DOT Island
Location: Dare County
Total Size: 40 acres
Site Description: DOT (Department of Transportation) Island is a
dredged-sand island located near Hatteras Inlet. The island serves as a
disposal site for sand dredged from the ferry channel that runs from Hatteras Island
to Ocracoke Island. Some areas of the island have not received deposits of
dredged sand in more than a decade, which has resulted in the formation of shrub
thickets along the western fringe. The shrub thickets support nesting
wading birds. The marsh on the western edge of the island has nesting
Forster's Terns in some years. Grassy areas on the upper slope of the
island provide nesting habitat for Laughing Gulls.
Habitats: shrub/scrub, bare sand, grass
Land Use: wildlife conservation, dredged sand disposal site
Primary Threats: disturbance to birds
Protection Status: The site is protected and managed by the NC Wildlife
Resources Commission.
Conservation Issues: The island is posted, patrolled and is entirely
off-limits to visitors during the nesting season from 1 April to 1 September.
Human
disturbances during the nesting season is a serious concern.
Birds: DOT Island supports a significant colony of nesting colonial waterbirds each season (criteria 4f).
Key Bird Species
|
Criteria |
Season |
Number |
||
| 4a | Great Egret | B | 90 | |
| Snowy Egret | B | 11 | ||
| Tricolored Heron | B | 24 | ||
| 4a | Little Blue Heron | B | 109 | |
| 4a | White Ibis | B | 137 | |
B=Breeding FM=Fall Migration
SM=Spring Migration W=Winter
Sources:
NC Colonial Waterbird database