Shackleford Banks Eco Tours

08/31/2024

Another double today with morning and afternoon trips … plenty of sand dollars, wild horses and other cool marine life which also makes for “Great day at Shack and to the Cape!” Two great groups, the morning duo wanted more fishing than touring and put a good whacking on the Spanish mackerel and bluefish, all casting catch and release. My afternoon group chose to go to Cape Lookout but, we made a quick stop for some catch a release flounder fishing with great success, our largest release was just shy of 4 #.

08/27/2024

Great eco tour today with these two, another great day at “Shack” and “to the Cape!” Plenty of wild horses, best sign of Spanish mackerel and bluefish since tropical storm Debbie, the tide was high, which allowed us to visit several “off the beaten path spots” and see plenty of stuff you won’t see on a typical tour. “See it, like a local! When you go with us…

08/18/2024

Another great family group today and another Great day at “Shack” … wild horses on Carrot island (pictured here) and Shackleford banks, we found plenty of sand dollars, great shells and explored all kinds of living sea creatures.

08/05/2024

We had the place to ourselves, which always makes for “another great day at Shack!” Great family from MD this morning … we saw wild horses, walked to the ocean side, found sea shells, saw a loggerhead sea turtle, caught Spanish mackerel and had fun exploring the grass flats.

08/04/2024

Another great day at “Shack” … we waited out the rain to depart and had a little wind … we still had a great afternoon at Shackleford Banks today with very few other people around. Saw wild horses, found some shells, non living sand dollars and explored all kinds of cool marine life.

07/31/2024

Several great groups the past few days, we made it “to the Cape” (Cape Lookout) on one trip, the others were “an another great day at Shack!” (Shackleford Banks) Plenty of great photo opportunities for horses, dolphins, sea turtles, some great living shell life (all released) and lots of non living shells and sand dollars. We fished some too, catching a few sharks, redfish, trout, bluefish and more. If you want to “see it, like a local!” Let me know, we’ll get you out there.

07/27/2024

Today was a great 6 hour eco tour “to the Cape!” we departed right as the rain stopped and it quickly turned into a beautiful afternoon. Plenty wild horses both Carrot island and Shackleford, casting netting for bait was epic (fishing not so much), nice walk across to the ocean from the light house, we rode back down Shackleford oceanside and we finished up with large pod of dolphins in Bogue sound, that were fairly photogenic. “Another great day at Shack!”

07/15/2024

“Another great day at Shack!” Awesome crew from West Virginia today … plenty of wild horses, sand dollars, a loggerhead sea turtle (briefly), a quick glimpse of Cape Lookout and a few minutes of fishing. Seeing it, like a local!

07/10/2024

Another great day at “Shack” (twice) Two thumbs up from my morning group and all smiles from my second group … even with the cloudy and windy conditions today we had a great time on both trips. We saw Carrot island and Shackleford banks wild horses, plenty of great birds, found some nice sea shells and had some really good casting action for Spanish mackerel.

07/04/2024

“Another great day at Shack!” We set up for July 4th this morning east of Wade shore and the crowd engulfed us… everyone around us was great! Beautiful weather, great food and awesome people always make for a good time…

07/03/2024

Another great day at “Shack!” Today we had first time Shackleford banks goers, after catching Spanish mackerel and seeing the wild horses they decided to find a few sand dollars and explore all the other cool finds such as whelks, hermit crabs, bay scallops, sea fans and much more. Afterwards we made a quick stop with the cast net to catch live bait and successfully shark fished the last part of the trip.

06/24/2024

Yesterday was another great day at Shackleford banks and Carrot island… blue skies and clear water helped us find plenty of sand dollars (we kept 3 really nice non-living, which were fully intact) also found sea urchins, clams and much more. The wild horses were out grazing Shackleford banks, Carrot island plus several pods of dolphins not to mention plenty of shore birds… there’s nothing better than a great day on the water.

06/22/2024

Another beautiful day to “See it like a local!” Picked up at the Bask Hotel went to “Shack” where we saw multiple groups of wild horses, after a few photos we made our way “to the Cape” visited the lighthouse and walked across to the ocean side to the eastern beach just north of Cape point. Finished up with a stop at bird shoal for swimming, beaching and drinks with the locals. The highlight of our finds today was a giant horse conch (they are actually in the Tulip snail family, which isn’t a conch or whelk) we released this big guy promptly after a couple pictures.our

06/09/2024

Another great eco tour today … clear water, blue skies and plenty of sights to see.

06/06/2024

For those of you that haven’t seen the beach in front of the Cape Lookout lighthouse since the dredging has been completed, there is now a much larger beach… not too mention the channel from the hook to Back sound is the best it’s been in many years.

04/10/2024

Beautiful day on Shackleford banks today… very few people around, wild horses were hanging out, plenty of dolphins, water temp is warming but, still chilly 60 degrees as well as a quick stop at the Shackleford banks cemetery, which is in pretty good shape after a long dreary winter.

