OBPA - NPS Resource Management Field Summary for June 17

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Resource Management Field Summary for June 17 – June 23, 2010

(Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke Districts)

Piping Plover (PIPL) Observations:

Observations	Thurs 6/17	Fri 6/18	Sat 6/19	Sun 6/20	Mon 6/21	Tues 6/22	Weds 6/23
Oregon Inlet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cape Point	11	4	1	0	3	1	0
South Beach	1	1	0	4	3	2	0
Hatteras Inlet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hatteras Overwash	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. Ocracoke¹	1	2	1	2	1	1	0
S. Ocracoke¹	1	1	2	2	3	1	2

^{1 Does not include incubating adults.}

Bodie District:

Bodie Island: No PIPL have been observed.

Hatteras District:

Cape Point: Up to 11 PIPLs, including fledglings have been observed at one time, mostly foraging on the shoreline of the upper Salt Pond. Five broods (two combined into one brood) have fledged 15 chicks. Six chicks have been lost to unknown causes. At least one pair continues to be observed scraping and performing courtship displays.

South Beach: A three-egg PIPL nest from Pair 12 continues to be incubated. One lone male continues to be observed as well as an adult and fledgling PIPL. A total of four PIPLs have been observed at one time.

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. There is one active three-egg PIPL nest on North Ocracoke.

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. One pair has a 4 egg nest, which is a re-nest found 6/3. A second pair hatched three chicks, but all chicks were lost by 6/7. A third pair hatched 4 chicks 6/12-6/13 but lost all of them by 6/16. There are new scrapes documented for this pair, which indicates that they may attempt to re-nest. One new nest was found on 6/20 with one egg, but was lost to ghost crab predation by 6/23. It is unknown whether there will be a clutch-continuation of this nest. There is currently one active PIPL nest on 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
15	3	8	4	28	0	13	15

Nest/Brood Summary/Expected hatch dates:

Nest/Brood 1 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/13. Four chicks fledged 6/8.

Nest/Brood 2 - Cape Point. Two chicks hatched on 5/14. One chick fledged 6/3 and the other chick fledged 6/9.

Nest/Brood 3 & 5 - Cape Point. Three chicks hatched on 5/21. One chick was lost on 5/28 and another on 6/6. The Brood 3 chick fledged on 6/17. Brood 5 chicks fledged on 6/21.

Nest/Brood 4 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/21 and four chicks fledged (three on 6/18) by 6/21.

Nest/Brood 5 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/24. Two chicks were lost on 5/30. Two chicks joined Brood 3 on 6/1.

Nest/Brood 6 - Cape Point. Four chicks hatched on 5/21, one was lost on 5/22 and another on 5/28. Two chicks fledged on 6/16.

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

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

Nest/Brood 9 - South Point. This nest was discovered as a one-egg nest on 5/4, and hatched three chicks 6/5 - 6/6. All three chicks were lost to unknown predation (probably ghost crab or avian) on 6/7. The fourth egg from this nest was abandoned by 6/8.

Nest/Brood 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/Brood 11 - South Point. This nest was a four-egg nest that was discovered on 5/16 and hatched 4 chicks 6/12 – 6/13. All four chicks were lost between 6/13 and 6/16 (1 chick was lost to a ghost crab, the cause of loss for the other three chicks is unknown).

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.

Nest 13 – South Point. This nest was discovered at a one-egg nest on 6/3 and exclosed as a three-egg nest on 6/7. This nest is believed to be a re-nest from pair #7, which lost Nest 7 on 5/2 and Nest 10 on 5/26. Hatching should occur on or near 7/3.

Nest 14 – South Beach. A two-egg nest was discovered on 6/15 and was exclosed as a three-egg nest on 6/16. It should hatch on or near 7/12.

Nest 15 – South Point. A one-egg nest was discovered on 6/20 but was predated (presumably by ghost crab) on or before 6/23. It is unknown whether there will be a clutch continuation of this nest.

