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Ocracoke Island, Hyde County,
NC
Ocracoke Island is mostly
park land (the Cape Hatteras National Seashore), but the town of Ocracoke has a
lot of interesting wildlife, especially in its new Springer's Point Nature Preserve.
See live map.
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/21/19
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Spotless Ladybug Beetle (Cycloneda sanguinea) |
Same Spotless Ladybug Beetle (Cycloneda sanguinea) |
Vedalia Beetle (Rodolia cardinalis) |
Vedalia Beetle pupa |
Cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi), natural prey of Vedalia Beetles. |
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/20/19
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Polished Ladybug Beetle (Cycloneda munda) |
Mating Vedalia Beetles (Rodolia cardinalis) |
Aphids |
More aphids |
Cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi), natural prey of Vedalia Beetles. ID thanks to Ken Wolgemuth. |
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/19/19
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American Oystercatcher, at the north end of the island |
Same American Oystercatcher |
Anchor Bug (Stiretrus anchorago), in town |
Moth fly (in town) |
Atlantic Ocean |
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Heron's Landing, seen from the beach |
Sanderlings, far up the beach |
Squirrel treefrog |
Another squirrel treefrog |
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Willet and Sanderlings, far up the beach |
Willet struggling to keep its balance in the strong winds |
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Ocracoke Island (Hammock Hills Nature Trail), Hyde County, NC 4/18/19
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Carolina Anole |
Eastern Blue-eyed Grass |
Flesh fly |
Fowler's Toad |
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Blooming Poison Ivy |
Sawtooth Blackberry |
Tiny wasp |
Fowler's Toad |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/18/19
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Kite |
Public beach |
Palamedes Swallowtail |
Sanderling |
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Sandwich Tern |
Willet |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/17/19
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Birdfoot Trefoil |
House |
Eurasian Collared Dove courtship ritual: the dove on the right bowed repeatedly. |
Another scene from the Eurasian Collared Dove courtship ritual |
Little Quaking Grass (Briza minor) |
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Male House Sparrow |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/16/19
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Brown-headed Cowbird |
Fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird struggling to catch its balance |
Feral cat. There is a substantial population of cats given food by residents, otherwise on their own. |
Coral Honeysuckle |
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Daisy Fleabane |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
Evening Primrose |
Happy Easter yard display |
Female House Sparrow |
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Marsh during the golden hour |
Mint plants |
Mourning Dove |
Osprey aircraft in helicopter mode |
Same Osprey aircraft |
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Red Admiral |
Common Starling |
Yellow Thistle (Cirsium horridulum) |
Violet Wood-sorrel |
Wisteria |
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Wisteria branch |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/15/19
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Brown Pelican |
Daisy Fleabane |
Eastern Blue-eyed Grass |
Firewheel |
Mystery grass |
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Female House Sparrow |
Fledgling House Sparrow |
Same fledgling House Sparrow |
Same fledgling House Sparrow |
Ring-billed Gulls and a Laughing Gull |
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Sea Oxeye Daisies |
Violet Wood-Sorrel |
Asters |
Wisteria |
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Carolina Wren |
Eastern Blue-eyed Grass |
False Garlic (Crow Poison) |
Grackle |
Little Quaking Grass (Briza minor) |
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Gull |
Mystery iris, thriving in a large marsh |
Shield-backed bug |
Black Willow male catkins |
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Ocracoke Island (nearest beach to town), Hyde County, NC 5/26/18
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Black Skimmer |
Ghost Crab |
Laughing Gull |
Red Knots |
Red Knots in flight |
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More flying Red Knots |
Red Knots seeking mollusks |
Large group of Red Knots |
Another view of that group |
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Red Knots, two in breeding plumage |
More Red Knots |
Yet more Red Knots |
Breeding Sanderling |
Juvie Sanderling |
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Semipalmated Plover |
Same Semipalmated Plover |
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Ocracoke Island (Southpoint), Hyde County, NC 5/25/18
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Eastern Mud Turtle |
Deer Fly |
Grackle |
Great Egret |
Female Needham's Skimmer |
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Male Needham's Skimmer? |
Female Needham's Skimmer |
Teneral Eastern Pondhawk |
Red-winged Blackbird |
Same Red-winged Blackbird |
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Red-winged Blackbird |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/25/18
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Probably Lanceleaf Fogfruit |
Another Lanceleaf Fogfruit |
Moon |
Shield-backed bug |
Cat with bird prey? |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/24/18
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Floats |
Mourning Dove |
Sandwich Tern over North Pond |
Same Sandwich Tern |
Wharf Crab in a residential neighborhood |
Ocracoke Island (nearest public beach), Hyde County, NC 5/23/18
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Breeding Black-bellied Plover |
