North Carolina

As weather warms, nesting shorebirds and sea turtles join people heading to NC’s beaches

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2024

As weather warms, nesting shorebirds and sea turtles join people heading to NC’s beaches

With people flocking to the coast, officials hope education and outreach can help efforts to share the sand with nesting birds and sea turtles.

As the weather warms, sun-seeking tourists aren’t the only ones drawn to North Carolina’s rich necklace of barrier islands along its 320 miles of coastline.

If you’re visiting the beach this summer, there’s a good chance you’ll see wildlife mixed in with visitors and the occasional resident.

But sharing valuable beach real estate with nesting shorebirds and sea turtles can be challenging.

Mix in the loss of habitat on many islands to development, the growing risk from climate change, and the increased threat of disturbance tied to human activities, dogs and even predators and the odds are often stacked against the native fauna.

The eggs and chicks of nesting shorebirds often blend in perfectly with the sand, making it easy for people or pets to accidentally step on them. Getting close to the nests or babies can be just as bad, scaring the parents off and leaving the eggs and chicks at the mercy of predators and the summer heat.

That’s where groups like the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Audubon North Carolina come in to help level the playing field.

Hundreds of signs ring the state’s coastal nesting sanctuaries from Currituck Sound in the north to Sunset Beach in the south, warning visitors to respect nesting areas. In some locations, including Wrightsville Beach, volunteers help reinforce that message.

Hope Sutton, eastern wildlife diversity supervisor with the wildlife commission, said education and outreach efforts are some of the most powerful tools officials have to raise awareness about the birds’ requirements.

PHOTOS: Bird watching in the Wilmington area

“It’s a critical component, whether its students at Wrightsville Beach Elementary making cute signs to warn beachgoers to stay out of the refuge or adults learning about these birds through one of our outreach activities,” she said. “Our behavior patterns can really impact the chance of success many of these birds species have.”

The helping hand comes as regulators worry about the future of some of the state’s shorebirds.

North Carolina’s 2023 waterbird survey, which is conducted every three years and is a collaborative effort among government agencies and environmental groups, showed substantial dips in the numbers of many nesting shorebirds. Among wading birds, that list included cattle egrets, tricolored heron, little blue herons, snowy egrets and glossy ibis. Beach-nesting species showing substantial declines included the common tern, gull-billed tern, and Caspian tern.

Another species that is in trouble is the black skimmer, with North Carolina’s population decreasing by half since 1999. Because skimmers nest directly on the open sand, they are especially vulnerable to disturbance and loss of nesting sites.

But the survey wasn’t all bad news. Least tern numbers were found to be increasing, with many of the nests found on the beaches at the south end of Wrightsville Beach and on Lea-Hutaff Island in Pender County. Brown pelicans also are doing well, with 5,227 nests reported in 2023, well above the 15-year average of about 4,000 nests.

WHAT’S FLYING BY? Researchers go high-tech to track migratory birds along Pender County coast

Many of the shorebirds holding their own nest on spoil islands, like those in the Cape Fear River or Intracoastal Waterway, or on sections of protected natural areas like Masonboro Island that are hard to access.

But climate change is an unknown variable that could add to the pressure many species face. On low-lying manmade dredge islands, for example, rising seas and stronger tropical storms tied to warming temperatures could increase erosion and overwash threats.

“And the competition for sand is already tough and is likely to get worse in the coming decades,” Sutton said, referring to the limited nearshore sand resources and many coastal towns now seeking nourishment projects to boost their eroding beaches.

A warming climate also could prompt some birds to nest sooner.

Lindsay Addison, a coastal biologist with Audubon North Carolina, said learning to share the beach and knowing when to back away, such as when a shorebird starts acting irritated, can go a long way to help.

“Anyone who has lived down here for a while knows that there are more and more people now, and sometimes it’s really hard to anywhere along the coast and not run into a lot of people,” she said. “The birds also are experiencing that, and there are a lot of opportunities for people to disturb them and impact their survival.

“But if we just keep our distance and take some other steps, like keeping our dogs on a leash during certain times, it can make a really huge difference.”

Shorebird nesting season runs from March through mid-September.

Turtle time

Shorebirds aren’t the only ones looking to nest on area beaches. Peak sea turtle nesting season begins May 1 and continues through the end of October.

