As the last days of
summer give way to the beauty of autumn, the skies fill with thousands upon
thousands of waterfowl making their winter migration to the sounds and
estuaries surrounding the Outer Banks. It is a cycle that’s as old as time, and
as snow geese spread their wings to break their descent into the water and
hundreds of blue petes raft in the waters of the Currituck Sound, the air is
filled with the beautiful cacophony of their calls.
The Outer Banks has always been known as a place of autumn abundance.
During the 19th and into the mid-20th century, it was considered the premier
East Coast destination for hunting migratory waterfowl. The hunting remains
excellent and duck blinds still dot the sounds, but these days more and more
people “hunt” our spectacular water fowl using binoculars and a camera.
Every season offers birdwatchers something special on the
Outer Banks, but by far the fall season may be the most spectacular. It is not
possible to list every bird that calls Eastern North Carolina their home during
the fall and winter months. For those who want this information, Mackay Island
on Knotts Island and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on Hatteras island,
have excellent online resources.
Pea Island National
Wildlife Refuge is located at the north end of Hatteras Island and the choices
for bird watching vary between very good and excellent. One of the best places
to start is the Visitor’s Center, located about 3-1/2 to 4 miles south of
Oregon Inlet. There are two impoundment ponds on the premises, remnants of the
heyday of hunting on the Outer Banks, and the trail that loops around them
offers an astonishing variety of wildlife.
If Pea Island is the best known Outer Banks location for
bird sighting, a wonderful Manteo site is probably the least well known.
Roanoke Island Marsh Game Land is about a third of a mile past the Wanchese
turnoff. Heading toward Wanchese there is a small parking area on the left with
a very short loop trail overlooking the Roanoke Sound marsh. This is a great area
to view migrating birds in their seasonal habitat. As an aside note, Wanchese
is a wonderful little fishing village that’s worth exploring.
An honorable mention for Roanoke Island birding goes out to
the Elizabethan Gardens, located on the way out of town. Not a lot of waterfowl
there, but almost every other species of bird imaginable is on the premise and
sections of the gardens are always in bloom.
When the Town of Duck built their boardwalk, it was
immediately known as one of the most beautiful sound side walks on the Outer
Banks. With almost a mile of elevated walkways over the waters of the sound and
viewing platforms along the way, it is also a fantastic place to check out the
local bird populations.
Currituck County bills itself as the “Sportsman’s Paradise”,
and during the heyday of the hunt club era it was definitely the place to go.
Within this county, there are two sites on the Outer Banks worth checking out.
At the north end of the Town of Duck, just across from the
Sanderling Inn, there is a soundfront parking lot. On the south end of the
path, there is a dirt path that once was the dirt road leading to Corolla. The
trail is wide, very easy to walk and has two observation platforms that have
panoramic views overlooking the Currituck Sound. This is a great location for
birding on the northern beachesHeading north, almost to the four-wheel drive
area of Carova, there is a very sharp bend in the road towards the right that
has a small parking lot. At this location, there is a boardwalk that offers a
spectacular trek through a maritime forest and ends at a viewing platform with
a great overview of the northern part of the Currituck Sound. From this private
location, it’s most likely that birders will be in for a memorable experience.
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