The almost annual trip to the Outer Banks by the High Country Audubon Society concluded this past week with the primary objective of sighting the aberrant Snowy Owl out of his range at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. National Park Service personnel reported seeing the owl near ramp 45 through December 6. Another sighting was confirmed almost three miles south of the previous location, the change most likely thought due to the dramatic change of weather conditions before the weekend.
Reaching the traditional birding locations (Pea Island National Wildlife Preserve and Bodie Island) conveniently was hampered by the closing of the Bonner Bridge on December 3 because of excessive scouring –i.e. sand erosion from around the support structures. The bridge is more than 50 years old.
Bob Cherry, President of the High Country Audubon chapter, and Jesse Pope, Director of Education and Natural Resources at Grandfather Mountain, led the trip.
The most current report on the controversy surrounding the Bonner Bridge has been written by editor, Dan Barkin, of the Raleigh News and Observer.