Seabird Far from Home
Walking along the beach in Kill Devil Hills, NC, and enjoying the myriad of shells, skate egg cases, and seabirds, I came upon one that had met its demise so I got closer to see what I might learn. The bird, lying on it’s side in the sand obviously died with its eyes wide open…and, though, dead, it was beautiful. I noticed quickly the point of a fish hook coming out the top of its head so somehow a fisherman’s hook had traveled through its mouth and pierced his skull and brain along with it. This took me back to the days of “pithing a frog’s brain” in biology class. In studying the bird, I was somewhat perplexed in identifying it. I realized I had not seen this bird before. It was large, white with black edged wings, short black legs with a thin green line down the front of the legs and black webbed feet. The unusual thing was the pretty blue ring around its eye and the colorful light blue bill. The bird is a Northern Gannet which breed up along the New England and Canadian coasts and migrate along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts for winter. The pretty blue bill is a sturdy one for they feed by diving straight into the ocean achieving speeds of 60 miles per hour. The bill can grab a fish under water and swallow it before the gannet resurfaces. I do hope my next sighting of a Northern Gannet ( a cousin to the Blue-footed Booby) is one I can view in flight and very much alive, but for this sighting, I at least added another bird to my life...
Read MoreLike A Vertebral Column
After the New Year, I spent a week along the NC Outer Banks with college friends, enjoying God’s great gifts of nature. The shore…any shore, for that matter, is a favorite place for me to commune with our Creator. The southern end of the Outer Banks had been ravaged from Superstorm Sandy so we spent most of our time north of Mirlo Beach. We stayed in Kill Devil Hills and took day-trips to other areas like Pea Island, Manteo, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, etc. The beaches on the Outer Banks are different from the ones in SC with much higher dunes and a coarser sand composition. We enjoyed walking along the beach with the shore birds, looking at shells and debris. I saw my first whelk egg case. It looked a lot like a vertebral column of some sort and seemed appropriate as the beginning of life by the sea. Interesting to study. My friend who grew up along the beach showed me what was inside by breaking the casing open which revealed teeny, tiny little “baby” whelks. Each of the cases has a little hole up on the top edge which is where the “babies” hatch out to begin their long journey of life in the sea. She dumped the little whelks out in the palm of her hand to my amazement having never seen them before. I quickly recalled these words from William Blake… To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour. Ah…the lessons of our...
Read MoreThanksgiving Work of Another Kind
Hurricane Sandy (aka Superstorm Sandy) was one of the most devastating natural disasters on American soil. For many in the northeastern USA, it took their homes, their businesses and life-long belongings. Even more tragic, Sandy also took over 100 lives. Seeing the news coverage of the storm’s ferocious devastation, the NYC subway flooding made us realize, I guess, with new respect, just how powerful Mother Nature is. Our prayers continue for the victims and their losses. The NC Outer Banks got hit a lot harder than most realize. There hasn’t been the media coverage as there has been for the northeast. Homes were swallowed by the sea, businesses were lost and the single Hwy.12, which transports people to their homes, work, school, churches and vacationers to their little peaceful respite, was itself swallowed by that ferocious ocean. Hwy, 12 has been reworked numerous times after other storms, but I think what was so devastating about Sandy’s damaged is that the Outer Banks got hit by the ocean AND on the sound side. The NC Outer Banks are barrier islands, but are not anchored to offshore coral reefs as many barrier islands are. This make the OBX susceptible to significant beach erosion during heavy storms. The OBX are recognized as the part of the Atlantic coast north of Florida most prone to hurricane damage. The Halloween storm Sandy has the NC DOT working along with the Army Corps of Engineers non-stop and here we are nearly three months later. Much progress has been made, but some folks are still unable to get to or leave their homes. The ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island is barely an on and off again schedule due to so much sand being dumped in the sound and inlet waters. The picture above is an awesome shot from the Virginian-Pilot: A North Carolina Department of Transportation worker, Pablo Hernandez, resident Engineer, jumps over ocean water as he moves cones on the damaged section of N.C. 12 north of the Mirlo Beach area of Rodanthe on Hatteras Island on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. What a way for Pablo to spend his Thanksgiving Day…a gift to all of...
Read MoreUniquely Beautiful Sea Shells
Many of us enjoy shelling when we spend time in coastal areas. Since I was a child, I have enjoyed just meandering down the beach, often getting a crick in my neck from long, long searches for the perfect and unique shell. The truth is each one is unique just as we are. The leisure pastime allows everything else in my life to drift away from my mind as if it is carried out with the last wave as it retreats with the tide. Do you like shelling? Do you find it relaxing as I do? What about it do you enjoy most? I find that I really enjoy the discovery of the tiniest of shells, perfectly formed in its own color without any visible chips, with all the detail of the larger ones but just miniature. Then, the wondering begins. How old is this tiny, tiny shell? Where did it first greet life and just how far has it traveled? I find great relaxation in this fond leisure. I recall, as a child riding back home from a vacation at the beach in the backseat of the family car, windows open wide without air conditioning, a shoe box collection of my treasures from the sea and the odorous decaying of some that had their dying inhabitants still intact. Maybe THAT’S why the windows were open and not the heat! And so we wait until the next...
Read MoreNC’s Wild Horses
NC Tourism boasts the Wild Horses maintained along the coast for hundreds of years. They all descend from the Spanish Mustangs brought to the area in the 1500s. NC has three residences for the horses in Shackleford, Corolla and Ocracoke. Those on Shackleford roam totally free as there are no human inhabitants there. In Ocracoke they are fenced in and in Corolla, they roam somewhat free among the dunes, beach and vegetation area. All are looked after by the National Park Service. On Ocracoke Island, the horses can easily be seen on the sound side of Highway 12. These horses are fenced in and I was quite tickled to see the two I viewed each had their own “personal valet,” an egret keeping their area clean and void of irritation from flies. Ugh! They are beautiful animals and quite the survivors having been dumped off shipwrecks hundreds of years...
Read MoreOcracoke Lighthouse
Ocracoke Island on the North Carolina Outer Banks is one of my favorite places to visit. The quaint village dating back to the 1700s was made famous by the well-known pirate, Blackbeard. Blackbeard was killed on November 22, 1718. It was a pirate haven and was permanently settled in 1750. Today, it is a serene fishing village and quiet tourist area. The Ocracoke Lighthouse was built in 1823 and today is the oldest lighthouse in NC still in continuous use. It is the 2nd oldest in the United States in continuous service. I love going to the sleepy village of Ocracoke and the lighthouse is my favorite of all I have visited. The Ocracoke Lighthouse was constructed for just over $11,000. A great place visit. ...
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National Audubon Society
Help support the efforts of our National Audubon Society in conservation of natural bird habitats. Visit: www.birds.audubon.org