Most local beaches are monitored daily during sea turtle nesting season to look for evidence of nests, which are then monitored and protected if needed during the roughly two-month incubation period.

While sea turtle nesting numbers have been showing increases in recent years, regulators and environmentalists warn the marine reptiles still face many threats − especially during the decades they navigate the oceans before females return to their birth beach to nest.

While on the beach, threats dangers include holes dug in the sand and left by beachgoers, which can trap hatchlings after they emerge from the nest, and bright lights from homes and businesses that can distract nesting mothers and hatchlings and lead them away from the ocean.

CONSERVATION WIN? NC sees record number of green sea turtle nests in 2023

Sharing the beach

Tips from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on how to share the beach with nesting wildlife this summer:

Respect the boundaries of the roped-off nesting areas
Keep dogs on a leash
Follow beach driving regulations
Throw away trash properly, including fishing line and kite strings
Don’t feed sea gulls or least terns
Don’t fly drones or kites near nesting sites

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

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North Carolina

Syracuse football vs. North Carolina: Live score, updates

Published

3 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Press Room

Syracuse football vs. North Carolina: Live score, updates

Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse football team takes on the North Carolina Tar Heels at 7:30 p.m., Friday in the JMA Wireless Dome.

The game will air on ESPN.

See in-game team and individual stats here.

Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game vs. North Carolina to see the latest updates

Pregame

Eight games into the season, Syracuse has had to reopen its quarterback competition. Coach Fran Brown has said he doesn’t go back and forth on quarterbacks. He said he chooses one and sticks to it.

But after losing his first four starts since starting quarterback Steve Angeli went down with a season-ending injury, backup Rickie Collins has forced Brown’s hand.

With multiple quarterbacks poised to take the field Friday night against Bill Belichick and North Carolina, it shows how unsettled Syracuse’s depth chart is.

With Angeli expected to return in 2026 and two incoming quarterback recruits intending to sign with Syracuse, the current quarterbacks have uncertain futures.

Beyond the quarterbacks, Syracuse could use a good showing against the Tar Heels to finally snap a long losing streak. Friday is the Orange’s last game before going on the road for back-to-back games against ranked opponents.

The Orange is also expected to host another large group of recruits.

In its first game as the favored team since Sept. 12, on national television, with a future Pro Football Hall of Fame coach coming to the dome, Friday presents a final chance to gain confidence in what has become a lost season.

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North Carolina

NC State chancellor Kevin Howell’s installment a historic homecoming: ‘He’s a visionary’

Published

22 hours ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

NC State chancellor Kevin Howell’s installment a historic homecoming: ‘He’s a visionary’

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Chancellor Kevin Howell was installed as the 15th leader of N.C. State University. It was a historic moment because the alumnus is the first African American and former student body president to become chancellor.

“We’re here to welcome Kevin Howell back where he belongs. Back to N. C. State University. Back to the Pack,” exclaimed UNC System President Peter Hans.

The installation ceremony was a homecoming celebration for Chancellor Kevin Howell, who is a Shelby, North Carolina native who graduated from N.C. State with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1988.

The day was significant to him because ten years ago, exactly on October 30, 2015, his kidneys failed. The 15th chancellor shares his vision for North Carolina’s flagship university.

“The next generation of leaders can go wherever they want to go and do whatever they want to do,” said Chancellor Howell. “Our vision for the future requires us to unapologetically pursue groundbreaking research. That’s who we are.”

Chancellor Howell sat proudly on stage next to his wife, Aleta. Hundreds were in the crowd, including his two daughters and friends from college.

“We pledged into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated together in the spring of 1985,” said Howell’s line brother Kevin Calhoun. “There were times we were struggling as students, either financially to find money or struggling in coursework. Kevin was always that one that said we can do it. He’s always very hopeful. He’s a visionary and he really does care about people.”

Jesse Lee Brown doesn’t know Howell personally, but they were students on campus together.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be coming back to see him being installed as chancellor,” said Brown.

Chancellor Howell’s installation ceremony brought out many notable N.C. State University alumni, including North Carolina Central University Chancellor Karrie Dixon.

“I’ve known Howell for many years. He has the greatest level of respect across North Carolina and across higher education,” she said.