01/27/2024

Off season trips to Shackleford Banks often make for far less crowds… sometimes we have the entire place to ourselves.

01/22/2024

Frosty day to go to Shack shell hunting… not for these two. This is just a small sample of the various shells they collected today.

08/10/2023

Great group of 5 this morning, we were forced to shorten our trip from 6 to 4 hours because of the bad weather pushing in… but, we still had time for plenty of horses, sand dollars, sea shells and we even did a little fishing (actually catching)

07/21/2023

Carrot island horses this morning…

07/18/2023

It was a beautiful morning at Shackleford Banks, Core Sound and Cape Lookout… no hermit crabs were harmed, this one was quite shy.

07/18/2023

It was a beautiful morning at Shackleford Banks and Cape Lookout…

07/07/2023

It was a great morning at Shack … plenty of horses, sea shells, sand dollars and only a few people… after Shack we dropped off the ladies and “us guys” fished for a few…

07/05/2023

Wild horses staying out of the holiday crowd… I can’t say I blame them😁

06/16/2023

We see turtles very regularly

Today is World Sea Turtle Day -- Let's shellabrate!

Four different species of Sea Turtles nest on the beaches of Cape Lookout National Seashore. The most common species is the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, and then the Green Sea Turtle. More rare are the large, Leatherback Sea Turtles and then the smallest species, the Kemp's Ridley.

Sea Turtle nesting season at Cape Lookout National Seashore lasts from May through October. The nest will take approximately 2 months to hatch with the first nests hatching sometime in July. As of today there are 72 nests on the three islands within the park (North Core Banks, South Core Banks, and Shackleford Banks). Most of the nests belong to Loggerhead sea turtles. One nest was laid by a Leatherback Sea Turtle and at least one nest was laid by a Green Sea Turtle.

Image description: in the late evening sunshine, a Loggerhead sea turtle makes her way back to the ocean.

Image credit: NPS photo

05/09/2023

An uncommon migrant and wearing its stylish spotted breeding plumage is this Spotted Sandpiper seen on Harkers Island on May 4th. The Spotted Sandpiper is easily identified by the dark spots on its belly and its orangish bill when in its breeding plumage. Perhaps a better identifier, regardless of age or plumage, is its habit of bobbing its tail as it walks. This odd habit makes the bird look a bit silly and brings a smile to most observers’ faces as they watch it bobbing its way along the water’s edge as it feeds.

Image description: a single Spotted Sandpiper feeds in the grass near the park's boat basin on Harkers Island

Image credit: NPS photo/Donna Weathers

05/08/2023

Breezy this morning but, there’s plenty of places to get out of the wind..

04/29/2023

Have you ever seen this unusual collection of shell bits in the shallow waters of the sound? This is the home of a plumed or ornate tube worm (Diapatra cuprea.) These worms inhabit sand and mud flats from Massachusetts to Florida along the coast, building and living in their amazing tubes. They are a species of polychaetes: elongated benthic (bottom-dwelling) creatures with segmented bodies. These worms secrete mucous to cement sand and other bits of their environment together to protect the tube extending above the surface. They reside in these tubes, venturing out to capture plankton and scavenge for detritus.

Image credit: NPS photo/Britt Brown

04/27/2023

You never know what you might find…

On April 16th, some visitors found this projectile point on the beach and took it with them. Rangers ultimately tracked these visitors down and educated them on ARPA (the Archeological Resource Protection Act) as they retrieved the point. This projectile point was then identified by an archeologist as a Kirk Corner-Notched Point and could be 8,000 to 10,000 years old (6000 – 8000 BCE).

Keep history alive at Cape Lookout NS by leaving historic and archeological artifacts alone. If you believe you have found a cultural artifact inside the park, do not pick it up or disturb it. Let the park know the location of your find and any other information about it, so that we can notify the appropriate historians and/or archaeologists. Remember, once an item is removed from its original location, the archeological and historic relevance is greatly diminished.

Currently, the park only allows for the collection of three types of items: unoccupied seashells, pinecones, and driftwood. The collection of these items must be for non-commercial purposes and not exceeding five gallons per person, per day. All historic, archeological, and paleontological artifacts, as well as the remnants of shipwrecks are forbidden to be collected inside of the park. Violations of ARPA, such as the collection of archeological items, can be a felony.

04/22/2023

The next generation…

Meanwhile over on Shackleford Banks yesterday -- Our biologist and the VIP helping her spotted the first foal of the season following its mother. Although we don't know its exact birthdate, it's under a week old. Welcome little one!

Remember to keep at least 50 feet (the length of a school bus) away from the horses. This is especially important with a mother and her new baby as they need time to bond and feed without being disturbed. Use a telephoto or zoom lens to take images. Even with the zoom setting, a cellphone camera will not get you a close-up image like this one (unless you are breaking the rules!)

Image description: a dark foal (baby horse) stands in the grass and looks towards the photographer with its ears pricked forward. Image taken with a telephoto lens and cropped closer.

Image credit: NPS photo/Chantal Taunton