OBPA - Resource NPS Management Field Summary for May 27

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Resource Management Field Summary for May 27 – June 2, 2010

(Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke Districts)

Piping Plover (PIPL) Observations:

Observations	Thurs 5/27	Fri 5/28	Sat 5/29	Sun 5/30	Mon 5/31	Tues 6/1	Weds 6/2
Oregon Inlet	2	0	1	0	1	0	1
Cape Point¹	0	1	5	4	1	1	1
South Beach	2	0	0	0	1	1	2
Hatteras Inlet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hatteras Overwash	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. Ocracoke	2	1	1	2	1	2	1
S. Ocracoke	2	2	2	2	3	3	2

¹^{Does not include chick totals.}

Bodie District:

Bodie Island: PIPLs have been observed this week. 4 scrapes were found on 5/27, and 6 scrapes were found on 6/2.

Hatteras District:

Cape Point: Up to five PIPLs have been observed at one time. Six broods have 16 chicks. Five chicks have been lost to unknown causes. A lone male continues to be observed.

South Beach: Two lone PIPLs and scrapes in different territories continue to be observed.

Hatteras Overwash/Hatteras Inlet: No PIPL have been observed.

Other Beaches: No PIPL have been observed.

Ocracoke District:

North Ocracoke: Up to 2 PIPLs have been observed foraging and/or roosting on the ocean and inlet shorelines. On 5/27 a one egg nest was found on the east side of the spit within Colonial Waterbird Colony 2. The nest was exclosed on 5/31 as a three-egg nest. This is the first documented PIPL nest on North Ocracoke since 1996.

South Point: Up to 3 PIPLs have been observed along the inlet and oceanside shorelines, as well as within the mudflats. At least three pairs have had documented nests. Two pairs have 4 egg nests (one re-nest). A third pair that lost its 3-egg re-nest on 5/26 has new scrapes. Currently there are two active PIPL nests at South Point.

PIPL Breeding Summary:

Total Nests to Date	Active Nests	Total Nests Hatched	Total Nests Lost	Total Eggs Hatched	Unfledged Chicks	Lost Chicks	Fledged Chicks
12	3	6	3	21	16	5	0

Nest Summary/Expected hatch dates:

Nest/Brood 1 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/13. The four chicks are 20 days old and should fledge sometime after 6/9.

Nest/Brood 2 - Cape Point. Two chicks hatched on 5/14 and are 19 days old and should fledge sometime after 6/10.

Nest/Brood 3 & 5 - Cape Point. Three chicks hatched on 5/21. One chick that appeared “weak” was lost on 5/28 and the two remaining chicks are 13 days old and should fledge sometime after 6/17. The adults from Brood 3 have adopted the two chicks from Brood 5 which are 10 days old and should fledge sometime after 6/20.

Nest 4 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/21 and are 13 days old and should fledge sometime after 6/17.

Nest 5 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/24, two chicks were lost on 5/30 and the remaining two chicks joined Brood 3 on 6/1.

Nest 6 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/21, one was lost on 5/22 and another on 5/28 the remaining three remaining chicks are 13 days old, and should fledge sometime after 6/17.

Nest 7 - South Point. Lost on 5/2.

Nest 8 - South Point. Lost on 5/5.

Nest 9 - South Point. This nest was discovered as a one-egg nest on 5/4, exclosed as a three-egg nest on 5/8, and was a four egg nest on 5/12. Hatching should occur on or near 6/3.

Nest 10 - South Point. This nest was discovered as a three-egg nest on 5/16 and exclosed the same day. The nest was still a three egg nest as of 5/25. This nest was most likely a re-nest from Pair #7, which lost Nest 7 on South Point. This nest was lost to storm overwash and flooding on 5/26.

Nest 11 - South Point. This nest was discovered as a three-egg nest on 5/16 and exclosed the same day. The nest became a four-egg nest on 5/17. This nest was most likely a re-nest from Pair #8, which abandoned/lost Nest 8. Hatching should occur on or near 6/11.

Nest 12 – North Ocracoke. This nest was discovered as a one-egg nest on 5/27 and exclosed on 5/31 as a three-egg nest. Hatching should occur on or near 6/26.

