• Cape Lookout Lighthouse from Barden Inlet

    Cape Lookout

    National Seashore North Carolina

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  • Change in Harkers Island Visitor Center Hours

    Harkers Island Visitor Center hours will be Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. until further notice.

Wildlife Management

Sharing the beach

The beach is more than a place to come enjoy a warm, summer’s day, for sea turtles and many shore birds the beach is a nursery for their young. Some endangered plants, such as Sea Beach Amaranth, only grow on specific areas of the beach. And the wild horses of Shackleford depend exclusively on the resources of their island.

The National Park Service must balance the needs of those who use the beach for recreation with the needs of those who use the beach and islands for survival. For this reason, the park’s resource management staff spends most of the spring and summer monitoring and marking the areas needed by nesting shore birds and sea turtles as well as endangered plant species. The Shackleford horses are monitored all year.

The reports listed below tell us how we are doing in sharing the beach with those who need the beach for survival.

 

Annual reports:

Bird Counts & Monitoring -

Red Knot Wilson's Plover Colonial Nesting Waterbirds
2012 (pdf, 509 kb) 2012 (pdf, 13 kb) 2012 (pdf, 289 kb)
2011 (pdf, 409 kb) 2011 (pdf, 11 kb) 2011 (pdf, 331 kb)
2010 (pdf, 240 kb) 2010 (pdf, 11 kb) 2010 (pdf, 311 kb)
2009 (pdf, 383 kb) 2009 (pdf, 12 kb) 2009 (pdf, 441 kb)
2008 (pdf, 713 kb) 2008 (pdf, 11.8 kb) 2008 (pdf, 167 kb)
2007 (pdf, 506 kb) 2007 (pdf, 21.1 kb) 2007 (pdf, 170 kb)
2006 (pdf, 312 kb)
 

Nesting Success -

Sea Turtles
2012 (pdf, 552 KB) 2011 (pdf, 1.15 MB)
2010 (pdf, 1.10 MB) 2009 (pdf, 1.13 MB)
2008 (pdf, 1.07 MB) 2007 (pdf, 566 kb)
2006 (pdf, 513 kb) 2005 (pdf, 511 kb)
2004 (pdf, 458 kb) 2003 (pdf, 370 kb)
2002 (pdf, 366 kb) 2001 (pdf, 365 kb)
2000 (pdf, 364 kb) 1999 (pdf, 98 kb)

American Oystercatchers
2012 (pdf, 590 kb) 2011 (pdf, 653 KB)
2010 (pdf, 636 kb) 2009 (pdf, 833 kb)
2008 (pdf, 561 kb) 2007 (pdf, 583 kb)
2006 (pdf, 246 kb) 2005 (pdf, 240 kb)
2004 (pdf, 326 kb) 2003 (pdf, 936 kb)
2002 (pdf, 313 kb) 2001 (pdf, 234 kb)
2000 (pdf, 33 kb)

Piping Plovers
2012 (pdf, 3.6 MB) 2011 (pdf, 1.27 MB)
2010 (pdf, 1.2 MB) 2009 (pdf, 5 MB)
2008 (pdf, 12.7 MB) 2007 (pdf, 9.85 MB)
2006 (pdf, 277 kb) 2005 summary (pdf, 17.6 kb)
2004 (pdf, 232 kb) 2003 (pdf, 208 kb)
2002 (pdf, 167 kb) 2001 (pdf, 186 kb)
2000 (pdf, 116 kb) 1999 (pdf, 47 kb)
1998 (pdf, 27 kb)
 

Endangered Plant Species -

Sea Beach Amaranth
2012 (pdf, 1.5 MB) 2011 (pdf, 554 KB)
2010 (pdf, 538 KB) 2009 (pdf, 278 KB)
2008 (pdf, 273 KB) 2007 (pdf, 335 KB)

Shackleford Horses -

Herd Findings Reports
2011 (pdf, 380 kb)
2010 (pdf, 381 kb) 2009 (pdf, 49 kb)
2008 (pdf, 90 kb) 2007 (pdf, 28 kb)
2006 (pdf, 38 kb) 2005 (pdf, 39 kb)
2004 (pdf, 67 kb) 2003 (pdf, 67 kb)
2002 (pdf, 38 kb) 2001 (pdf, 83 kb)
2000 (pdf, 39 kb) 1999 (pdf, 49 kb)

 

Research Reports:

Shackleford Horses

Nutrient Composition and Selection, 2009 (pdf, 742 kb)

 
Ocracoke Herd Manager Laura Michaels and Sacajawea

Ocracoke Herd Manager Laura Michaels and Sacajawea, a 2 year-old Shackleford filly.

NPS

New additions to the Ocracoke Pony Herd (Cape Hatteras National Seashore), 2009 (pdf, 21 kb)

Did You Know?

Cape Lookout lighthouse

A lighthouse can be identified by its daymark (painted pattern) or by its light flash pattern. Cape Lookout Lighthouse has a diagonal checker pattern and a single short flash of light every fifteen seconds. Cape Lookout National Seashore More...