Birding Off the Outer Banks
Few people have the opportunity to see two dozen of the most majestic birds in the northern hemisphere. These birds are commonly referred to as pelagic species.
The Outer Banks has a wide variety of wildlife, including amazing birds. However, just off the coast of the Outer Banks towards the Gulf Stream are some hard to find species of birds. Birders that are familiar with the common terns that are typically seen on the OBX may be astonished by the birds that are encountered on the high seas…
• Garry Durham was fishing at the East Branch Reservoir when an American avocet touched down.
• The Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area in Sandusky County has been the shorebird hotspot recently, featuring red knots, Hudsonian and marbled godwits, and Western, Baird’s, white-rumped, stilt, and pectoral sandpipers, red-necked and Wilson’s phalaropes, both dowitchers, both yellowlegs, ruddy turnstones, black-bellied plover, and black terns, reported Kenn Kaufman, Gabe Leidy and Chris Pierce.
• The first wave of fall warblers arrived at the Shaker Lakes Nature Center last week, Scott Van Valkenburg reported. They included Blackburnian, black-and-white, chestnut-sided and yellow-rumped.
• Jeanne Hrenko tracked down a male mourning warbler skulking in the shrubs at the Beaty Landing MetroPark in Painesville.
• Two merlins at Carver Pond near the Holden Arboretum were a surprising find for Haans Petruschke.
• Sandy Ridge Park in North Ridgeville has hosted good numbers of shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors recently, as well as busy beavers. Naturalist Tim Fairweather will begin leading the fall bird walks on Wednesdays beginning Aug. 26 at 7:30 a.m.
Outer Banks is a World-class Wedding Destination
The Outer Banks is an amazing wedding destination. Every year couples come to the Outer Banks to include gorgeous scenery in their wedding plans and rent elegant rental properties to accommodate their wedding and/or their guests.
It is hard to find more picturesque scenery than the Outer Banks, and rental homes make a great alternative to other housing arrangements in many ways. Renting a vacation property makes it easier for the wedding parties and family to connect and to get to know each other before the big day. Maybe a vacation rental could also help trim the cost of a venue for a rehearsal dinner?
Sly Crandal and Rob Lehman chose to tie the knot on the Outer Banks, and decided on a beach wedding during June 2008. At first, the couple was a little apprehensive. After celebrating their special day on the Outer Banks, the expressed a different opinion. “I loved that the small-town feeling was in everything,” said Aly. “Everyone worked together and gave us great personalized service that made it easy.” It was a casually elegant wedding that also gave family and friends a chance to relax and get to know each other. A block of ten homes in Corolla and additional hotel rooms kept everyone together. “Most everyone came and spent four to seven days. Cousins spent hours playing volleyball and body-surfing the waves. We had golfers, runners, anglers and tennis players. People toured the wildlife museum and went to see the wild horses. Others just spent hours at the beach, reading and talking,” said Derrick Crandall, father of the bride. All of the wedding guests commented on how elegant the wedding was. What most of the guests said they enjoyed particularly about the wedding was the relaxing beach setting in which the event was held.
Event homes available! Come find out why the Outer Banks is the perfect place to say “I do.”
Tropical Storm Danny Brings the Outer Banks a Storm Alert and Surf
As of Friday morning, Topical Storm Danny is barely a tropical storm as winds drop, however, the Outer Banks is still expecting rain, winds, increased surf and rip currents. Now barely a tropical storm, Danny’s maximum sustained winds fell to 40 miles per hour. There is potential for some strengthening over next 12 hours, however Danny is currently poorly organized and struggling through wind shear, so it shouldn’t strengthen significantly.
On Thursday, The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for the Outer Banks through Saturday, with windy and rainy conditions possible from Tropical Storm Danny. The watch, issued at 5 p.m. Thursday, covers the Outer Banks from Cape Lookout to Duck in Dare County and the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. The watch indicates that tropical storm conditions, with winds in excess of 39 mph, are possible through Saturday.
Most tracking models keep the heart of the storm away from the U.S. East Coast, and the Outer Banks. Danny is about 350 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It is forecasted to move northwest at 10 mph and then turn north and northeast while gaining forward speed.
On this course, Danny should pass near the Outer Banks overnight, approach the New England coast late Saturday and move over Nova Scotia and Newfoundland on Sunday.
Increased swell is starting to show on the Outer Banks, and hopefully conditions will cooperate to create some great OBX surf. As of this morning, the weather was ideal with air temperatures approaching 80 degrees and water temperatures in the mid 70’s. The waves are starting to line up, but not entirely clean and still in the waist to chest range. It is a great paddleboard and longboard day though.
Tropical Storm Danny Forecast
Outer Banks Surf Forecast
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