WIPL Update:

WIPLs have been observed on a regular basis on South Point Ocracoke within the pre-nesting closure. One nest, found as a 1 egg nest on 5/10, has been confirmed as a WIPL nest. The nest is currently a 3 egg nest.

American Oystercatchers (AMOY):

Location	Total Nests to Date	Active Nests	Nests Hatched	Nests Lost	Total Chicks Hatched	Unfledged Chicks	Chicks Lost	Fledged Chicks
Green Island	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bodie District	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bodie/Hatteras District	4	0	3	1	7	7	0	0
Hatteras District	12	4	7¹	1	17	15	2	0
Ocracoke District	5	1	3	1	6	4	2	0
CAHA TOTALS	26	8	13	5	30	26	4	0

¹One nest with one chick and two eggs was lost and the adults have re-nested.

2010 AMOY Breeding Pairs: Twenty-three confirmed breeding pairs of AMOYs have been documented this year. One “potential” pair still appears to be holding a territory and another “potential” pair may be nesting soundside or on an offshore island.

Bodie District:

Green Island: Two breeding pairs have nests (both three-eggs).
Bodie Island: A one-egg AMOY nest is being incubated. This nest is a clutch continuation and the first two eggs laid in different locations have been lost.
Bodie/Hatteras District (Rodanthe to Ramp 30): One pair has a three egg nest. One pair has three chicks that hatched on 5/15 and 5/16. A second pair has two chicks that hatched on 5/22. A third pair has two chicks that hatched on 5/26 and 5/27.

Hatteras District: Four breeding pairs have three three-egg nests and one two-egg nest. Two of the three-egg nests are in the process of hatching (pipped eggs). Seven nests have hatched and two chicks have been lost. One nest was abandoned and subsequently depredated. There are currently six broods (three with three chicks and three with two chicks) of AMOY chicks.

Ocracoke District:

North Ocracoke: One pair is brooding three chicks that hatched 5/28-5/29.
Other Beaches (Ramp 59-Ramp 72): The northern most pair hatched one chick on 5/25. The second and third eggs were lost. A second AMOY pair has documented breeding behavior, but no nest. Another pair lost two chicks on or just before 5/21. A new one-egg re-nest was found for this pair on 5/30. The nest is now a three-egg nest.
South Point: Two pairs of AMOYs continue to occupy the area south of Ramp 72. One pair continues to be observed in its territory. The other pair lost a two egg nest in the high surf and flooding of South Point on 5/26. This pair has new scrapes documented this week.

Colonial Waterbirds (CWB):

Bodie District:

Colony BIC01- 0.8 mi S of Ramp 4 active with LETE nests and scrapes.

Green Island:

Colony GIC01- N, W, and S end of Green Island active with COTE nests and scrapes, and BLSK scrapes.

Bodie Hatteras District:

Colony BHC01- 0.3 mi N of Ramp 23 to 0.3 mi S of Ramp 23 active with LETE nests and scrapes.

Colony BHC02- 0.2 mi S of Ramp 27 active with LETE nests and scrapes.

Colony BHC03- 2.7 mi N of Ramp 27 active with LETE nests and scrapes.

Hatteras District:

Colony HIC01 - 1.5 mi S of Ramp 38 to 2.4 mi S of Ramp 38 active with LETE nests and scrapes.

Colony HIC02 - 0.1 mi W of Ramp 45 active with LETE nests and scrapes.

Colony HIC03 - 0.1 mi E of Salt Pond Ramp active with LETE nests.

Ocracoke District:

Colony OIC01- 0.9 mi S of Ramp 72 active with LETE, COTE, and BLSK nests and scrapes as of 5/25. Lost most nests during flooding on 5/26. Birds are now returning and re-nesting.

Colony OIC02- 0.1 mi N of Ramp 59 active with LETE and COTE scrapes and nests.

Colony OIC02-A- 0.8 mi N of Ramp 59 active with LETE, COTE, and BLSK nests and scrapes.

Sea Turtle Nests (New Nests this Week):

Bodie District:

None this week

Bodie Hatteras District:

None this week

Hatteras District:

6/1 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.5 mi SW of Ramp 45.

