Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Resource Management Field Summary for July 22– July 28, 2010
(Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke Districts)
Piping Plover (PIPL) Observations:
Monitoring for breeding behavior has ceased. Monitoring for migratory PIPL and other migrant avian species is being conducted weekly.
Final PIPL Breeding Summary:
|
Total Nests to Date |
Active Nests |
Total Nests Hatched |
Total Nests Lost |
Total Eggs Hatched |
Unfledged Chicks |
Lost Chicks |
Fledged Chicks |
|
16* |
0 |
11 |
5 |
31 |
0 |
16 |
15 |
* This counts the three egg nest on Ocracoke, found 6/29, as a separate nest, although it is believed that this nest may be a clutch continuation from Nest #15, which was predated by ghost crabs 6/23.
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 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
|
Bodie District |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Bodie/Hatteras District |
5 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
|
Hatteras District |
12 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
22 |
0 |
4 |
18 |
|
Ocracoke District |
6 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
|
CAHA TOTALS |
28 |
0 |
21 |
7 |
48 |
2 |
18 |
28 |
2010 AMOY Breeding Pairs: Twenty-three confirmed breeding pairs of AMOYs have been documented this year.
Bodie District:
- Green Island: The southern brood has 2 fledged chicks and the northern brood has 2 fledged chicks. On 7/27, one adult from the southern pair was observed with 1 banded fledgling and 1 unbanded fledgling, even though we banded 2 chicks from this pair. So there may be 3 total fledglings for this pair as 1 of 3 may have been with the other adult elsewhere.
- Bodie Island: No AMOY breeding behavior was observed this week.
- Bodie/Hatteras District (Rodanthe to Ramp 30): One pair has one unfledged chick that hatched on 6/26 and was banded on 7/21. Two other pairs have fledged a total of four chicks.
Hatteras District: All AMOY breeding activity has ended. 11 pair fledged 18 chicks.
Ocracoke District:
- North Ocracoke: One pair has one fledged chick.
- Other Beaches (Ramp 59-Ramp 72): The northern-most pair has fledged one chick. A second pair lost their chicks on or before 7/1.
- South Point: One pair hatched one chick on Friday 7/16. The 13-day-old chick has been observed daily along the Ocracoke Inlet shoreline.
Colonial Waterbirds (CWB):
Bodie District:
Colony BIC01- 0.8 mi S of Ramp 4 active with LETE scrapes, chicks and fledglings. Also, on 7/28, BLSK adults and scrapes were observed.
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 nests, chicks and fledglings.
Colony BHC02- 0.2 mi S of Ramp 27 active with LETE chicks and fledglings.
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 chicks and fledglings.
Colony HIC03 - 0.1 mi E of Salt Pond Road is active with LETE chicks and fledglings.
Ocracoke District:
Colony OIC01- 0.9 mi S of Ramp 72 no activity.
Colony OIC02- 0.1 mi N of Ramp 59 active with two LETE incubating nests.
Colony OIC02-A- 0.8 mi N of Ramp 59 no activity as of 7/27.
Sea Turtle Nests (New Nests this Week):
Bodie District Nests:
7/27 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.1 mi S of Ramp 2.
Bodie District False Crawls:
None this week.
Bodie Hatteras District Nests:
7/23 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.1 mi S of Ramp 23.
Bodie Hatteras District False Crawls:
None this week.
