geo.wikisort.org - Coast

Bird Island is approximately 1,300 acres (5.3 km²) adjacent to the town of Sunset Beach, North Carolina, USA. Sunset Beach is on a barrier island and is the southernmost town in North Carolina.[1] Bird Island can be reached by walking along the seashore toward the South Carolina border. Due to the contour of the Atlantic Coast at this point, the direction of travel to Bird Island is approximately West-Southwest. Previously, Bird Island was separated from Sunset Beach by a tidal creek (Mad Inlet) that could be easily crossed only at low tide. Accretion of ocean sand (due to hurricane activity in the 1990s as well as environmental activity to fill in dune grass) has gradually filled in the tidal creek so that two separate islands became one.[2]

Preservation

Bird Island was privately owned prior to 2002. The shoreline, dunes, and marshland of Bird Island provide important habitat and nesting for species that are endangered, threatened, or of special concern, including the Kemp's ridley and loggerhead sea turtles. Although there was no vehicular access to this land, there was the threat that the land might some day be developed. The state of North Carolina used $4.2 million of public and private funding to purchase the land and create a coastal reserve, administered by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management.[3]

References

External links

• NC Department of Coastal Management news release
• https://web.archive.org/web/20071025011347/http://www.wilmingtontoday.com/Nature/Preserves/BirdIsland.html

На других языках

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[de] Bird Island (North Carolina)

Bird Island ist eine unbebaute vorgelagerte Insel am südwestlichen Rand der North Carolina Küste. Sie liegt zwischen Sunset Beach und Little River Inlet. Das Naturschutzgebiet umfasst 1.681 Hektar, bestehend aus rund 135 Hektar Hochland und über rund 1300 Hektar Sumpffläche. Die Dünen und das Marschland von Birds Island gelten als wichtige Lebensräume für gefährdete Tierarten, so ist die Insel eine Eiablagestelle der Unechte Karettschildkröte, deren Nistgruben immer wider von Rotfüchsen geplündert werden. Die Salzmarschen der Insel sind ein wichtiger Lebensraum für die Diamantschildkröte und den Küsten-Amarant.

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- [en] Bird Island, North Carolina

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