WIPL Update:

WIPLs have been observed on a regular basis on South Point (Ocracoke) within the pre-nesting closure. A three egg nest, found as a 1 egg nest on 5/10, hatched on 6/6 with three chicks. Although the WIPL chicks are not observed daily, on 6/17 all chicks were present and foraging on the sound-side shoreline of South Point. On 6/19 a new one-egg WIPL nest was found on South Point. This nest became a two-egg nest on 6/22, and will be exclosed when it reaches three eggs.

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	0	2	1	6	6	0	0
Bodie District	2	0	1	1	1	0	1	0
Bodie/Hatteras District	5	1	3	1	7	4	3	0
Hatteras District	12	1	8	3	20	12	2	6
Ocracoke District	6	2	3	1	6	3	3	0
CAHA TOTALS	28	4	17	7	40	25	9	6

2010 AMOY Breeding Pairs: Twenty-three confirmed breeding pairs of AMOYs have been documented this year.

Bodie District:

Green Island: Two pairs have two broods (locating the chicks is difficult on the island however each brood is believed to still have 3 chicks).
Bodie Island: No AMOY breeding behavior was observed, the AMOY pair that lost a chick is being observed roosting near its previous nesting area.
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. One pair has one chick that hatched on 5/26.

Hatteras District: One breeding pair has a three-egg re-nest which should hatch on or before 6/30, another breeding pair which abandoned a nest on 6/6 is still scraping, but has not re-nested. A third pair has not been observed in the district.

Eight nests have hatched and two chicks have been lost. There are currently seven broods (four with three chicks and three with two chicks) of AMOY chicks. Eighteen chicks have been banded and six have fledged. Nine chicks should fledge within the next week.

Ocracoke District:

North Ocracoke: One pair has two chicks. This pair lost one of three hatched chicks on 6/13 to an unknown cause.
Other Beaches (Ramp 59-Ramp 72): The northern-most pair has one chick. A second pair is incubating a three-egg re-nest after losing two chicks.
South Point: 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. A one-egg re-nest was found for this pair on 6/21. The nest became a two egg nest on 6/23.

Colonial Waterbirds (CWB):

Bodie District:

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

Green Island:

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

Bodie Hatteras District:

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

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

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

Hatteras District:

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

Colony HIC02 - 0.1 mi W of Ramp 45 active with LETE nests, chicks and fledglings.

Colony HIC03 - 0.1 mi E of Salt Pond Ramp is active with LETE nests, chicks, fledglings and one incubating GBTE nest.

Ocracoke District:

Colony OIC01- 0.9 mi S of Ramp 72 active with a few LETE scrapes and nests.

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

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

Sea Turtle Nests (New Nests this Week):

Bodie District Nests:

None this week

Bodie District False Crawls:

6/19- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.8 mi S of Ramp R4.

Bodie Hatteras District Nests:

6/18- A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.8 mi N of Ramp 27.

6/20- A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.8 mi N of Ramp 23.

6/20- A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.7 mi N of Ramp 23.

6/21- A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.7 mi S of Ramp 27.

Bodie Hatteras District False Crawls:

6/18- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.1 mi S of Ramp 27.

6/18- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.6 mi S of Ramp 27.

6/19- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.5 mi N of Rodanthe Pier.

Hatteras District Nests:

6/18 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 3.6 mi S Ramp 38.

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.3 mi E Ramp 45.

6/20 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.8 mi S Ramp 38.

6/21 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.1 mi S. Ramp 30.

6/23 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.7 mi N. Ramp 55.

6/23 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 100 m N of Frisco Pier.

Hatteras District False Crawls:

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1 mi E Ramp 45.

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1 mi S Ramp 44.

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.9 mi E Ramp 45.

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.6 mi E Ramp 45.

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 2.7 mi E Ramp 55.

