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Spring-Summer 2008 Newsletter

Newsletter Archive

Sharing the Shore with
Beach-nesting Birds
(314 kb PDF)

Protect Beach-nesting Birds

		Press Room

		North Carolina Birding Trail

		Birding in North Carolina State Parks

		View North Carolina's results from the Great Backyard Bird Count!
House Finch © Woodlink

		Citizen Science
© Ray Raymond

Join a Friday field trip to Mason Inlet Waterbird Management Area

Audubon North Carolina is offering free tours of the Mason Inlet Waterbird Management Area at the north end of Wrightsville Beach every Friday at 9:00 am through September. The tours last about two hours, and include a hike along the protected sanctuary that serves as habitat for beach-nesting birds including Least Tern, Black Skimmer, American Oystercatcher, Wilson’s plover and other unique coastal birds.

Click here to learn more about these tours.

Legislation aims to strip vital protections from threatened wildlife on Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Legislation introduced on June 11 by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (all of North Carolina) would allow the short-sighted wishes of small special interest groups to take precedence over the continued survival of the unique national resources that make Cape Hatteras National Seashore so special.

Read recent editorials opposing this legislation:

The News & Observer

The Fayetteville Observer

The Virginian-Pilot

Bird populations on the rise at Hatteras under new plan

The number of birds nesting on Cape Hatteras National Seashore is already showing preliminary signs of recovery, less than a month after additional sections of the beach were closed under a new management plan that provides additional protection. According to the National Park Service, the number of piping plovers on the beach increased from six pairs in 2007 to at least eight pairs, the highest number of piping plovers on the Seashore since 1998. American oystercatchers on the beach have increased from 22 pairs in 2007 to 31 pairs so far this season.

North Carolina Birding Trail

Audubon North Carolina is pleased to announce the completion of the Piedmont section of the North Carolina Birding Trail, a driving trail linking great birding sites throughout the state. A full-color guidebook accompanies the new portion of trail and its 103 birding sites.

The guidebook features site descriptions, maps and photos. Audubon North Carolina is one of six agencies partnering on this exciting ecotourism project. Learn more about the Birding Trail.

Federal judge approves Cape Hatteras agreement

Common tern. © Steven Bullock

On April 30, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle approved a consent decree offered by the three parties involved in a lawsuit to regulate beach driving along Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The approval resolves the lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife. The lawsuit challenged an interim National Park Service plan to protect wildlife from the impacts of beach driving along the Seashore. The National Park Service will now begin enacting a new plan for the protection of vital nesting areas on Cape Hatteras National Seashore (a globally Important Bird Area). The consent decree requires a final ORV management plan and resolution to be implemented no later than April 1, 2011.

Read all about it in the following publications:

The Virginian-Pilot
The News & Observer
FayObserver.com

Support Land Conservation

Audubon is part of a statewide coalition, called Land for Tomorrow promoting an effort to provide $1 billion over five years for land conservation and historic preservation. Find out how you can help and support a bond referendum for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Banner Photo Credits:

Blue Ridge Parkway, Ray Raymond
Egret, Tom Scott
Oystercatcher, Walker Golder
Sanderlings, Tom Scott