Another Black-bellied Plover |
Same Black-bellied Plover |
Red Knot |
Same Red Knot |
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Breeding Ruddy Turnstone |
Same Ruddy Turnstone |
Sanderling facing away from the wind |
Sanderling, with maybe transitional plumage |
Nonbreeding Sanderling |
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Breeding Sanderling |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/23/18
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Male Red-winged Blackbird on a cedar |
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Springer's Point, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/22/18
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Mating Redbelly Water Snakes |
Same mating Redbelly Water Snakes |
Sandwich Tern |
Sandwich Tern |
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Thicket Bean (Phaseolus polystachios var. sinuatus) |
Prickly Pear |
Another Prickly Pear |
Another Prickly Pear |
Male Northern Cardinal |
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Fowler's Toad |
Northern Mockingbird |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/22/18
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Male Carolina Anole displaying |
Feral tabby cat |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
Female Needham's Skimmer |
White-topped Sedge |
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/21/18
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Sweat bee (Agapostemon genus) on Firewheel flower |
Same sweat bee |
Common Starling |
Squirrel Treefrog |
Sea Oxeye Daisy |
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Pink Wood-Sorrel |
Male House Sparrow |
Great Egret |
Gray Catbird |
Firewheels |
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Eurasian Collared Dove |
Same Eurasian Collared Dove |
Flying Double-crested Cormorant |
Same Double-crested Cormorant |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/27/17
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Variegated Fritillary on White Clover |
Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella) |
Slender Ladies' Tresses orchid (Spiranthes lacera) |
Closer look at the same Slender Ladies' Tresses orchid |
Ladies tresses flower from side |
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Spring Ladies' Tresses orchid |
Close-up of a Ladies Tresses group of flowers, showing orange and yellow interiors |
A group of Ladies Tresses flowers from another plant, showing just a green-yellow interior |
Plant bug, seen on building exterior |
Same plant bug |
Ocracoke Island (near beach), Hyde County, NC 5/27/17
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Ruddy Turnstone, nearly in full breeding plumage |
Same Ruddy Turnstone |
Sanderling in breeding plumage |
Another Sanderling in breeding plumage |
Same Sanderling |
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Non-breeding Sanderling |
Breeding Willet |
Firewheels |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/26/17
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Eurasian Collared Dove |
Artwork on a house |
Fort Ocracoke memorial plaque |
Seen at a business |
Killdeer |
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View across the North Pond |
Sanderlings flying across the North Pond |
Snowy Egret at the North Pond, near the downtown area |
Sunset |
Sunset reflected in a window |
Ocracoke Island (north shore), Hyde County, NC 5/26/17
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American Oystercatcher |
Same American Oystercatcher |
Washed-up blowfish |
Ship dredging channels |
Eastern Beach Tiger Beetle |
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Same Eastern Beach Tiger Beetle |
Same Eastern Beach Tiger Beetle |
Ferry arriving at Silver Lake |
Young Ghost Crab |
Blooming pennyworts |
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Sanderling |
Another Sanderling |
Sandspurs |
Seaweed |
A view of the shore |
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Spider wasp (in dunes) |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/25/17
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Sandhill Bean (Phaseolus sinuatus) |
View of the marsh |
Ladies tresses orchid (Spiranthes genus) |
Fowler's Toad |
Figurine in front yard |
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Aphid |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/24/17
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Male Northern Cardinal |
Feral cat (seen at old lighthouse) |
Fowler's Toad |
Male House Sparrow |
Female Mallard |
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Mandevilla |
Salt Marsh Mallow |
Male Common Starling in breeding plumage |
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Ocracoke Island (north shore), Hyde County, NC 5/24/17
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Sanderling in breeding plumage |
Another Sanderling in non-breeding plumage |
Common Tern |
Same Common Tern |
Same Common Tern |
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Male Brackish-water Fiddler Crab |
Tiny beetle in the dunes |
Male Rambur's Forktail |
Ghost Crab |
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Jellyfish |
Royal Tern |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/22/17
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A lone Laughing Gull at Silver Lake |
The gull issues several cries. |
Another view |
A second gull arrives. |
The courtship ritual begins. |
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The gull that came looks down. |
They brush beaks. |
Now the caller looks up. |
Purple Morning Glory vine |
Mourning Dove taking off. |
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Male Red-winged Blackbird |
Same male Red-winged Blackbird |
Sanderling in breeding plumage |
Another Sanderling, also in breeding plumage |
Juvie Gray Catbird |
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Barn Swallow |
Bike sculpture |
Feral cat |
Male Eastern Towhee (very early) |
Grass flowers |
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Gray Catbird |
Laughing Gulls and Herring Gulls compete for scraps tossed from a nearby restaurant |
