Resource summary, July 15-21

  Cape Hatteras National Seashore Resource Management Field Summary for July 15-21 is as follows (from NPS);

  Piping Plover (PIPL) observations: Cape Point, 2; South Beach, 3; N. Ocracoke, 47; S. Ocracoke, 41. All PIPL breeding appears to be over at Cape Point, South Beach, north and south Ocracoke. No PIPLs observed at Bodie District and Hatteras Overwash/Hatteras Inlet.

PIPL Breeding Summary: Total nests to date, 16; no active nests; total nests hatched, 11; total nests lost, 5; total eggs hatched, 31, no unfledged chicks; lost chicks, 16; fledged chicks, 15.

  WIPL update: Although the WIPL chicks are not observed daily, on July 13, two fledged chicks were present and foraging on the soundside shoreline of South Point. The second WIPL nest hatched on July 20 with one chick just outside the nest cup and one egg still in the nest cup. The brood was not located on July 21, and one egg still remained in the nest cup.

  American Oystercatchers (AMOY): total nests to date, 28; no active nests; nests hatched, 21; nests lost, 7; total chicks hatched, 48; unfledged chicks, 4; chicks lost, 18; fledged chicks, 26.

  Colonial Waterbirds (CWB): Active nests found in Bodie District, Green Island, Bodie Hatteras District, Hatteras District and Ocracoke District.

  Sea Turtle nests: Nests found in Hatteras District near Ramps 49, 55, 44, 49, 44 and 45. False crawls in this district were found near Ramp 45; Ocracoke District: Nests found near Ramps 70 and 67; False crawls found at Ramps 59 and 68. New nests this week, 12; total nests to date, 101; new false crawls this week, 7; total false crawls to date, 79. There were no sea turtle or marine mammal strandings this week.

  Closre Intrusions: Bodie District: Two sets of footprints passed through the closure of Ramp 23 along the shoreline. Hatteras District: One set of footprints documented inside the sea turtle nest closure 1.3 miles south of Ramp 34. The string was also broken. Two sets of children’s footprints were found in the closure and over the nest cavity inside the sea turtle closure 2.2 miles south of Ramp 49. Dog tracks were observed in the sea turtle closure 3.62 miles south of Ramp 38.