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National Park Service officials have closed pedestrian access to Cape Point.

 

The decision will be announced in tomorrow’s Park Service beach access report.

 

About two-tenths of a mile of beach just south of Ramp 44 was closed to ORVs on April 14 to protect American oystercatchers exhibiting breeding behavior.

 

At that time, park officials said that pedestrians could wade in the water below the mean low tide line to reach Cape Point, which is not closed.

 

On Monday, April 20, the park closed an adjacent two-tenths of a mile to protect another pair of oystercatchers.

 

The total closed beach is now four-tenths of a mile.

 

According to Cyndy Holda, assistant to the superintendent and community liaison, park officials have decided that because of the length of the closure, it is “no longer practical or safe” to allow pedestrians to wade through water that could be knee deep to reach the Point.

 

There is still three-tenths of a mile of beach that is open at Cape Point, and the Park Service will allow boat access to that area.

 

Cape Point is an area subject to strong wave action and heavy currents and wading through four-tenths of a mile in the ocean, depending on conditions, is a tough job, even for the most physically fit.

 

Park officials warn locals and visitors that beach access is changing weekly and even daily at this point in the nesting season, as birds decide where they want to nest.

 

Though there are weekly access reports and maps that are regularly updated, areas can still close without warning.  The best thing to do, says Holda, is carefully read the signage on the beach.

 

Right now, on the beach two-tenths of a mile south of Ramp 44 to Cape Point, the sign says, “No access beyond this point.”

 

Cape Point could soon be totally closed if piping plovers who are checking out the area decide to nest there.  The court-ordered consent decree requires a 1,000 meter buffer for unfledged piping plover chicks, which would totally close the area.

 

Updated Park Service Google Earth maps with regularly updated access information are available on this Web site.

 

The closure at Cape Point for American oystercatchers exhibiting breeding behavior was expanded today – from two-tenths of a mile to four-tenths of a mile.  That’s double the size it was last week at this time.

For now, folks can still wade below the mean low tide line to reach Cape Point, which is not closed. Or they can reach the Point by boat.

Park Service management is re-evaluating the situation and will make a decision in the next day or so whether continued access to Cape Point by walking in the ocean or by boat should be allowed.

The decision will most likely be based on safety concerns.  

Wading through two-tenths of a mile of ocean with wind, waves, and heavy current isn’t easy.  A colleague’s husband, who is a strong guy in his 20s, did it last night and it took 30 minutes. Now it will presumably take twice as long, wading in water that could perhaps be up to your knees.

And landing a boat at Cape Point is also difficult with the wind and current.

The closure is about two-tenths of a mile south of Ramp 44 and is for American oystercatchers who are courting.

Since most oystercatchers on the seashore are banded, the park biologists can keep track of them.

The pair that closed access to the Point last week is a young pair, according to Britta Muiznieks, the park’s wildlife biologist.  They tried to nest last year in the area and managed to establish one nest that was not successful.

Interestingly, one of that pair is the offspring of a pair that has nested in the area of Cape Point and South Beach in the past.

Their attempt to move into the neighborhood has irritated an older pair of oystercatchers that has been nesting in the area since at least 2005.  

That older pair had been courting in the pre-nesting area that has been closed to vehicles since mid-March. (Good decision on their part.) The male has been most unhappy with the interlopers and has tried to drive them off.

So far, the older guy has not been successful.  The youngsters are still there and now the older pair has moved closer to the ocean to continue their scraping in the sand – which is breeding behavior.

They are still within the pre-nesting area, but the 150 meter buffer required by the consent decree has resulted in a full beach closure.

“The older pair wants a larger territory,” Muiznieks says. “We don’t know why some birds need a larger territory.”

She also added that park biologists don’t know if the younger interlopers have drawn the older residents out of the territory they were originally establishing or if there are other dynamics at work.

Oystercatchers tend to return to nest in pairs, Muiznieks says.  She adds that the park biologists have noticed a few changes in pairs, but it’s not typical of oystercatchers unless one of the couple is lost.

So stay tuned as this mini-drama at Cape Point plays out.

Will the older pair return to their previous area?  Will they drive the younger pair out? Or will the younger pair become permanent residents of the nesting bird population?

It could be that access to Cape Point will open again – until more birds move into the area – and it could be that it will be closed until the birds nest and leave later this summer.

The first thing you need to know about this summer’s beach access on the seashore is that there will be beaches open to ORVs.

 

However, there will be some stretches of beach closed to both ORVs and pedestrians until the end of the nesting season – about August for birds and later in the fall for sea turtles.

 

The closed beaches may be your favorites, such as Cape Point or South Point on Ocracoke, but there will still be miles of beach open for walking and driving.

 

There is more about this in an article I wrote in early March on this year’s beach access outlook.

 

Next, you need to know that full-beach resource closures may make some areas that are not closed to walking and driving inaccessible.

 

This is what happened on Monday when the Park Service closed access to Cape Point because of a pair of courting American oystercatchers on the beach just south of Ramp 44.

 

Cape Point is not closed – it’s just inaccessible because of closures on the north and west sides.

 

The closure is only 0.2 of a mile, and park officials say it is legal to wade in the water below the mean low tide line and walk to the Point.

 

They do not encourage this means of getting to areas that are still open.

 

There are safety concerns, at the points and spits especially, where the currents can be swift and the waves strong.

 

You would have to wade in water probably up to your knees to stay below the mean low tide line.  If you get in trouble and are forced into a closed area or if you are unsure of your bearings and step into a closed area accidentally, you will still get a ticket if there is a park ranger around.

 

There is also another problem with trying to reach these popular areas by wading in the water. 

 

If too many people are trying it, the birds might be spooked and leave the area.  This could be more possible if the birds happen to be feeding near the low-tide line and encounter large numbers of folks splashing through the water.

 

If a park biotechnician observes people scaring birds and causing them to abandon their courtship or nesting, it is possible that the entire area could be closed down.

 

The court-ordered consent decree gives the seashore management the power “to enforce more protective closures or take other measures if they are deemed necessary.”

 

In the case of the closure north of Cape Point, the park superintendent might deem it necessary to close down the Point to protect the birds.

 

Cyndy Holda, assistant to the superintendent and community liaison, said that getting to deserted areas is a “prime opportunity” and a “different experience” for park visitors who want to fish, watch birds, or hunt for seashells.

 

She did it herself last weekend by hiking behind a full-beach closure at Bodie Island spit to reach an area still open but inaccessible without a hike behind the dunes.  She wore boots, waded through some water, and thoroughly enjoyed a peaceful interlude on a quiet beach.

 

“It’s not for everyone, but it is an experience,” she said.

 

She does warn that a steady parade of hikers might disturb the birds and might be reason for expanding the closure.

 

Now back to Cape Point.

 

The Park Service bands oystercatchers, so it is able to tell if they return to nest and where they return.  Most of the pairs in the park are regulars at certain beaches.

 

However, the pair that caused the closure at Cape Point are apparently interlopers who have not been in that area before.

 

Just down the beach in the closed pre-nesting area is another pair of oystercatchers who have regularly returned to that beach and apparently don’t like their new neighbors and are trying to chase them out of the neighborhood.

 

Maybe the interlopers will try to find another place to nest and another beach to close.

 

If that happened, access could be restored to Cape Point, though it would probably be only a matter of time before more birds try to move into that neighborhood.

 

Also note when you visit the beach this summer that the Park Service has announced its intention to crack down on unleashed dogs.  This sounds like a “no tolerance” policy, so keep your dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet at all times.