Male House Sparrow |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/21/17
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Eurasian Collared Doves |
The USDA calls this a "rattlebox" (Sesbania punicea). It's a kind of locust tree, a member of the pea family (Fabaceae) and is native to South America. It's considered to be invasive and a noxious weed in Florida and California, but North Carolina's chilly winters keep it in check. |
White-topped Sedge flower |
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Pamlico Sound and Big Foot Island, Hyde County, NC 5/21/17
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Brown Pelicans on Big Foot Island |
Another view of Brown Pelicans on Big Foot Island |
More Brown Pelicans on Big Foot Island |
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Diving tern over Pamlico Sound. Probably a nonbreeding Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) |
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Swan Quarter, Hyde County, NC 5/21/17
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Barn Swallow in flight |
Barn Swallow, also in flight |
Delaware Skipper |
Killdeer |
Same Killdeer |
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Killdeer |
Female Needham's Skimmer |
Palatka Skipper |
Female Seaside Dragonlet |
Perhaps teneral female Seaside Dragonlet |
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Male Seaside Skimmer, nearly adult |
Teneral male Seaside Skimmer |
Another teneral male Seaside Skimmer |
Male Seaside Skimmer, nearly adult |
Adult male Seaside Skimmer |
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/29/16 (seen from the departing ferry)
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Cormorants flying south |
Big Foot Island just before dawn |
A better view of Big Foot Island, showing pelicans and other birds |
A similar view, closer to sunrise |
Cormorants flying south |
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Cormorants flying from Big Foot Island toward Ocracoke (south) |
The Village of Ocracoke |
Big Foot Island |
Distant cormorants |
Harbor House |
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Egrets |
Another view of these egrets |
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Nature Trail, Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC 10/28/16
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Male Brackish-water Fiddler Crab standing his ground |
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Ocracoke Island (north end), Hyde County, NC 10/27/16
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Nonbreeding Black-bellied Plover |
Another nonbreeding Black-bellied Plover |
Probably first-year Piping Plover, which alternated between walking toward me and facing away |
Same Piping Plover, which eventually flew around me. |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/27/16
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Common Starlings |
Common Starlings |
Double-crested Cormorant |
Brown Pelican flying toward setting sun |
After sunset |
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Before sunset |
Closer up |
Same sunset scene with glare screened out |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/26/16
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Double-crested Cormorant |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
Grackle |
Mallard ducklings |
Mystery bird |
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Interesting street corner |
Fishing mistake |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/25/16
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Monarch |
Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Same Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Same Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Another Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Springer's Point Nature Preserve, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/25/16
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Eastern Phoebe |
Northern Mockingbird |
Hens |
Cooper's Hawk |
Raccoon sculpture |
Ocracoke Island (north shore), Hyde County, NC 10/24/16
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Nonbreeding Black-bellied Plover |
Same Black-bellied Plover |
Cormorants |
Ghost Crab |
Grasshopper |
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Great Black-backed Gull |
Flock of Great Black-backed Gulls |
Four Black-backed Gulls |
The north end, where the effects of the Hurricane Matthew are seen |
Yellow-rumped Warbler, one of several nearby |
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Hyde County, NC 10/24/16
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Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Juvie Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Yellow-rumped Warbler in a marsh |
Another juvie Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Female Red-winged Blackbird |
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/23/16
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Double-crested Cormorant |
Mallard-American Black Duck hybrid pair |
Common flower in the neighborhood |
Sunset over Silver Lake |
Yellow-rumped Warbler eating berries in a Wax Myrtle bush |
Springer's Point Nature Preserve, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 10/23/16
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Northern Mockingbird, actually slightly outside the Preserve |
Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Another Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Remains of a horseshoe crab |
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Big Foot Island, Hyde County, NC 10/22/16
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Double-crested Cormorants and gulls |
A longer view of the Double-crested Cormorants and gulls |
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Pamlico Sound, Hyde County, NC 10/22/16
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Royal Tern |
Laughing Gull |
Laughing Gulls, with fish prey |
Juvenile Brown Pelican landing |
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Swan Quarter, Hyde County, NC 10/22/16
