Head Down & Sniffing Around
One of 14 ponies penned and living on Ocracoke Island under the care of the National Park Service.
While small and powerful, they are full-grown horses that are often called or referred to as Banker ponies as their range included most of the Outer Banks. Physically, the Ocracoke ponies are different from other horses - they have a different number of vertebrae and ribs as well as a distinct shape, posture, color, size, and weight that sets them apart from other horses. (NPS)2446banker poniesocracoke islandCape Hatteras national seashorehorses
Taking a Stroll & Graze
Two of 14 ponies penned and living on Ocracoke Island under the care of the National Park Service.
The ponies have played a major role in the island’s history, serving residents as beasts of burden at work and play, in beach rides and races. When the early colonists settled Ocracoke, they used the ponies to help make life easier on the island by pulling carts to haul freight and fish. The U.S. Lifesaving Service used them for beach patrols and to haul equipment to shipwreck sites. The US Coast Guard kept a small band of Banker ponies to patrol the beaches in World War II. (NPS)2457banker poniesocracoke islandCape Hatteras national seashorehorses
Just Resting The Hooves
One of 14 ponies penned and living on Ocracoke Island under the care of the National Park Service.
The ponies have played a major role in the island’s history, serving residents as beasts of burden at work and play, in beach rides and races. As time progressed, the families that lived on the island claimed the ponies, holding pony penning in the summer. Riders would start early in the morning at the north end of the island and drive the ponies into the village where holding pens had been constructed. Once in the pens they would sort out the ponies and brand the new ones. Some ponies would be broken for riding or sold, and the rest were turned loose to roam free again. (NPS)2472banker poniesocracoke islandCape Hatteras national seashorehorses
The Painted One
A "paint" breed horse on the Ocracoke Island is one of 14 ponies penned and living on the island under the care of the National Park Service.
A Stroll Through the Field
One of 14 ponies penned and living on Ocracoke Island under the care of the National Park Service.
the late 1950s, Ocracoke Boy Scouts cared for the horses and had the only mounted troop in the nation. (NPS)2487banker poniesocracoke islandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
The Horse with the White Mane
One of 14 ponies penned and living on Ocracoke Island under the care of the National Park Service.
By law, these once free-roaming animals were permanently penned in 1959 to prevent over-grazing and to safeguard them from traffic after the highway was built in 1957. The remaining herd has been cared for by the National Park Service since the early 1960s. (NPS)2492banker poniesocracoke islandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
Ocracoke's Favorite Residents
Two of 14 ponies penned and living on Ocracoke Island under the care of the National Park Service.
2497banker poniesocracoke islandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
Paying No Attention
A "paint" breed horse on the Ocracoke Island are two of the 14 ponies penned and living on the island under the care of the National Park Service.
2502banker poniesOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
Showing Their Best Sides
A "paint" breed and other horse on the Ocracoke Island are two of the 14 ponies penned and living on the island under the care of the National Park Service.
2517banker poniesOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
The Sweet Grass Graze
One of the 14 horses on Ocracoke Island grazing in the National Park Service pen.
2522banker poniesOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
Grazing on Ocracoke
One of the 14 horses on Ocracoke Island grazing in the National Park Service pen.
2562banker poniesOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
What Should I Graze On Today?
One of the 14 horses on Ocracoke Island grazing in the National Park Service pen.
2567banker poniesOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicehorses
Ocracoke Lighthouse & Keepers Quarters
In 1822, for a charge of $50, the federal government purchased two acres at the south end of Ocracoke Island as the site for a new lighthouse. Constructed by Massachusetts builder Noah Porter and finished in 1823, the tower still stands today. Total cost, including the one story, one bedroom keeper’s house, was $11,359, far below the $20,000 budgeted. (NPS)
As duties at the lighthouse increased, an assistant keeper position was established. To house the additional keeper and his family, a second story was built onto the original quarters in 1897 and another section was added in 1929. The double keepers' quarters still stands on the site today, along with a generator house, once the oil supply shed. (NPS)2582Ocracoke IslandOcracoke Island LighthouseCape Hatteras national seashorelighthousenational park service
The Island Tower
The lighthouse stands about 75 feet tall. Its diameter narrows from 25 feet at the base to 12 feet at its peak. The walls are solid brick - 5 feet thick at the bottom tapering to 2 feet at the top. An octagonal lantern crowns the tower and houses the light beacon. (NPS)
2591Ocracoke Islandocracoke island lighthouseCape Hatteras national seashorelighthousenational park service
Sprial to the Top
The spiral staircase leading to the top of the Ocracoke Island Lighthouse.
