Cape Lookout National Seashore

Location:  Carteret County        Total Size: 13,022 acres            Map

Site Description: Cape Lookout National Seashore is located in the central coastal area of North Carolina between Beaufort and Ocracoke Inlets. Barden Inlet and New Drum Inlet divide the park into three barrier Islands. The northern-most island, North Core Banks is approx. 24 miles long, extending from Ocracoke Inlet to New Drum Inlet. South Core Banks extends southward from New Drum Inlet 25 miles to the Cape Lookout Bight area. Both islands have a northeast to southwest orientation, exhibit a low profile landscape and are made up of low dunes, shrub zone and salt marsh. The third island, Shackleford Banks, is 9 miles long and has an east-west orientation with a higher dune system, some freshwater marshes and approx. 90 acres of maritime forest. A cross-section of the ecological zones on north and south core banks would include: Beach, Berm, Dunes and Grasslands, Shrub thicket, salt marsh and sound-side beach. Shackleford Banks features freshwater marshes and maritime forest in addition to the zones on Core Banks. Nearly 400 plant species occur in the park, although sea oats, wax myrtle and Spartina alternaflora account for most of the vegetation. Elevation ranges from sea level to 10 feet for Core Banks and to 35 feet on Shackleford Banks.

 Habitats: barrier beach/dune, saltmarsh, sandflat/mudflat, maritime forest,

Land Use: other conservation, recreation/tourism, wildlife conservation, hunting

Primary Threats: Off-road vehicles, recreational development/overuse, disturbance to birds, introduced animals, predators. Off-road vehicle use on Core Banks alters habitats, disturbs birds and threatens ground nesting birds. Introduced animals, nutria and horses on Shackleford Banks alter habitats. Feral cats on Core Banks threaten chicks and adult birds. The Seashore has an estimated 300,000+ visitors annually. Much of the visitation is concentrated on the south end of South Core Banks and the west end of Shackleford banks.

Conservation Issues:  The number of people utilizing the Cape Lookout National Seashore is as key issue of concern.  Off-road vehicle traffic, unleashed pets and human disturbance of nesting, foraging and resting birds all present hazards to birds.

Protection Status: Site is managed by the National Park Service and is a core area for the South Atlantic Biosphere Reserve.

Birds: Two-thirds of the nesting pairs of Piping Plovers in NC nest within Cape Lookout National Seashore. The Park is also an important wintering and migratory site for Piping Plovers. Portsmouth flats, a 3 mile by 1.5 mile expanse of sand and mud flats provides a migratory stop for thousands of shorebirds (Criteria 3).  The beaches have a long history of use by nesting colonial waterbirds and other beach-nesting birds such as Willets and American Oystercatchers.

Key Bird Species

Criteria  

Season

Number

  
1

Piping Plover

B

35-39 prs.

  
2

Gull-billed Tern

B

50-59 prs.

  
2

Least Tern

B

340-583 prs

  
4a Common Tern B    
4a Black Skimmer B    
4a American Oystercatcher B    
1

Peregrine Falcon

FM

5/day

  
2

Red Knot

SM,SM

 500-3000  
4a

Sanderling

FM,W,SM

 2000-3000  
2

Willet

All

 500-800  
4f

Wading Birds

All

550-600

  
2

Short-billed Dowitcher

FM,SM

 200-500  

B=Breeding    FM=Fall Migration     SM=Spring Migration     W=Winter

Sources:

Cape Lookout National Seashore
NC Colonial Waterbird Database