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Blowfly |
Midge |
Royal Tern about to land |
What is the one Royal Tern saying? Flying by are a gull, an adult Royal Tern, and a juvenile. |
Interspecies conversation (including Laughing Gull) |
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Royal Terns and Laughing Gulls, both |
A quiet scene, during a rare moment when both Royal Terns were looking in the same direction |
Sometimes one Royal Tern bumps another one off its perch. In this case, an adult is the one displaying bad manners, while these two juveniles are still unsuspecting. |
Another interesting conversation, perhaps, "You can't land here!" |
One perched Royal Tern watches two other terns pass through. |
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More Royal Tern activity: "Don't even think of landing here!" |
You can see who's boss, at least on this piling. |
It's interesting to see how Royal Terns wriggle their wings when moved in on. |
"Sorry, buddy, but we don't think there's a place for you." |
An adult Royal Tern flies by, watched by two juveniles. |
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One Royal Tern scolds another. |
"Don't even think of doing that!" |
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Ocracoke (beach), Hyde County, NC 4/23/16
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Non-breeding, molting Black-bellied Plover |
Sanderling |
Willet |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/23/16
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Male Northern Cardinal |
Carpet Beetle |
House Sparrow gathering nesting material from cattails |
Male Red-winged Blackbird in cedar tree |
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Springer's Point Nature Preserve, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/22/16
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Beach |
Male Red-winged Blackbird |
Yellow-rumped Warbler |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/22/16
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Banner |
Birdfoot Trefoil |
Birdfoot Trefoil with some faded (fertilized?) flowers |
Evening Primrose |
Houses across the marsh |
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Mite, 1-2 mm long |
Blue-eyed Grass |
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Ocracoke (beach), Hyde County, NC 4/21/16
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Double-crested Cormorant |
Another Double-crested Cormorant |
Mostly gulls on a sand bar |
Tricolored Heron |
Same Tricolored Heron |
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Tricolored Heron and crow |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/21/16
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Barn Swallow |
Barn Swallows |
Blue Jay |
Brown Pelican |
Meadow Garlic (Allium canadense) |
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Big house on the marsh |
Pink Wood-Sorrel |
Common Starling |
Blue Toadflax |
Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/20/16
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Birdfoot Trefoil in the middle of the day |
Birdfoot Trefoil in the early morning |
Male Northern Cardinal |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
Another Eurasian Collared Dove |
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Great Egret, with green patch indicating breeding status |
Mallard duckling without a family |
A drainage ditch in the big marsh on the south end |
Sunrise |
Tricolored Heron flying past the pier |
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Yellowlegs |
Same yellowlegs |
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Ocracoke (beach scenes were at north end of the island), Hyde County, NC 4/19/16
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Crow |
Egg cases |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
Small Ghost Crab |
Left at tombstone in the town cemetery |
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House Sparrow |
Another House Sparoow |
Osprey aircraft flying low over the marsh |
Another view of the Osprey aircraft |
Palamedes butterfly |
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Interesting street sign |
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Ocracoke (halfway up the island), Hyde County, NC 4/18/16
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Small Ghost Crab |
Blue-eyed Grass |
Grackle (nature trail) |
Palamedes Swallowtail (nature trail) |
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Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 4/18/16
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Barn Swallow |
Beach |
Female Northern Cardinal at Springer's Point Nature Preserve |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
Another Eurasian Collared Dove |
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Grackle |
Gulls in a cedar tree |
Hen |
Male House Finch |
Same male House Finch |
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Male House Finch |
Male Mallard, possibly hybrid w/ American Black Duck |
Mourning Dove |
Palamedes Swallowtail |
Rooster |
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Common Starling |
Sunrise |
Yellow-rumped Warbler in breeding plumage |
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Pamlico Sound, Hyde County, NC 4/17/16
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Swan Quarter |
Swan Quarter |
Herring Gull |
Gull |
Common Loon taking off |
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Herring Gull |
An island |
Laughing Gull |
Herring Gull |
Herring Gull |
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Juvenile Herring Full |
Herring Gulls |
Herring Gulls |
Several Herring Gulls that apparently dove for the same object |
Many Herring Gulls following the ferry's wake |
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Juvenile Herring Gull |
Cormorants and gulls on Big Foot Island, which was created by dredging ferry channels |
Double-crest Cormorant |
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4/19/15 (shortly before dawn)
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Squirrel Treefrog?
