Fog blankets Gallants Channel in Beaufort Tuesday evening while the sun sets behind Pivers Island, a 24-acre island that is home to the North Carolina Coastal Reserve, National Estuarine Research Reserve, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Lab and Duke University’s Marine Laboratory. Photo: Dylan Ray.
Featured Photo
117 Horses at Lookout: Report
Shackleford Banks stallions collide in this National Park Service photo by C. Wasley. There are 117 horses on the banks including two 27-year-old mares, the oldest, according to the latest annual findings from the Cape Lookout National Seashore and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses.
Autumn’s Farewell
The late-autumn sun nears the horizon Wednesday over a living shoreline on Carteret Community College property on Bogue Sound in Morehead City. Winter begins Monday, Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year. Photo: Dylan Ray
Feeding Time at Ocracoke Pony Pen
Cape Hatteras National Seashore shared in its Oct. 15 Cape Chronicle newsletter this photo, “Feeding time at the Ocracoke pony pen.” The National Park Service has cared for the herd since the early 1960s.
Rainy Afternoon on Harkers Island
Undeterred by looming clouds and the threat of rain, passengers board the Island Ferry Express Thursday at Cape Lookout National Seashore’s Harkers Island visitor center to head to South Core Banks for a glimpse of the lighthouse, which is closed to climbing this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Living Shoreline Work Underway
Earth-moving equipment from T.D. Eure Marine Construction in Beaufort operates near a barge Monday, June 22, in the Atlantic Harbor of Refuge where a project is underway to build a 1,720-foot living shoreline to help keep dredge spoils from blocking the entrance channel to Atlantic Harbor. Photo: Dylan Ray
‘Fishermen Only’
This handwritten sign reading “Fishermen Only” at the Ocracoke Seafood Co. on Silver Lake at Ocracoke Island sets guidelines in line with COVID-19 restrictions determined by the state. As Phase 2 of North Carolina’s reopening begins, Elizabeth Dyer with the company’s retail market said the company is taking strict precautions, including cleaning routines. “We require masks for our patrons and even have complimentary disposable masks and hand sanitizer.” said Dyer. “There is a one-way flow of traffic and lines of tape to enforce social-distancing.” Photo: Dylan Ray
April Flower Blooms in Croatan
April brings flowering of dwarf iris, also known as Iris verna, or dwarf violet iris, in the Croatan National Forest. According to the North Carolina Cooperative Extensions, the flower only gets as tall as 6 inches, but its foliage can double the size after flowering. The fragrant native North Carolina perennial can be found in partly shady areas under the longleaf pines in the Southeastern coastal plain from Maryland to Florida. Photo: Todd Miller
Pea Island Refuge Center Gets Lift
Work continues on the project to raise the Pea Island Refuge Visitor Center, the US Fish and Wildlife Service in North Carolina announced Thursday on Facebook.
Scientists, Teachers Connect at SciREN
Maria McDaniel, education and program director at the Greenville Science Center, left, listens as UNC Chapel Hill graduate students Alayna Mackiewicz, center, and Dana Lim discuss their lesson plan on magnetism and animal navigation last week during the eighth annual Scientific Research and Education Network, or SciREN, Coast event at the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Photo: Sarah Loftus
Pea Island Restoration Work Nears End
Michael Flynn, coastal advocate with the North Carolina Coastal Federation, snagged this photo Tuesday of a habitat restoration project that began in January at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, work expected to be completed this week. The North Carolina Department of Transportation and contractor Barnhill Construction are excavating sand behind the Oregon Inlet terminal groin to improve habitat for migratory birds.
Tree-mendous Effort On To Build Dunes
Volunteers with Better Beaches OBX, an environmental conservation group on the Outer Banks, place Christmas trees Saturday on the beach near Jeannette’s Pier. Donny King, owner and chef of Ocean Boulevard Bistro in Kitty Hawk, worked with Matt Potter, a restaurant owner in Virginia Beach, to coordinate the effort. More than two dozen trucks and trailers were used to haul 2,100 trees from Virginia and volunteers placed the trees to help rebuild dunes. Photo: Kip Tabb
‘Candy Bomber’ Enshrined at Memorial
Col. Gail Halvorsen, left, nicknamed “The Candy Bomber” and this year’s inductee into the First Flight Society Paul Graber Shrine at the Wright Brothers Memorial, poses Tuesday with National Park Service Outer Banks Group Superintendent Dave Hallec during an event at the memorial commemorating the 116th anniversary of the first powered flight. Photo: Kip Tabb
R/V Shearwater Docks in Beaufort
The new research and survey vessel R/V Shearwater paused for a photo op around 3 p.m. Tuesday at Duke University Marine Lab before making its way to the downtown Beaufort waterfront. The 77-foot catamaran will enable faculty and students to travel several hundred nautical miles offshore and to stay at sea for several days.
Wright Memorial Fee Waived on Six Days
Families spend Saturday afternoon viewing a replica of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s 1903 flyer and learning about the first successful airplane flight at the Wright Brothers National Memorial visitor center in Kill Devil Hills in this photo taken by Jennifer Allen. The National Park Service is waiving entrance fees on six days in 2020.
Students Help Build Rain Garden
Sarah Bodin, front right, of the North Carolina Coastal Federation assists students from the Career Management class at Swansboro High School in building a rain garden Tuesday at Swansboro’s town hall. The work to capture rainwater and reduce the amount of polluted runoff reaching nearby waterways is part of a larger project funded in part by the Section 319 Grant Program of the Clean Water Act. Photo: Mark Hibbs
