Fall colors, the reds, yellows, browns and copperheads. An eastern copperhead crosses a path recently at the New Bern Civil War Battlefield in Craven County. Watch your step! Photo: Doug Waters
Wildlife
Fort Fisher aquarium gets award for otter marketing campaign
North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher was recognized for its “Whole Lotta Otta” marketing campaign by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher to embark on ‘Spooky Seas’
The facility just south of Kure Beach will feature Halloween-themed enrichment Oct. 19-Nov. 1 for both critters and visitors.
Groups call for federal protection of diamondback terrapins
Nonprofits have petitioned the federal fisheries agency to list as endangered the diamondback terrapin, an estuarine creature frequently drowned in abandoned crab pots.
Landowner resource workshop to zero in on conservation
Various agencies will be on hand to help property owners learn more about conservation management during the workshop Oct. 3 in Whiteville.
Cape Lookout dredge spoils used to restore vanishing island
A haven for waterbirds since at least 1970, the quickly vanishing Sandbag Island near Harkers Island was recently expanded from a tenth of an acre to 5 acres using spoils from a dredge project around Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
Salt marsh snacks
A wedge of egrets fish in a salt marsh along North River near Beaufort. Photo: Dylan Ray
Bill for breakfast
A black-necked stilt dips its bill as it feeds in standing water at sunrise July 30 at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center in Nags Head. Reader Brian Horsley of Nags Head submitted this image, noting that he captured the photo July 30 while on his way to work. When “it rains a lot and we get big freshwater puddles Black Neck Stilts pay it a visit,” he said with the submission.
Wild foal in distress removed from Rachel Carson Reserve
N.C. Coastal Reserve Central Sites Manager Paula Gillikin told Coastal Review Tuesday that the young filly had improved overnight after being transported Monday to N.C State College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh.
‘Unimaginable’: Herd manager mourns horse hit by driver
Meg Puckett of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund said the recent death of Bullwinkle, a 10-year-old stallion struck on the beach by the driver of a side-by-side utility vehicle, affects the future of the herd.
Ruby-throated hummingbird visits Yeopim Creek
Ed Sanford of Hertford used a long telephoto lens to capture this image of a ruby-throated hummingbird Monday while it visited the hummingbird feeder at his home on the Yeopim Creek in Perquimans County.
St. James folk bask among beauty, birds certification brings
The town of St. James in Brunswick County recently became the only coastal town to become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat, a relatively easy-to-get distinction through a National Wildlife Foundation program.
Service agrees to pause Mattamuskeet algaecide project
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials have agreed to halt a planned algaecide experiment in Lake Mattamuskeet until next year.
Biologists, advocates push for more wildlife crossing funds
Proponents of the federal Red Wolf Recovery Program say more protected highway wildlife crossings in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge would benefit all species.
2 found guilty of 15 counts of illegal night deer hunting
Dylan Scott of New Hanover County and Nicholas Rackley of Duplin County have been ordered to pay $9,030 in replacement costs for illegally spotlighting and killing deer in Duplin County.
Coastal Land Trust deal adds 3,000 acres to state game land
The parcel purchased earlier this spring is mainly marsh and is bordered by Spencer Bay, Germantown Bay and Rose Bay in Hyde County.
