Our Bird Walks every Monday morning continue to be well attended.
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| photo by Laura Scullin |
And each week our guests have more to see....
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS
As previously reported, the American Oystercatchers have four nests on the south end. Lindsay (NC Audubon Staff member) did her nest check Friday (5/29) morning and discovered that three of those nests have hatched and the fourth nest was in the process of hatching. One chick had already hatched and two eggs showed signs of hatching soon. Many visitors have been watching the pair on the SE corner of the posting shading their one chick for the past week and capturing wonderful pictures!
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| photo by Don Ellson |
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| photo by Laura Scullin |
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| photo by Laura Scullin |
The pair closest to the front dune by the “highway” of the nesting colony has 3 chicks. Our stewards are also getting great pictures of these adorable chicks! Look for the chicks shading themselves under plants growing on the front large dune on the sound side of the posting.
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| photo by Don Ellson |
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| photo by Kathy Hannah |
During Friday’s nest check, two more Common Tern nests were discovered. We now have a total of 12 nests… and two of the nests have hatched. We expect to see Common Tern chicks in the front of the dunes within the posting soon. The chicks will stay close to the plants to shade themselves with a parent close by, so if you see an adult Common Tern standing in front of the dunes, look for chicks under the plants!
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Common Terns often stand guard on the posts
and will dive at you if they feel threatened.
photo by Laura Scullin |
The Least Terns have nested and are incubating eggs. We expect to have chicks hatching within the next 2 weeks. They are nesting in all the open sand areas of the south end including the point by the inlet and behind and in front of the ocean front dunes.
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So many least tern nests promise lots of chicks!
photo by Laura Scullin |
The next 6 weeks are the most critical for the colony as the parents attempt to keep eggs from crows and other predators and to protect chicks from injury from heat stress. It is so very important to keep dogs off the beach and to always keep a distance from the posting. The reward will be lots of baby chicks running around the beach.
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American Crow with an egg being chased by least terns.
photo by John Sutton |
COMMING ATTRACTIONS
Here are some pictures from previous years as a reminder of what's to come!
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Least tern chicks (2011)
photo by Kathy Hannah |
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Least Tern chick (2011)
photo by Kathy Hannah |
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