Hatteras District Nests:
7/22 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.7 miles W of Ramp 45
7/22 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.6 mi E of Ramp 49
7/22 -- A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.6 mi W of Ramp 49
7/24 -- A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.1mi W of Ramp 45
7/24 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.0 mi NE of Ramp 55
7/24 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.6 mi NE of Ramp 55
7/26 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.4 mi N of Ramp 55
7/27 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.8 mi E of Ramp 49
7/27 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.4 mi N of Ramp 38
7/28 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.8 mi N of Ramp 38
7/28 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.7 mi N of Ramp 34
7/28 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.4 mi S of Ramp 34
7/28 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.0 mi S of Ramp 30
Hatteras District False Crawls:
7/22 -- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.6 mi E of Ramp 49
7/23 -- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 2.3 mi SE of Ramp 49
7/23 -- A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 3.6 mi SE of Ramp 49
7/24 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 2.25 mi NE of Ramp 55
7/28 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1 mi N of Ramp 43
Ocracoke District Nests:
7/22 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found .35 mi S of Ramp 68
7/22 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.7 mi N of Ramp 68
7/25 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found .47 mi N of Ramp 70
7/26 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found .13 mi N of Ramp 72
7/26 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found .56 mi S of Ramp 70
7/27 - A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found .3 mi N of Ramp 70
Ocracoke District False Crawl:
7/26 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1.19 mi S of Ramp 59
7/27 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 3.87 mi N of Ramp 67
New nests this week: 21
Total nests to date: 122*
New false crawls this week: 6
Total false crawls to date: 87
Nests hatched this week: 1
Total nests hatched to date: 1
*The most nests ever documented on the seashore
Sea Turtle Strandings:
Bodie District:
None this week
Hatteras District:
7/23 – An dead adult loggerhead sea turtle was found 0.4 mi W Ramp 45. The sea turtle was discovered without a head or front flippers. A necropsy revealed shark bites on the sea turtle and no visible signs of human interaction.
Ocracoke District:
None this week
Marine Mammals:
Bodie District:
7/23 – A dead Bottlenose dolphin was found 2.1 mi S of Ramp 2.
Hatteras District:
None this week.
Ocracoke District:
None this week.
Closures – additions/modifications/removals:
|
Closure # |
Location |
Species |
Date Installed or Removed |
|
Bodie District |
|
|
|
|
BH10-004-D |
2.6 mi N of Ramp 27 |
LETE |
7/23/2010 |
|
Hatteras District |
|
|
|
|
HI10-002-L |
South Beach/Ramp 45 |
PIPL, AMOY, LETE |
7/23/2010 |
|
Ocracoke District |
|
|
|
|
OI10-002-J |
0.7 mi SW of Ramp 72 |
AMOY, WIPL |
7/23/2010 |
Closure intrusions:
Bodie District:
7/22 – Six pedestrians observed walking on the beach inside the resource closure at Ramp 23.
7/22 - Two sets of pedestrian tracks and 1 set of dog tracks entered the resource closure; Ramp 23.
7/22 - 21 pedestrians observed at or below the high-tide line inside the resource closure at Ramp 27. Pedestrians were contacted by LE.
7/27 - One set of bare footprints were observed along the water 0.2 mi South of Ramp 27.
7/27 - One person was walking along the water inside the closure at Ramp 23.
Hatteras District:
7/23 – Three sets of footprints documented inside the LETE closure 1.5 mi S of Ramp 38.
7/23 – A jogger was observed in the LETE closure 1.7 mi S of Ramp 38.
7/28 – Pedestrian tracks observed in the sea turtle nest closure 1.9 mi N of Ramp 55.
7/28 – Pedestrian and dog tracks were observed in the sea turtle nest closure 2 mi N of Ramp 55. The closure string was broken.
7/28 – Pedestrian and dog tracks were observed in the sea turtle nest closure 2.2 mi W of Ramp 49.
7/28 – One set of pedestrian tracks were observed in the sea turtle nest closure 0.1 mi W of Ramp 49.
7/28 – Five sets of pedestrian tracks were observed in the expanded sea turtle nest closure just E of Ramp 49.
Ocracoke District:
7/28 – Two individuals landed a boat on the sound-side shoreline of South Point, but left before contact could be made.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Resource Management Field Summary for July 15– July 21, 2010
(Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke Districts)
Piping Plover (PIPL) Observations:
|
Observations |
Thurs 7/15 |
Fri 7/16 |
Sat 7/17 |
Sun 7/18 |
Mon 7/19 |
Tues 7/20 |
Weds 7/21 |
|
Oregon Inlet |
0 |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
|
Cape Point |
4 |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
|
South Beach |
3 |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
|
Hatteras Inlet |
0 |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
|
Hatteras Overwash |
0 |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
NS |
|
N. Ocracoke |
4 |
6 |
3 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
|
S. Ocracoke |
3 |
9 |
7 |
2 |
11 |
5 |
4 |
NS=Not surveyed.