2592Ocracoke Islandocracoke island lighthouseCape Hatteras national seashorelighthousenational park service
The Peak of the Island
During hurricanes, the light station served as a place of refuge for some local residents. Situated on higher ground, the complex often remained above flood waters. Villagers, sometimes arriving by boats which navigated inundated roadways, waited out the storm in the keepers’ home. The Ocracoke Light is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation. With its aid, yesterday’s sailing vessels safely navigated the channels. Today, fishing and pleasure boats pass within its view. (NPS)
2602Ocracoke Islandocracoke island lighthouseCape Hatteras national seashorelighthousenational park service
The White & The Light
The exterior’s solid white coloration serves as its identifying mark to mariners by day. The original whitewash “recipe” called for blending lime, salt, spanish whiting, rice, glue, and boiling water. The mixture was applied while still hot. (NPS)
2665Ocracoke Islandocracoke island lighthouseCape Hatteras national seashorelighthousenational park service
Ocracoke Island's Black Pelican
A black pelican soaring above the Ocracoke Island marina.
black pelicanOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras national seashorewildlife
The Great Egret of Ocracoke Island
A Great Egret flying above the marshes south of Hatteras Inlet on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
great egretOcracoke IslandCape Hatteras National Seashorewildlife
Sunset on the Pamlico
The sunset on the Pamlico Sound, off of Ocracoke Island on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
2809Pamlico soundsunsetCape Hatteras national seashorenational park service
The Gaggle Flying Out to the Pamlico
A gaggle of Canadian geese flying out over and towards the Pamlico Sound, on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
canada geesecape Hatteras national seashorenational park service. wildlifePamlico sound
He Was Running...
A Ruddy Turnstones running along the beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. They get their name from their habit of turning over stones 'turn-stone' in rocky shorelines and on their breeding grounds. They probe into the sand or pick through beach debris in a fashion more typical to other sandpipers. (Nature Southwest 2015)
ruddy turnstonescape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
Take Your Right Foot Out...
A Ruddy Turnstones high stepping through the loose sand on the beaches of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
ruddy turnstonescape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
Feeling Guarded
A Ruddy Turnstones looking for food as it forages through the sand along with numerous Sanderlings in the area along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
ruddy turnstonessanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife.
The Wings of the Willet
A Willet flying over the cresting waves on the beaches of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, at (Outer Banks) Nags Head, North Carolina.
willetcape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
The Waves Beneath My Wings
A Willet flying above the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Nags Head, NC.
willetcape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
Comin At Ya
A Willet flying above the beach along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Nags Head, NC.
willetcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
The Sea Foam Chase
A Sanderling running as fast as he can to escape the invading waves and sea foam of the Atlantic Ocean as the water chases him up the beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Hatteras Island.
sanderlingcape Hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife.
Sanderling on the Beach
A Sanderling running up and down the beach on Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, searching for its lunch as the waves roll in and out.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
The Sanderling Run
A Sanderling running up and down the beach as the waves crash in and out on Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, looking for their lunch consisting of small crab buried beneath the sand.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife.
Walking on Water
A Sanderling getting caught in a shallow wave thrust coming up the beach along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Hatteras Island.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
Off To The Races
Is he racing the wave, or his reflection in the wet sand below him. This sanderling was running with the waves thrusting up and down the beach on Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife.
A Wide Stride
A Sanderling running in the shallow water of a waves thrust up the beach along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, on Hatteras Island.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife.
Wave Chasing
A sanderling on the beach of Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, chasing the waves as they fall back into the Atlantic Ocean, hunting for crab underneath the sand.
Sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
Crab Hunting
A Sanderling slowing his run just long enough to look for small crab beneath the sand and water on the beach of Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
The Sanderling & His Shadow
A Sanderling walking along the freshly smoothed sand by on the beach of Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras Island, and leaving footprints as it contemplates its shadow before him.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
Footprints
A sanderling leaving foot prints as it traverses the beach on Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife.
The Waters Edge
A Sanderling holds steady as the surf approaches him, narrowly missing its feet as it steadfastly holds its position.
cape hatteras national seashorenational parks servicewildlifesanderling
Crab Success
A Sanderling rushing up the beach to secure its catch of a small crab from beneath the sand and water. Here you can see the crab in its beak as it tries to free the meat from the out shell/skin.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife
This One Is Mine...Go Away!
A sanderling eating its crab on the beach of Hatteras Island, along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, working the meat out of the shell, as its reflection shines off the sand and water of the beach.
sanderlingcape hatteras national seashorenational park servicewildlife