Ocracoke District:

6/2 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 3.7 mi NE of Ramp 67.

New nests this week: 2

Total nests to date: 2

New false crawls this week: 0

Total false crawls to date: 0

Sea Turtle Strandings:

Bodie District:

5/27- A severely decomposed loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 1.7 mi S of Ramp 27.
5/27- A moderately decomposed loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 3.2 mi N of Ramp 23.
5/28- A severely decomposed loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 1.0 mi N of Ramp 30.

Hatteras District:

5/29 - A moderately decomposed male loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 1.2 mi N of Ramp 34
5/29 - A fresh dead male green sea turtle was found dead 1.5 mi E of Ramp 49
5/30 - A moderately decomposed loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 1.3 mi N of Ramp 55

Ocracoke District:

5/28 – A severely decomposed loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 0.7 mi N of Ramp 59.
5/30 – A severely decomposed loggerhead sea turtle was found dead 1.5 mi N of Ramp 67.

Marine Mammals:

Bodie District:

5/25- A stranded live male pygmy sperm whale was found and sedated 0.2 mi S of Ramp 1. The whale was necropsied on 5/26.
5/28- NPS staff assisted with the response and sedation of a stranded live adult female pygmy sperm whale at mile post 3 in Kitty Hawk. The whale was necropsied by NPS and NCWRC.

Hatteras District:

None this week.

Ocracoke District:

None this week.

Closures – additions/modifications/removals:

Closure #	Location	Species	Date Installed or Removed
Bodie District
BI10-001-E	0.9 mi S of Ramp 4	LETE	5/27/2010
BH10-002-C	0.6 mi N of Ramp 30	AMOY	5/29/2010
BH10-001-D	0.6 mi N of Ramp 30	AMOY	5/31/2010
BH10-004-B	2.7 mi N of Ramp 27	AMOY	5/31/2010
Hatteras District
HI10-010-B	0.8 mi S of Ramp 38	LETE	5/27/2010
HI10-006-B	Sandy Bay	AMOY	5/29/2010
HI10-001-F	Ramp 45	PIPL	5/31/2010
HI10-002-I	South Beach	LETE	6/2/2010
Ocracoke District
OI10-006-R	0.4 mi N. of Ramp 67	AMOY	5/28/2010-removed
OI10-007-R	0.3 mi S of Ramp 68	AMOY	5/28/2010-removed
OI10-003-D	1.6 mi N of Ramp 70	AMOY	5/31/2010
OI10-002-F	1.9 mi S of Ramp 72	AMOY	5/31/2010

Closure intrusions:

Bodie District:

5/30- Signs had not been replaced from an ocean rescue at Ramp 23 on 5/28, seven pedestrian tracks with one set of dog tracks were documented entering the closure from Ramp 23.

5/31- Two sets of footprints were documented within the closure 0.2 mi S of Ramp 27.

5/23- One set of footprints were documented within the closure 0.1 mi N of Ramp 23.

Hatteras District:

5/30- Four sets of footprints were documented near Ramp 45 traveling all the way to the Point, and returning.

5/31- Two sets of footprints were documented traveling from Ramp 43 to the Point, and back. Two other individuals were also observed in the closure and they were contacted and informed they were in violation and left.

6/2 - Based on tracks in the sand, at least eight pedestrians entered the west end of the South Beach pre-nesting closure over the holiday weekend.

Ocracoke District:

5/30 - Documented 2 sets of bare footprints during turtle patrol. Footprints suggested that someone landed a small boat on the inlet shoreline inside the pre-nesting closure.

5/30 – Documented three sets of bare footprints parallel to dune line on North Ocracoke Spit.

Deliberate Violations:

Hatteras District:

5/30 - At Ramp 45 resource staff documented 34 broken/pulled signs. Some signs were burned along with a barricade that had been placed at the intersection of Salt Pond Road and Ramp 45 in two fire pits. Ramp 45 was closed to all entry because of the deliberate violation.

Resource NPS Management Field Summary for May 27 – June 2, 2010