This one was much bigger than the one on the right. But
this is a very variable species. |
Squirrel Treefrog |
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4/18/15
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Willet |
Sanderlings and a gull |
Sanderlings |
Ghost Crab |
Feral cat.
Not seen at the beach, but put here for convenience. |
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Springer's Point Nature Preserve, 4/17/15
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Great
Crested Flycatcher |
Snake |
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4/17/15
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Palamedes Swallowtail |
American Oystercatchers |
Horned Grebes |
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Grackle
reacting to cat |
Feral cat
eating grass |
Crane flies
mating |
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4/15/15
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Sixteen Mallard ducklings |
Karl at Herons
Landing |
Female
Rambur's Forktail, seen at Nature Trail outside of town |
Two Green
Anoles apparently battling for territory; one was biting the
other. |
Green Anole |
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Tiny caterpillar, seen at Nature
Trail |
Male
Red-winged Blackbird |
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4/14/15
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Male House
Sparrow |
American Mink
(Neovison vison) |
Same mink |
Same mink |
Same mink |
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White Ibis |
Shield-backed bug |
Mallards |
Green Heron |
Eurasian Collared Dove |
4/13/15
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Blue-eyed Grass |
Common
Shore Tiger Beetle |
Cormorants and Royal Terns |
Willet |
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5/24/12
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Red Knot flying |
Two Red Knots |
Black-bellied Plover |
Sanderling |
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Eurasian Collared Dove |
Black-bellied Plover |
Firewheels |
Bee fly at bee nest |
White-topped Sedge |
North shore of Ocracoke Island, 5/23/12
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_small.JPG) |
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Eastern Beach Tiger Beetle
(Cicindela dorsalis). The genus name may have recently
been changed. |
Marbled Godwit |
Marbled Godwit and
Sanderling |
Same Marbled Godwit and
Sanderling |
Firewheels, in a small
patch on a dune |
In town, 5/23/12
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A feral dog barking at me |
The same dog barking at my
husband |
Bird's-foot Trefoil |
Mallard bathing in a large
puddle left by a big storm |
Bear Grass |
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The south end |
Violet Wood Sorrel (perhaps
a member of the same species as Pink Wood Sorrel: maybe
lighting accounts for the slight difference in color) |
White-topped Sedge |
Brown-headed Cowbirds |
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5/13/09
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Male Fiddler Crab, trying to intimidate me |
Same crab, looking intimidated by my much taller husband. |
Eastern Blue-eyed Grass |
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Springer's
Point Nature Preserve, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC 5/12/09
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Ladybug Beetle (Cycloneda mundi) |
Blue-tipped Dancer |
Little Wood Satyr (ventral) |
Little Wood Satyr (dorsal) |
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North end
of the island, NC 5/12/09
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Salt
Marsh Skipper |
Salt Marsh Skipper, ventral view |
Robber
fly |
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5/11/09
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Milkweed Assassin Bug (Zelus longipes) |
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May 13-16, 2007
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Cattle Egret,
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/16/07 |
Male Brown-headed Cowbird,
Ocracoke, Hyde
County, NC, 5/16/07 |
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus),
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/07 |
Male Red-winged Blackbird,
Ocracoke, Hyde
County, NC, 5/15/07. These birds can control how much of the red
portion of their wings shows. |
Fish Crow,
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/07 |
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White Ibises,
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC,
5/15/07. Note the grayish juvenile. |
White Ibises, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/07 |
White Ibises,
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/07 |
Juvenile Brown Pelican, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07 |
Probably hybrid goose (Greylag/Canada Goose), Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC,
5/14/07 |
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Snowy Egret, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07 |
Royal Tern, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07 |
European Starling, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07 |
Barn Swallow, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07 |
May 9-11, 2006
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Sachem, 5/9/06 |
Juniper Hairstreak, 5/10/06 |
Salt Marsh Skipper, 5/10/06. See more
grass skippers. |
Little Wood Satyr, 5/11/06 |
Stilt-legged Fly, 5/11/06 |
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Ghost Crab, 5/11/06. See more
crustaceans. |
Male Brackish-water Fiddler Crab, 5/11/06 |
Land Birds
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Great Crested Flycatcher
(Myarchus crinitus),
Town of
Ocracoke, 5/15/05. |
Male European Starling,
Ocracoke, Hyde County,
NC, 5/9/06 |
Fish Crow,
Ocracoke, 5/9/06 |
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Ocracoke, Hyde County,
NC, 5/19/05 |
Male
Red-winged Blackbird, Ocracoke, Hyde
County, NC, 5/9/06 |
Geese
Canada Goose and Greylag Goose
interspecies mating is suggested by some of these scenes. I first
saw this interspecies couple in 2003 and last saw what may have been them in
2005, when they mostly sat around.