6/21 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.2 mi N. Ramp 34.

Ocracoke District Nests:

6/18 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.7 mi NE of Ramp 67.

6/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.2 mi SW of Ramp 70.

6/21 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.9 mi SW of Ramp 59.

6/22 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.9 mi NE of Ramp 67.

6/23 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 658 yards NE of Ramp 70.

Ocracoke District False Crawl:

6/18 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.5 mi NE of Ramp 67.

6/23 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 385 yards NE of Ramp 70.

New nests this week: 15

Total nests to date: 32

New false crawls this week: 12

Total false crawls to date: 27

Sea Turtle Strandings:

Bodie District:

None this week

Hatteras District:

None this week

Ocracoke District:

None this week

Marine Mammals:

Bodie District:

None this week.

Hatteras District:

None this week.

Ocracoke District:

None this week.

Closures – additions/modifications/removals:

Closure #	Location	Species	Date Installed or Removed
Bodie District
None this week
Hatteras District
HI10-011-R	0.8 mi S of Ramp 30	AMOY	6/21/2010-removed
Ocracoke District
None this week

Closure intrusions:

Bodie District:

6/18- Several horse tracks were observed entering the buffer 0.8 mi S of Ramp 4. The tracks followed along the beach to the point of the spit and back.

6/19- Two pedestrians were found walking with a dog on the beach in the buffer 0.1 mi N of Ramp 23. They were asked to leave and exited.

6/19- Two sets of footprints, one adult and one child, were found coming over Ramp 23 to the beach and back.

6/20- Eight sets of pedestrian footprints and one set of large dog prints were documented along the shoreline through the closure 0.3 mi N of Ramp 23.

Hatteras District:

6/22 – 1400- Family of four entered the closure at Ramp 44 and was walking towards Cape Point. They were asked to exit the closure.

6/23 – Woman was jogging in the Cape Point closure and was informed she was in violation. She returned in the direction of Ramp 43.

6/23 – A vehicle entered the pedestrian-only area between Ramps 43 and 44 and parked overnight next to the dunes at Ramp 44. Law enforcement made contact with the two individuals.

Ocracoke District:

6/18 – Pedestrian tracks were found within the North Ocracoke pre-nesting closure.

6/19 – Pedestrian tracks and the skid from a boat were found 1.49 mi S of Ramp 72 on the soundside within the South Point pre-nesting closure.

6/20 – Pedestrian tracks and the skid from a boat were found 2.1 mi S of Ramp 72 on the soundside within the South Point pre-nesting closure.

Sea Turtle Take Incidents:

In the night-time hours between 6/23 and 6/24 a loggerhead sea turtle crawled out of the ocean and attempted to lay a nest between Ramp 70 and 72 on Ocracoke Island. While heading up the beach, the turtle was hit by an ORV and dragged approximately 12 feet. The animal was found dead with extreme injuries to the carapace and plastron by turtle patrol at 6:10 am on 6/24. LE was notified and has investigated the incident. This incident is believed to have occurred during the early morning hours of 6/24 in violation of the night-driving restrictions (from 10 pm to 6 am). Eggs from the turtle were deemed to be potentially viable and were moved to a nest location at the toe of the dune. The turtle will be necropsied by NPS staff on 6/25.

Pictures dfid not transfer with the report but they are bad! I am sure that NPS web site has pictures included

but I am not as computer savy as I should be at this time to include the pictures and I tried

Frank

At 6:52 am on the same day as the above documented “take” of the nesting loggerhead, a new unmarked turtle nest that was laid just south of Ramp 70 on Ocracoke Island was found to have been driven over by an ORV (or possibly multiple ORVs). Twelve eggs were crushed. The nest was relocated to a new location due to the impacts of the ORV(s). It is unknown when this incident occurred or whether or not the ORV that ran over the nest was in violation of night-driving regulations.

NPS Resource Management Field Summary for June 17 – June 23, 2010