OBX - Sandy's Spot Avon, NC

08/22/2024

Come watch science in action! A public sea turtle nest excavation will be taking place TOMORROW:

🐢 Friday, August 23, at 9:00am on Hatteras Island (park in the Buxton Lifeguard stand parking adjacent to Old Lighthouse Beach).
Nest location: Walk down the beach access path towards the lifeguard stand (0.05 miles). Walk south (right) for roughly 0.12 miles and arrive at the first nest site to the south of the lifeguard stand.

⌚️ Please allow for extra time to walk to the nest, as we will start promptly at 9:00am. Bring water and sunscreen.

Watch Park biologists dig up a recently hatched nest and inventory what’s inside. They will count empty eggshells, collect unhatched eggs, and occasionally find live and/or dead hatchlings during these excavations. While the biologists perform their examination of the nest, a park ranger will present a program on sea turtles and share what the biologists have found.

For more information and to learn about additional upcoming public nest excavations, visit our webpage: https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/nature/seaturtles.htm

08/17/2024

08/17/2024

A timely repost asking for your help:

We have a favor to ask…

Now that our local sea turtle nests are starting to hatch, we would like to ask everyone staying in oceanfront properties to turn off any indoor or outdoor lights that may be visible from the beach. We are asking this favor because when the hatchlings emerge from their nests, they are very sensitive to light and can become disoriented and follow these residential lights up into the dunes, rather than head down into the ocean. So could you please help us ensure that all our local hatchlings safely make it into the ocean and turn off all outdoor lights on decks and pools, and close the blinds or drapes on all levels of your house after dark ?

Thank you very much for your help.

08/12/2024

Mark your calendars! Immerse yourself in the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty as you climb the Bodie Island Lighthouse under the last two full moons of the climbing season!

🌕 August 19th is a Sturgeon Moon, named by northeastern Native American tribes for the abundance of sturgeon fish during this time. The moon has guided anglers for centuries, reminding us of the deep connection between nature and sustenance.

🌕 September 17th is a Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon signifies the time to reap the benefits of crops sown in earlier months.

Not here during these full moon dates? Check out other program and climb offerings below ⬇️

🌙 Bodie Island Lighthouse evening climbs every Tuesday night at 8:00pm, 8:30pm, and 9:00pm.

✨ Dark Skies over Bodie Island (A free night sky program on the grounds of the Bodie Island Light Station) every Sunday at 9:00pm.

Climbing tickets go on sale at 7 a.m. and may only be purchased on the same day of your intended climb. Tickets are only available for purchase at: www.recreation.gov/ticket/252034/ticket/10087143.

📸 NPS | J. Weaver taken on a Night Sky program through a telescope 7/19/24.

07/11/2024

💛

07/03/2024

This is very exciting!

06/12/2024

The early bird catches the...turtle! 🐢☀️

Female sea turtles come to the shore to nest during the night and/or morning, which is why beach ramps close from 9pm to 7am (or 6am for priority ramps). This allows for the females to lay their nests undisturbed and unharmed and gives time for our Resource Management team to protect the nests.

Female loggerheads (the most common on the Seashore) start laying eggs once they reach about 20 years old and can lay 3-4 nests per season. Nests can average anywhere from 80-120 eggs and incubate approximately 60 days until they hatch.

Read about how unattended beach equipment, artificial lights, and other threats impact sea turtle nesting and what to do if you see one nesting ⬇️
https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/nature/seaturtles.htm

📸 NPS | E. Gosnell, photo taken on 5/27/24 at 5:30am during a morning beach patrol
Image Description: A female loggerhead (Caretta caretta) is seen actively laying her nest on Cape Hatteras National Seashore early in the morning.

06/12/2024

This view never gets old!

06/10/2024

What a glorious morning!

05/21/2024

05/15/2024

🐋 We're only halfway through the week and still finding fascinating discoveries on the beaches of Cape Hatteras. Take a look at this large portion of a Humpback whale skull on Hatteras Island.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have specialized skull structures to support their unique feeding behaviors. Their skulls are relatively flexible, especially around the jaw joints, which enables them to open their mouths wide to consume large volumes of water and prey. The also have mandibles (lower jaws) that are not fused to their skulls.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina, known for history, hurricanes, and shipwrecks also happens to be a hotspot for marine mammal activity. At any given time, a wide arrangement of marine mammals move-about and feed very close to Cape Hatteras beaches, influenced by the southern Gulf Stream and the northern Labrador Current colliding off our coast. Given its location on the Outer Banks, the barrier island chains extend into the Atlantic Ocean and come in very close proximity to the continental shelf, and for this reason a large number of strandings occur within park boundaries.

Any marine mammal strandings OR sea turtle activity sightings should be reported to the Cape Hatteras Stranding Hotline: 252-216-6892.

📸 NPS | E. Dlutkowski

04/25/2024

Summer is getting close. We can't wait to see y'all soon!
This year's Avon Farmers Market will proudly feature 59 vendors.
We will have 15 Food vendors and 44 artists, crafters and makers.
See more about them here https://www.avonfarmersmarket.com/new-page-1

03/17/2024

Guess who’s back, back again? Yes, it’s us, tell a friend! 💁‍♀️ (No seriously, share this post to help spread awareness about the dangers of digging large holes on the beach.)

Today alone, our ocean rescue supervisor responded to THREE large holes dug/left on our beach. (Yes, you read that right, three in one day - and it's only March!) 🤦

We cannot stress this enough, 𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗜𝗦 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦❗️ Sand collapses occur in holes just a few feet deep. NEVER dig a hole deeper than it is wide. Children and adults should not dig holes deeper than their knees when standing in them.

Why are they dangerous?
🦈 Did you know that national statistics comparing sand hole collapses to shark attacks confirms that 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸.

