The winter solstice settled over the Outer Banks last night and with it came our first true feeling of winter weather. No snow, of course. That may happen in January or February, but snow at Christmas is a pretty rare event on the Outer Banks.
The last time that happened was 1989 when a freak December storm dumped 12” of snow on coastal North Carolina. It’s hard to find a time before that when there was snow on the Outer Banks before January.
The main reason for that is the Atlantic Ocean water temperatures remain relatively mild—mid 50s—through the month, and that amount of heat is enough to keep temperatures above freezing. Still a northeast wind off the ocean is seems to go through everything.
It was colder than it has been today, with temperatures never struggling to get to 45.
With leaves off the trees, a walk in the woods brought so many birds into view. The yellow-rumped warbler was everywhere. A small bird, it’s probably the most common forest bird at this time of the year.
There were a lot of other birds as well. Carolina chickadees. There were a couple of woodpeckers in the trees as well. As red-headed woodpecker stopped by to check out a tree, hovered a moment before flying off.
Farther away, barely seen through the winter foliage a pileated woodpecker is perched along the side of a tree. They’re big birds, and it’s silhouette is distinctive, even at a distance.
Things have slowed down now. Winter is fully here, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. There are certainly a lot of visitors with us right now, although many or them are homeowners coming down to spend the holidays on this sandbar by the sea.
Winter is a wonderful time to visit the Outer Banks. The pace of life is a bit slower, but the beauty is of nature and the welcome of residence and businesses is a natural part of local life. Stop by for a visit in a Brindley Beach Vacations home.