2012 is underway, and we now have one month behind us. I don’t want to jinx us, but it was a pretty fabulous month on the Outer Banks – bright sun, blue skies, 60′s, surf…we could use some more fishing, but overall no complaints.
As I’ve mentioned in my other Outer Banks Behind the Lens posts, each and everyday I try to make time to get to the beach to snap a photo and give a quick beach report. This morning routine has become one of my favorite times of the day. In addition to the morning photo, I do my best to snap great OBX photos anytime I see them.
I just put the finishing touches on a slideshow of all my Outer Banks pictures from January 2012 on Flickr, and in my humble opinion, it’s a great way to kill a few minutes.
Outer Banks: 11.28.11 - Amazing Bird Migration at Avalon Pier
I strolled up to the beach this morning for my daily picture/beach report, and I was wow’ed by a pretty cool sight. Hundreds (maybe 1000+?) of birds moving around Avalon Pier and heading south. Very cool.
This is some conjecture, but I think they were ducks (with some pelicans and sea gulls mixed in), and it seemed like they were migrating south. They were bouncing from the water to the air, but they weren’t taking the time to fish, so migration seems to make the most sense. Regardless of the reason, it was awesome to watch nature doing its thing.
Hope you had a great Turkey Day. The weather was perfect on the OBX, and that great weather is continuing today. Sun and 60′s. Unfortunately no surf, but we could see some nice waves tomorrow. Piers are closing down for the season, but the fish are still biting.
Were you on the OBX for Thanksgiving? How did you spend your time when you weren’t gobbling down a delicious Turkey Day feast? We’d love to know. Please share in the comment section below.
Outer Banks: 11.1.11 - Ocean Raging at Avalon Pier
Happy November! Hope you had a great Halloween. The Mrs. and I took the kiddos on an awesome hay ride to trick or treat around Kitty Hawk. So fun!
But where does the time go?! Can you believe it’s already time to think about Thanksgiving?! (side note: Have you ever been to the Outer Banks during the holiday season? Awesome time to be here. And we have some great deals on gorgeous houses!)
On to the business of the day: It’s overcast & windy to start today, but the sun is fighting its way out. We have a low pressure system hanging out with us for a few days, and it’s bringing cool temps and some wind…and some raging seas! Temps are in the 60′s today with a stiff northeast wind.
The low pressure system and the stiff wind is pushing in some big swell. The ocean is raging today.
The cooler temps and heavy wind are slowing down the fishing…Avalon Pier is empty this morning! But the bright side of this funky weather is that we have swell in the head high range.
There’s no surf out there today, but the forecast looks like it could be shaping up for fantastic surf on Thursday. The swell is going to stay in the head high range through the rest of the week, and it looks like the wind could drop significantly, and switch offshore, Thursday leaving head high clean surf for the taking. Fingers crossed that the conditions will line up.
The OBX surf forecast is looking awesome for Thursday, and possibly Friday! Here’s the Outer Banks surf forecast from SwellInfo.com:
Outer Banks Surf Forecast - 11.1.11
If surf conditions stay on this path, the word is that the Battle of the Banks could run on Thursday. The Battle is one of the best surf contests on the Outer Banks, if not the entire East Coast. A team from Outer Banks vs. a team from Virginia Beach hunting for the biggest, baddest surf and deepest barrels they can find with the motivation of bragging rights on the line. The last few years have been nothing short of amazing. I’ll be sure to get out there for some video again this year. Here’s the highlight reel from the 2010 Battle of the Banks:
Outer Banks: 10.24.11 - Empty Beaches in Kill Devil Hills
It’s definitely starting to feel like fall. Overcast skies this morning, temps in the 60′s, and a stiff northeast wind.
Water temps are still in the upper 60′s! And look at the beach…not a soul in sight. Fall is a great time to be on the Outer Banks, private beaches all to yourself.
Unfortunately, no surf today, but the fish are biting.
It’s hard to believe, but, yes, sometimes it even rains on the Outer Banks. Boo!…I know.
It’s not too shabby today, only a 50% chance of showers, but it’s definitely an overcast day. The warms temps still feel great though. Temps in the 70′s, water @ 68, a relatively stiff east wind at about 10-15 mph. The good news is it looks like the sun will be back soon, and the weekend looks perfecto!
There’s some decent swell in the water, but no surf today. Although, fun Surf tomorrow? The OBX surf forecast looks good tomorrow morning with chest high, clean surf and a light southwest breeze. But the wind should pick up and switch south in the morning, so get at the waves early. Friday and the weekend look decent for clean waves, but they’ll be small in the knee to waist range.
The Fall fish are biting! Piers are full, surf casters are lining the shore. It’s a great time to be fishing on the Outer Banks. Here’s a great OBX fishing overview we posted yesterday.
Outer Banks: 10.4.11 - Pretty Fall Day at Avalon Pier
Sure is a pretty fall day. In fact, October sure is a pretty month on the Outer Banks. Fall is settling in, and the pace of life seems to slow; the days are warm, but not too hot, the nights are cool, the beaches are empty, and water is warm….plus the fishing and surfing is fantastic. Can’t ask for much more than that. Happy to see you again October.
Sun & low 70′s today, but a northwest wind is keeping it cool. Surf is fading. Fish are biting. Water temps in the low 70′s.
Perfect fall day. Sun, 80′s, light southwest wind, water at 72 degrees.
The swell has dropped a bit, but there are a lot of fun waist to chest waves rolling through. Perfect day to soak up the fall sun, enjoy the warm water, and catch some fun surf. And a great day for the ESA finals at Jennette’s Pier.
Take a peek at the live action at the beach in Nags Head with our webcam.
Fall fishing is going strong. Tight lines all around – spot, croakers, speckled trout, black drum, puppy drum, pompano, stripers.
It’s starting a bit overcast this morning, but it seems like the sun is fighting it’s way out. Air temps are in 80′s and the water is at 74.
The surf is a bit tough to decipher today. There is a onshore, northeast wind, but it’s real light. There is good swell in the water, but the sections are closing pretty quickly. Although, if you find the right spot there are some great A-Frames to be had. However, my diagnosis is that the surf should clean a bit more as tide fills in; so I’m thinking late morning/early afternoon could be some fun waves.
Good day for the ESA finals at Jennette’s Pier. Below is a video with some highlights of the surfing action from yesterday, and you can also tune in live on our webcam just north of Jennette’s Pier.
Fish are biting – spot, stripers, croakers, pompano…and red drum!
It’s been a windy, rainy weekend, but we have a pretty fall day to start the week. Sun, 70′s, but cool with strong Northeast wind.
Raging sea from the strong wind and swell from Tropical Storm Maria that passed by.
The ESA surf competition kicks off today at Jennette’s Pier. They will have heats going throughout the day north and south of the pier. We’ll grab some video for tomorrow’s beach report, and you can checkout our webcam for a look at the action (getting out there this morning to give the lens a clean ).
