As mating season for alligators native to the southeast, including North Carolina’s coastal plain, continues into June, wildlife officials are reminding the public to avoid feeding and interacting with the reptiles.
Wildlife
Waterfowl, migratory game bird season dates announced
Dates, bag limits and associated regulations have been announced for North Carolina’s 2026-27 waterfowl, webless migratory game bird, and extended falconry seasons.
Pit viper stare-down
Two cottonmouths, aka water moccasins and known scientifically as Agkistrodon piscivorus, came face to face while foraging Sunday at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 6,000-acre North River Wetlands Preserve, with one rising up and the other backing down. One of six venomous snakes in North Carolina, the cottonmouth is the most aquatic, preferring wetter habitats. It’s a pit viper, having a pit on its face that senses heat. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission offers tips on how to coexist with snakes. Photo: Doug Waters
Wildlife officials offer tips to deter, not attract, black bears
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, in partnership with BearWise, has hot tips on how to look for and reduce potential attractants for black bear as they become more active now through the fall.
Mr. Blue has eyes for you
A brightly hued eastern bluebird peeks out from a knothole in a tree at the Dare County Arboretum and Teaching Garden in Kill Devil Hills. Male bluebirds tend to draw attention to themselves at their nest cavities in this way to lure potential mates, according to Cornell Lab. Dare County Extension Master Gardener volunteers maintain the arboretum garden at 300 Mustian St. Photo: Kip Tabb
‘Barn Owlet Watch 2026’ Wildlife Commission cam goes live
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Barn Owlet Watch 2026 is now live, giving viewers 24-hour real time video and audio to all the happenings in a barn owl nest box in the western part of the state.
Nice alligator; see you later
An American alligator sunning at North River Wetlands Preserve in Carteret County slides in for a dip recently as March temperatures rose. The 6,000-acre preserve is the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s project to return farmland back to its original state and to use the wetlands to naturally treat polluted runoff. The Coastal Federation publishes Coastal Review. Photo: Doug Waters
Friends group to organize nature trip to Finland, Arctic
The Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum Beaufort is set to offer a two-week travel opportunity next year to see the birds, wildlife and natural history of Finland.
Inaugural festival to serve up community science activities
The inaugural Wilmington Community Science Fest scheduled for Saturday brings the wide array of community science activities offered in the region.
Online dashboard identifies locations of prescribed burns
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission offers an online dashboard that pinpoints where the agency is conducting prescribed burns on state game lands.
State opens nominations for nongame advisory committee
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting nominations for its Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee now through March.
Amid record growth, groups protect tracts from development
Population growth on the North Carolina coast has ramped up pressure on conservation groups to acquire and set aside land, such as the more than 2,000 acres in coastal counties recently protected from development, areas with natural landscape features that reduce flood risk, improve water quality and provide vital habitat.
Put your state tax refund toward vulnerable wildlife research
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding anyone expecting a refund on their state taxes that they can donate a portion or all of their return to the state Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund.
Native plant art contest open to artists of all experience levels
Submissions are due March 30 for the Native Plant Art Contest and Exhibit hosted by two Texas-based, Latino-led nonprofit organizations.
Illustrated guidebook for Dismal Swamp’s snakes gets update
First published in 1992, “An Introduction to Snakes of the Dismal Swamp Region of North Carolina and Virginia,” has been revised with minor updates on species and taxonomy.
State asks public to report any cold-stunned spotted seatrout
Division of Marine Fisheries officials said that cold stuns can occur when there is a sudden drop in temperature or during prolonged periods of cold weather, making the fish so sluggish they can be harvested by hand.
