. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. T he Carolina Flyway X3> We'll probably see fewer waterfowl on the North Carolina coast this yea, Droughts in the northern breeding grounds of the birds reduced the number of suc- cessful nests. State wildlife officials have responded by reducing the season for water- fowl hunting. At the same time, farmers in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia are growing more wheat and corn. That means waterfowl can find a plentiful food supply there without flying this far By Nancy Davis For 10 days in the early
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. T he Carolina Flyway X3> We'll probably see fewer waterfowl on the North Carolina coast this yea, Droughts in the northern breeding grounds of the birds reduced the number of suc- cessful nests. State wildlife officials have responded by reducing the season for water- fowl hunting. At the same time, farmers in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia are growing more wheat and corn. That means waterfowl can find a plentiful food supply there without flying this far By Nancy Davis For 10 days in the early fall, the sandpiper gorged herself on the crustaceans that were so abundant that time of year in Canada;s Bay of Fundy. She ate so much7 in fact, that she nearly doubled her weight. She would need the energy. She was about to make a non-stop; in- tercontinental flight to Surinam on the North Coast of South America. This trip was just for the girls. The rest of the flock would fly down later on a series of much shorter trips. It7s the same every year. After nesting in the spring and molting in the summer—both energy-demanding activities—these and other birds of passage go on a binge to build up a layer of fat that will provide them with enough fuel for a long trip South. Then, as the days grow shorter and temperatures get cooler, they get restless to spread their wings. But what finally sends them packing is a cold front. The barometric pressure drops and the wind changes direction. They can always count on a good tail wind when a front passes through. Each year about this time, mil- lions of birds travel from their breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada to win- tering spots in the southern United States or South America; says James Parnell; an ornithologist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. And since coastal North Caro- lina is in the flight path of many of the migratory birds; the state's beaches and the skies overhead are usually flood
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