Bodie District:
Bodie Island: July 15th was the last day for PIPL pre-nesting observation. No PIPLs were observed.
Hatteras District:
Cape Point: July 15th was the last day for PIPL pre-nesting observation. All PIPL breeding appears to be over.
South Beach: July 15th was the last day for PIPL pre-nesting observation. All PIPL breeding appears to be over. Migrants are being observed on South Beach.
Hatteras Overwash/Hatteras Inlet: July 15th was the last day for PIPL pre-nesting observation. No PIPLs were observed.
Ocracoke District:
North Ocracoke: All PIPL breeding appears to be over. Migrants are being observed on beaches with up to 22 PIPLs observed foraging along the inlet and ocean shorelines.
South Point: All PIPL breeding appears to be over. Nest 16, a two egg nest, was lost on Sunday 7/18 to ghost crab predation. Migrants are being observed on beaches with up to 11 PIPLs observed along the inlet and oceanside shorelines, as well as within the mudflats.
PIPL Breeding Summary:
|
Total Nests to Date |
Active Nests |
Total Nests Hatched |
Total Nests Lost |
Total Eggs Hatched |
Unfledged Chicks |
Lost Chicks |
Fledged Chicks |
|
16* |
0 |
11 |
5 |
31 |
0 |
16 |
15 |
* This counts the three egg nest on Ocracoke, found 6/29, as a separate nest, although it is believed that this nest may be a clutch continuation from Nest #15, which was predated by ghost crabs 6/23.
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 (2) 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. 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. Lost to storm overwash and flooding on 5/26.
Nest/Brood 11 - South Point. 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. Three chicks hatched 6/25, one was lost on or around 6/28. The other two were lost on or before 7/1.
Nest 13 – South Point. Three chicks hatched on 7/1, but only one chick was observed by 7/2. All chicks were lost by 7/4 to unknown cause.
Nest 14 – South Beach. Two eggs were lost on 7/11, cause unknown. One chick hatched on 7/11. The 9-day-old chick was observed on 7/19, but was not observed on 7/20. The adults were observed trying to distract a juvenile greater black-back gull on the morning of 7/20, but the cause of the loss cannot be definitively determined as there were also raccoon tracks in the area.
Nest 15 – South Point. Lost on or before 6/23.
Nest 16 (or Nest 15a) – South Point. This nest lost one egg to a ghost crab on or before 7/10. The remaining two eggs were lost on Sunday 7/18 to ghost crab predation.
WIPL Update:
Although the WIPL chicks are not observed daily, on 7/13 two fledged chicks were present and foraging on the sound-side shoreline of South Point. The second WIPL nest hatched on 7/20 with one chick just outside the nest cup and one egg was still in the nest cup. The brood was not located on 7/21 and one egg still remained in the nest cup.
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 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Bodie District |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Bodie/Hatteras District |
5 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
|
Hatteras District |
12 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
22 |
0 |
4 |
18 |
|
Ocracoke District |
6 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
|
CAHA TOTALS |
28 |
0 |
21 |
7 |
48 |
4 |
18 |
26 |
2010 AMOY Breeding Pairs: Twenty-three confirmed breeding pairs of AMOYs have been documented this year.
Bodie District:
- Green Island: The southern brood is believed to still have 2 chicks and the northern brood is believed to have 2 fledged chicks.
- Bodie Island: No AMOY breeding behavior was observed this week.
- Bodie/Hatteras District (Rodanthe to Ramp 30): One pair has one chick that hatched on 6/26 and was banded on 7/21. Two other pairs have fledged a total of four chicks.
Hatteras District: All AMOY breeding activity has ended. 11 pair fledged 18 chicks.
Ocracoke District:
- North Ocracoke: One pair has one fledged chick.