In May 2006, I saw no Greylag Geese and
all of the Canada Geese were youthful and energetic. They and the
apparent hybrids pictured below, perhaps the offspring of the original couple,
stayed together in a group, but no coupling was apparent. There were four
apparent hybrids in all, and about the same number of Canada Geese.
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Goose family, town of Ocracoke, NC, 5/12/03. Definitely not a
typical Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis) family here! The other
adult is a Greylag Goose. I counted 8
goslings, one of
which seems to be facing toward me. (Canada Goose goslings are
tawny.) |
A little over two years later (town of
Ocracoke, 5/18/05), I
spotted what appears to be this odd couple again. They stayed on
land this time, mostly sitting or eating grass, and I saw them on several different days
in the same general area. I didn't see them in May 2006. |
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Apparent
Canada Goose/Greylag Goose
hybrid, maybe the offspring of the couple on the left, Ocracoke, Hyde
County, NC, 5/18/05. This goose and its Canada Goose companion
hung around with the goose couple in the picture on the left in the
evenings. |
The goose on the right (also pictured at
left) hung around with this Canada Goose, doing some swimming and some
flying. The last time I saw them, they had spotted something
interesting in Silver Lake and were flying toward it, honking wildly.
Note the contrast between the Canada Goose on the left and the
apparent hybrid on the right. Even though goslings had appeared in Ocracoke in
mid-May of 2003, none of any species showed up this time anywhere on Ocracoke Island. |
Apparently a
Canada Goose/Greylag Goose
hybrid. Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06 |
Canada Goose, Ocracoke, Hyde County,
NC, 5/10/06 |
Others
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Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax
nycticorax), town of Ocracoke, 5/19/05. As its name
suggests, this heron is mainly nocturnal. |
Tricolored Heron
(Egretta tricolor),
Ocracoke, Hyde
County, NC, 5/10/06 |
Tricolored Heron,
Ocracoke, 5/10/06 |
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), Ocracoke, Hyde
County, NC, 5/10/06 |
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Royal Tern (Sterna maxima), in breeding plumage,
Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC, in flight, 5/9/06 |
Royal Terns (in breeding plumage), Ocracoke
Island, Hyde County, NC, perhaps greeting the Hatteras Ferry, 5/9/06. |
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola),
Ocracoke Island, 5/16/05 (breeding plumage). |
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Juvenile Sanderling
(Calidris alba), Ocracoke, 5/9/04. A kind of
sandpiper. |
Dunlin
(Calidris alpina), Ocracoke, Hyde County,
NC, 5/10/06. Breeding plumage. |
Ruddy Turnstones (Atenaria interpres), in
breeding plumage, Ocracoke
Island, 5/16/05. These migratory birds summer in northern Canada. |
Ruddy Turnstone,
also in breeding plumage
Ocracoke Island,
5/16/05. |
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Willet
(Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), Ocracoke,
5/10/06 |
Spotted Sandpiper
(Actitis macularia), Ocracoke,
Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06 |
Greater Yellowlegs,
Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC,
5/10/06 |
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American Oystercatcher
(Haematopus
palliatus), Ocracoke Island (north shore), 5/9/04.
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American Oystercatcher,
Ocracoke,
Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06 |
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American Coot (Fulica americana),
Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC, 5/19/05. |
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Female
Common Green Darner (Anax junius), Ocracoke Island, 5/17/05 |
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Another adult
Laughing Gull, Ocracoke, 5/14/04. |
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Prickly Pears and a Scallop shell, 5/18/05 |
Live Map of the town of Ocracoke (expandable)
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Copyright © 2006-2020 Dorothy E. Pugh