👨‍⚕️ No one goes to the beach expecting to leave with a broken ankle or worse. Sand holes can cause numerous injuries to other beach-goers.

🚑 Sand holes make it challenging for first responders to quickly get to an emergency on the beach, and they can cause damage to the responder's vehicles and create a secondary emergency.

🐢 Who doesn’t love cute little sea turtles?! Sand holes can trap hatchlings and their mother, which can result in a fatal ending.

We recommend leaving any digging to the little ghost crabs 🦀 However, if you do dig a hole on the beach, ONLY dig shallow holes and ALWAYS fill it in once you're finished. Help keep everyone on our beaches safe, including yourself.

Thanks for making it through this lengthy post. 😅 Don't forget to share!

12/08/2023

We’ve been doing a bit of ‘rest and repair’ at Sandy’s Spot. Apparently, today the fishing is very good. We have 8 fishing vessels to supervise from the deck. 😉

11/10/2023

We’ve been a bit quiet lately here at Sandy’s Spot. Our guests have been arriving/departing and we hope that everyone has enjoyed their time at the beach. As the weather cools and the end of 2023 approaches. Our thoughts, inevitably, drift forward to next season, the adventures that will be had and the memories that will be made. The beach, and Sandy’s Spot, will be waiting for you.

08/30/2023

For the first time in 16 years, a leatherback sea turtle nest has successfully hatched on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, (CHNS), with 19 hatchlings making their way to the Atlantic Ocean. The first leatherback sea turtle nest laid on Ocracoke Island in 11 years was discovered on June 22, 2023,...

08/21/2023

Come watch science in action! A public sea turtle nest excavation will be taking place tomorrow:

🐢 Tuesday, August 22, at 10:00am on Hatteras Island (park in the Buxton Lifeguard Beach lot). Nest location: 0.19 miles south of the Buxton Lifeguard stand. Please allow for extra time to walk to the nest, as we will start promptly at 10:00am. Bring water and sunscreen.

Watch Park biologists dig up a recently hatched nest and inventory what’s inside. They will count empty eggshells, collect unhatched eggs, and occasionally find live and/or dead hatchlings during these excavations. While the biologists perform their examination of the nest, a park ranger will present a program on sea turtles and share what the biologists have found.

For more information and to learn about additional upcoming public nest excavations, call the sea turtle nest excavation hotline at 252-475-9629.

https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/nature/seaturtles.htm

08/12/2023

Mark your calendars! The Perseid meteor shower will be at its peak Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning (August 12-13th). There’s no better place to catch the shower than Cape Hatteras, as we have some of the best stargazing on the East Coast.



Photo via NBC News

08/06/2023

How egg-citing! Sea turtle hatching season has begun on the Seashore!

Several nests have hatched so far, with many more in their hatching window. When a nest is within its hatch window (typically day 50-60 of incubation), park biologists install black filter fencing to help reduce light pollution and guide them to the ocean.

Thank you to our staff and dedicated volunteers who nest sit late into the night ensuring the safety for these little ones!

🐢 Pictured is a Loggerhead Sea turtle hatchling from the first nest which hatched on Ocracoke Island 7/29/23. This little one was found when the nest was routinely inventoried and excavated several days after it hatched. It was then released into the ocean.

07/18/2023

Leaving deep holes in the beach can cause harm to beachgoers, emergency response staff, and sea turtles.

Beach Hole Safety Tips:
🐢 Avoid digging deep holes in the beach. Important tip!

🐢 If you dig a hole in the beach, fill it in before leaving the beach. "Dig a hole, fill a hole."

🐢 Do not dig holes deeper than your knees when standing in them.

🐢 If you see an abandoned beach hole, consider filling it in.

View our Beach Hole Safety webpage at http://go.nps.gov/beachholes.

06/30/2023

If you are attending the fireworks at the Avon Pier please don’t walk on the dunes. There are new plantings and are under ‘restoration’. 🙂

06/19/2023

https://islandfreepress.org/fishing-report/nags-head-based-sushi-wins-65th-annual-big-rock-blue-marlin-tournament-after-disqualification/

A Nags Head-based boat, the Sushi with Captain Charley Pereira, was announced the winner of the 65th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament after a Morehead City-based vessel, Sensation, was disqualified. Sensation had landed a 619.4-pound blue marlin after 11 p.m. on Saturday night, but the fish ha...

05/25/2023

https://www.facebook.com/CapeHatterasNS?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Official Cape Hatteras National Seashore page. Text NPSOBX to 333111 for text alerts.

05/23/2023

https://islandfreepress.org/blog/editors-blog-revisiting-irenes-guide-to-beach-manners-2023-edition/

Our co-founder and editor, Irene Nolan, had a tradition of posting an annual list of beach etiquette guidelines for new and longtime visitors alike around Memorial Day Weekend. First published decades ago when she was the editor of the former Island Breeze, Irene’s guide was a smart and timely lis...

05/05/2023

We are pleased and excited to share the amazing farmers, producers, artists and crafters who will be in this years Avon Farmers Market. Come and see us and enjoy the wide range of food, art and crafts. The first market is June 13th, from 9am-1pm in the field next to Vacasa on Highway 12 in Avon. Can't wait to see you there.

04/29/2023

Special to see, please don’t come near me!

04/22/2023

Sea turtle nesting season begins May 1st in North Carolina. Nesting mother turtles use the moon, stars and breaking waves to find their way to nesting beaches. Hatchlings do the same to find their way to their ocean home. All too often they mistake artificial lights for the moon, stars or waves and crawl into the dunes, on to sidewalks and into streets where they die of dehydration, are taken by predators or run over by cars.

You can help save sea turtles by turning off exterior lights, closing window coverings and not using bright flashlights while walking the beach.