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North Carolina

Man may have killed his 4 children over several months, North Carolina sheriff says

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

Man may have killed his 4 children over several months, North Carolina sheriff says

A North Carolina man who allegedly confessed to killing four of his children earlier this week appeared to have spread the murders over a period of several months, authorities said on Oct. 29.

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was charged with four counts of murder on Oct. 28 and was being held without bond, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY and the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said Dickens had called 911 on the night of Oct. 27 and admitted to killing children.

Deputies responded to a residence in Zebulon, a rural town about 25 miles east of Raleigh, and encountered Dickens, who told them that his 3-year-old son was inside the house and that four of his other children were dead inside the trunk of a vehicle in his garage, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Deputies found the 3-year-old boy alive and unharmed in the residence, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators believe Dickens killed three of his biological children — ages 6, 9, and 10 — as well as his 18-year-old stepchild, the sheriff’s office said.

The arrest warrants filed against Dickens indicated that the four children were killed on May 1. But during a news conference on Oct. 29, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said investigators now believe that the children had died in separate incidents over several months.

Bizzell said no motive has been identified, “but as the sheriff, as a father and as a grandfather, I can stand here and say there’s no reason for a father to murder his children.” The sheriff noted that the investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may be filed in the case.

Online court records show that Dickens appeared in court on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 for hearings on the murder counts. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 13, according to court records.

Sheriff: Investigators believe children died between May and September

Bizzell said at the news conference that authorities received a 911 call at around 10:09 p.m. local time Oct. 27 from Dickens, who stated that he had killed four of his children.

Dickens “pretty much called and said, ‘I’m here with my little 3-year-old son. I killed my four children. Their bodies were in the trunk of the car. I’ll be glad to go outside and wait for deputies. I’m not armed. I’m just ready to do what’s right,’” according to Bizzell.

When deputies arrived at the residence, Sheriff’s Capt. Don Pate said they smelled an odor that was “obvious of decay.” Pate added that the home was not well-kept, and there was evidence that someone had attempted to clean up the crime scene.

After responding deputies located Dickens and his 3-year-old son, Bizzell said a preliminary investigation revealed that the human remains found in the vehicle’s trunk had been there “for some time.” The department of social services also respond to the scene and took the 3-year-old boy for medical evaluation, according to Bizzell.

Investigators then obtained a search warrant and determined that Leah Dickens, 6, was the first child to be killed in May of this year, the sheriff said. Bizzell identified the other children as Zoe Dickens, 9, who died in August; Wellington Dickens, 10, who died in late August or early September; and Sean Brasfield, 18, who was killed in September.

The North Carolina Bureau of Investigation and the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are assisting the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation. Bizzell added that the state medical examiner’s office was conducting autopsies to determine how the children died.

Children were in ‘conditions that are unimaginable’

Investigators canvased the Dickens’ neighborhood on Oct. 28 and interviewed neighbors, according to Bizzell. Investigators learned that the children had been homeschooled.

“It appeared there wasn’t a lot of activity at the house,” the sheriff said. “I guess the father and the kids were living in the house, and they’re in conditions that are unimaginable.”

Pate said he believed the family was “very secluded” and Dickens’ extended family was not allowed to visit the children.

“They just stayed inside,” according to Pate. “The neighbors said they never saw them come outside, and they were homeschooled, so they were just confined to the house.”

Court records for the estate of Dickens’ wife, Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, show that she died in April 2024, and the couple’s five children continued to live in their Zebulon residence. Jones Dickens had “passed away suddenly at her home,” according to her obituary.

Bizzell confirmed on Oct. 29 that deputies had responded to the couple’s home on April 21, 2024, to assist emergency medical services after Jones Dickens was found dead by her husband. At the time of the incident, Jones Dickens was three months pregnant and had “experienced excessive bleeding the night prior but refused to go for medical treatment,” Bizzell said.

Investigators later determined that Jones Dickens died of complications from a miscarriage, and doctors ruled her death as natural, according to the sheriff. Dickens’ wife died just over a year following his father’s death after his vehicle struck a box truck in Lee County, North Carolina, court records show.

Dickens’ great uncle Charles Moore told WRAL-TV on Oct. 28 that Dickens was an Iraq War veteran and that he last saw Dickens about a year ago. Moore said Dickens “seemed fine” at the time, the television station reported.

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