I just returned from a weekend get-away trip to the Outer Banks. With time to spare as Otis and I drove back from Rodanthe through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, we stopped at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center. The refuge is home to over 400 species of birds, and multitudes of amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Established in 1938 to save the declining snow goose population, the refuge is the winter home to approximately 3000 of them.  It is also one of over 500 national wildlife refuges nationwide. Pea Island is also one of eleven national wildlife refuges and a national fish hatchery which together are also known as the Charles Kuralt Trail. All of these wild lands are in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain of North Carolina and Virginia, and are an easy drive from New Bern. 

The closest to us is the Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge where fall and winter months bring thousands of waterfowl during migration. There is also Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge overlooking North Carolina’s largest natural lake. I’ve been saying for years that I want to go see the swans there, and someday soon I hope to actually do that.   In the winter months, thousands of Tundra Swans, Canada and Snow Geese, pintails, black ducks, and mallards are seen on the lake, as well as less numerous species of waterfowl. Osprey nest in low Cypress trees near the water’s edge, and it is not unusual to see a Bald Eagle circling overhead or resting in a tree a safe distance from human traffic. There are more than 200 species of birds around Lake Mattamuskeet for part or all of each year. Near Williamston is the Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge which includes bottomland hardwood forests, important to other species of migratory birds and nesting and wintering waterfowl.   Each of these refuges has established a Kuralt site to provide recreational opportunities. The roads are marked to help you find the sites. Nature trails on footpaths and boardwalks and observation platforms overlooking scenic visits make your visit even more enjoyable. There’s no real route for the trail since each season offers a different kind of experience. Spring is good for songbird migration and fall brings thousands of ducks, geese and swans around the lakes and sounds. 

We finished our “wildlife tour” at the northern tip of the islands past Corolla. The pavement ends on Hwy 12, but you can drive on the beach heading north if you have a 4WD vehicle. In Corolla are several tour companies that provide both jeep tours and SUV tours of this area. On the search for the wild horses of Corolla, we signed on for our tour. Just to be driving along the beach was such an amazing treat…. There are petrified tree trunks in one area where the sound used to be located. Then it was off over a dune to see the homes that have been built there. I just can’t imagine the labor of building without roads. It’s definitely an entirely different world there among the dunes.   We finally found two young stallions munching on the tender new marsh grasses near a live oak tree forest. They didn’t pay any attention to us at all. We got to see another small family of horses who had found fresh green lawn beside the picnic shelter that’s just been added to the area.   Our guide said that in the heat of summer, the horses often hide out underneath the homes. It was a truly unique experience, and one that I’ll remember for a very long time. Even the drive back down the beach was memorable since we ran out of gas quite close to the waves (with the tide coming in). After a short wait, the island tow truck came and brought us gas…and off we went again over the soft sand.   Definitely a “must do” for your next trip to the Outer Banks!