Northern Outer Banks
Carova NC
2022

Pelicans fly using a combination of gliding, flapping, and thermals, and they can skim over water to save energy


Pelicans (genus Pelecanus) are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. They have predominantly pale plumage, except for the brown and Peruvian pelicans. The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all pelicans become brightly coloured before the breeding season.

The name comes from the Ancient Greek word pelekan, which is itself derived from the word pelekys meaning "axe". In classical times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker.

The genus Pelecanus was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. He described the distinguishing characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face, and fully webbed feet. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and sulids, as well as pelicans.


If you saw a pelican in North Carolina while sitting on a beach, it was most likely a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). These large birds live strictly in saltwater habitats near the ocean’s coastline. Interestingly, they rarely venture into the open ocean, choosing to stay within 20 miles of the shore.

When I’m visiting the beach, I love seeing how Brown Pelicans elegantly fly just over the water’s surface. While these water birds are common today, believe it or not, they almost went extinct in the mid-20th century due to DDT poisoning.

It’s also a lot of fun watching Brown Pelicans hunting for fish! First, they fly high into the sky and then plunge aggressively headfirst into the water. These dives are meant to stun the surrounding fish, which then are scooped up with their enormous throat pouch and swallowed whole.

Don’t bother listening for them, as Brown Pelicans are mostly silent creatures. However, you may hear loud popping sounds when they are defending their nests, which are made when they sharply snap their bills together!

And lastly, they birds live a long time. The oldest Brown Pelican on record was 43 years of age!

1660s - A small group of North Carolina and Virginia settlers discover and settle in the Corolla and Carova region. 1728 - As state lines become established amidst heated arguments, a "line in the sand" is drawn in northern Carova Beach, marking the Virginia / North Carolina border.

https://www.carovabeach.info/history.html

Carova's history is unique along the Outer Banks. The 4WD region was one of the first areas of North Carolina to be explored by European settlers, but remained one of the least developed regions during the centuries that followed.


Historians estimate that Spanish ships began cruising past the northern Currituck Banks as early as the late 1400s, and set foot on the barrier island coastline in the 1500s. This presence led directly to the establishment of the famed Corolla Wild Horses, as many experts believe that the herd was either left behind during an ill-fated settlement attempt led by Spanish explorer Lucas Vasquez de Allyon, and / or were thrown overboard during treacherous sailing conditions.

Regardless of their exact roots, the wild horses survived and thrived in the centuries that followed, with a population of hundreds of wild horses recorded over the years.

In fact, the wild horse population was arguably larger than the local human population for much of the Currituck Banks' early years. Hardy settlers first started appearing along the Northern Outer Banks shoreline as early as the 1660s, but the population rarely grew over the next several centuries.

The Carova region finally experienced a minor boost during the mid-1800s, however, when five Lifesaving Service Stations were established to guide and assist mariners travelling offshore, and the 1876 Currituck Beach Lighthouse was constructed and completed.

Visiting hunters and fishermen began to discover the region as well, and by the early 1900s, a number of locals were making money by serving as area guides to the new influx of sportsmen. Unfortunately, as legislation was enacted to restrict hunting and fishing, and the Lifesaving Stations were no longer needed, the population in Carova began to taper off slowly, but noticeably, in the early to mid-1900s. By the 1960s and 1970s, an estimated 15 residents lived in the rugged area north of Corolla.

This all changed in 1984, when paving began on the new NC Highway 12. This road, which led all the way to northern Corolla, introduced a while new crop of visitors to the area, and developers began to take notice.

While plans were initially in the works to develop Carova to be similar to Corolla, (which was exploding with new homes and businesses), locals weren't pleased with the idea of turning the region into a busy beach town, and the government and concerned community members stepped in to restrict new building.

Two new wildlife refuges were established in the mid-1980s, the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge and the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve, which effectively made it impossible to extend the paved road past the Corolla border.

The remaining herd of wild horses, which was now in danger due to the massive influx of traffic, was also shuttled north to live in Carova where development was minimal at most.

As more vacationers discovered the 4WD area, a burst of new vacation rental homes began to pop up along the shoreline in the 2000s. These properties were among the biggest vacation rentals on the Outer Banks, and featured 10, 12, or even more than 20 bedrooms. Even so, thanks to building restrictions that forbid commercial businesses, and roughly 5,000 acres of protected government land, Carova still remains isolated and unpopulated, and is heralded as one of the most pristine and unspoiled regions of the Outer Banks.

Carova Beach, North Carolina has a rich history that includes Spanish exploration, the establishment of the Corolla Wild Horses, and the development of the community.

1985 - The Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve, which is located at the southern edge of the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, is established.

1985-1995 - 20 wild horses in Corolla are killed by vehicles travelling along NC Highway 12.

1989 - Concerned local residents create the Corolla Wild Horse Fund to implement new measures that will protect the wild horses.

1995 - The wild horse herd is moved north to the 4WD beaches, and a sound to ocean fence is erected at the northern Corolla border, and at the Virginia / NC state border.

1990s - 2000s - Development booms in Corolla and extends to Carova, where several hundred new vacation rentals are built along the oceanfront and in the soundside communities.