Osprey

Walking the beach at Ocracoke is always a satisfying activity. We commonly see gulls, willets, terns, & sanderlings. It is not unusual to see pelicans flying slowly beyond the breakers, their wing tips inches above the rolling waves, often in groups of three, four, five, or more. Sometimes a black billed skimmer glides by improbably close to the shoreline, its lower mandible skimming through the water, searching for small fish.

Yesterday afternoon I was rewarded with seeing a single osprey circling above the breakers just ahead of me as I walked down the beach. It was obviously looking for prey. But I never saw it swoop down and pluck a fish from the water. In short order it had moved too far up the beach to see. But I felt honored to share a deserted section of our beach with such a graceful and elegant bird.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Lou Ann's account of installing an old-fashioned pitcher pump. You can read it here.