
A Merlin, seen on Dec. 31. Photo by Karen Rhodes
“For me, the bird count is always an amazing way of connecting with the Ocracoke community and contributing—in a small way—to the long-term ecological health of the island,” said Dennis McCunney, director of intercultural affairs at East Carolina University.
Hammock Hills trail. Photo by Dennis McCunney
Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count Dec. 31, 2025 Species and Numbers: Total count day: 102 plus count week birds: 13 Brant 150 Canada Goose 43 Gadwall 4 Mallard 22 Blue-winged Teal 6 Northern Pintail 125 Green-winged Teal 5 Redhead 508 Greater Scaup 100 Lesser Scaup 100 Black Scoter 127 Bufflehead 135 Hooded Merganser 44 Red-breasted Merganser 19 Ruddy Duck 1 Common Loon 9 Pied-billed Grebe 10 Horned Grebe 1 Northern Gannet 111 Double-crested Cormorant 12,122 Brown Pelican 676 American Bittern 5 Great Blue Heron 12 Great Egret 18 Snowy Egret 3 Little Blue Heron 4 Tricolored Heron 14 Black-crowned Night-Heron 27 White Ibis 707 Turkey Vulture 8 Northern Harrier 9 Sharp-Shinned Hawk 4 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 2 Clapper Rail 7 Virginia Rail 1 Sora 1 Common Gallinule 1 American Oystercatcher 6 Black-bellied Plover 59 Piping Plover 3 Killdeer 12 Willet 506 Ruddy Turnstone 26 Red Knots 134 Sanderling 434 Dunlin 79 Purple Sandpiper 1 Western Sandpiper 1 Bonaparte’s Gull 5 Laughing Gull 28 Ring-billed Gull 877 Herring Gull 350 Lesser Black-backed Gull 118 Great Black-backed Gull 233 Forster’s Tern 287 Royal Tern 29 Eurasian Collared-Dove 204 Mourning Dove 30 Great Horned Owl 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4 Belted Kingfisher 15 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Northern Flicker 6 American Kestrel 13 Merlin 4 Eastern Phoebe 4 Blue Jay 1 Brown-headed Nuthatch 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 Brown Creeper 1 House Wren 2 Winter Wren 1 Marsh Wren 1 Carolina Wren 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 14 Gray Catbird 27 Brown Thrasher 2 Northern Mockingbird 35 European Starling 235 American Pipit 6 Black and White Warbler 2 Orange-crowned Warbler 7 Common Yellowthroat 8 Palm Warbler 1 Pine Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1044 Prairie Warbler 1 White-throated Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 2 Song Sparrow 21 Swamp Sparrow 9 Eastern Towhee 34 Northern Cardinal 20 Red-winged Blackbird 74 Eastern Meadowlark 5 Common Grackle 2 Boat-tailed Grackle 2 House Finch 13 House Sparrow 106
A Pamlico Sound ferry leaves Ocracoke. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
MANNS HARBOR – People will have a chance to set sail on a rewarding career as the North Carolina Ferry Division hosts a series of four career events to find qualified applicants to staff its ferries, terminals and shipyard.
The career events will be focused on finding temporary and seasonal employees for the upcoming summer season.
Seasonal employees are a key part of the N.C. Ferry System’s service, and they are often the first considered for permanent roles.
“In fact, a majority of last year’s temporary hires transitioned into permanent roles,” said Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon. Career events this year will be held at the following times and locations:
Jan. 14: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., NC Works Career Center, 3813 Arendell St., Morehead City.
Feb. 4: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Pamlico River Ferry Operations Center, 229 N.C. 306 North, Bath.
At the events, applications will be accepted for temporary/seasonal employment at all experience levels, from general utility worker to experienced boat captains. Those seeking permanent employment are welcome to attend the event to learn more about open positions and how to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) or a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) for the application process.
Among the benefits of Ferry Division permanent employment are:
Competitive salaries
Year-round, full-time permanent employment
Health insurance
Retirement benefits
Paid vacation, holiday and sick leave
For a listing of the Ferry Division’s current job openings, visit the state jobs website to create a profile and apply for permanent positions.
The sandbag area on the north end of NC12 on Ocracoke during a high wind event in November. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
NC State University professor Dr. K.C. Busch is seeking further dialogue with the Ocracoke community about NC Highway 12 and access issues.
She was part of the research team that last year presented findings on their simulations of what might happen to the island’s landscape under different road management scenarios.
Busch would like to speak with residents again and will be in the Ocracoke Community Center Jan. 30 and 31.
She would like those interested to RSVP to the website in the flyer below.