- Other Beaches (Ramp 59-Ramp 72): The northern-most pair has fledged one chick. A second pair lost their chicks on or before 7/1.
- South Point: One pair continues to be observed in its territory. The other pair hatched one chick on Friday 7/16. The chick has been observed daily along the Ocracoke Inlet shoreline.
Colonial Waterbirds (CWB):
Bodie District:
Colony BIC01- 0.8 mi S of Ramp 4 active with LETE scrapes, nests, chicks and fledglings.
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 nests, chicks and fledglings.
Colony BHC02- 0.2 mi S of Ramp 27 active with LETE chicks and fledglings.
Colony BHC03- 2.7 mi N of Ramp 27 LETE activity has ended.
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 chicks and fledglings.
Colony HIC03 - 0.1 mi E of Salt Pond Road is active with LETE chicks and fledglings.
Ocracoke District:
Colony OIC01- 0.9 mi S of Ramp 72 active with LETE scrapes.
Colony OIC02- 0.1 mi N of Ramp 59 active with LETE, COTE, and BLSK nests and LETE and COTE chicks.
Colony OIC02-A- 0.8 mi N of Ramp 59 active with LETE, COTE, and BLSK nests and chicks.
Sea Turtle Nests (New Nests this Week):
Bodie District Nests:
None this week
Bodie District False Crawls:
None this week
Bodie Hatteras District Nests:
None this week.
Bodie Hatteras District False Crawls:
7/20 – A Loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1.2 mi N of R23.
Hatteras District Nests:
7/15 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.0 mi E of Ramp 49.
7/15 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.7 mi N Ramp 55.
7/16 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.9 mi N of Ramp 55.
7/18 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.1 mi N of Ramp 44.
7/18 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.0 mi E of Ramp 49.
7/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.3 mi S of Ramp 44.
7/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.5 mi W Ramp 45.
7/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.3 mi S of Ramp 44
7/20 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 0.1 mi W of Ramp 45.
Hatteras District False Crawls:
7/15 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1.9 mi S R 45.
7/16 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found at Ramp 45.
7/8 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 0.8 mi S of Ramp 44.
Ocracoke District Nests:
7/15 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found .81 mi N of Ramp 70
7/15 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 2.63 mi N of Ramp 67
7/19 – A loggerhead sea turtle nest was found 1.22 mi N of Ramp 67
Ocracoke District False Crawl:
7/17 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found .5 mi S of Ramp 59
7/18 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found 1.71 mi S of Ramp 59
7/20 – A loggerhead sea turtle false crawl was found .38 mi N of Ramp 68
New nests this week: 12
Total nests to date: 101
New false crawls this week: 7
Total false crawls to date: 79
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 |
|
|
|
|
HI10-003-R |
Hatteras Overwash Fans |
PIPL |
7/15/2010 |
|
HI10-004-R |
Hatteras Inlet |
PIPL |
7/15/2010 |
|
HI10-007-G |
2.8 mi S of Ramp 38 |
LETE |
7/20/2010 |
|
HI10-001-J |
Cape Point |
AMOY |
7/21/2010 |
|
Ocracoke District |
|
|
|
|
OI10-004-R |
2.6 mi S of Ramp 59 |
AMOY |
7/18/2010 |
|
OI10-002-I |
0.7 mi SW of Ramp 72 |
AMOY, WIPL |
7/20/2010 |
|
OI10-001-J |
0.2 mi N of Ramp 59 |
CWBs |
7/20/2010 |
Closure intrusions:
Bodie District:
7/18 - Two sets of footprints passed through the closure 0.1- 0.3 mile N of Ramp 23 along the shoreline.
Hatteras District:
7/15 – One set of footprints documented inside the sea turtle nest closure 1.3 mi S of Ramp 34. The string was also broken.
7/16 – Two sets of children’s footprints in the closure and over the nest cavity were documented inside the sea turtle nest closure 2.2 mi S of Ramp 49.
7/17 – Dog tracks were observed in sea turtle nest closure 3.62 mi S of Ramp 38
Ocracoke District:
None this week.
