The North Carolina Coastal Plain and Its Wildlife

What is the Coastal Plain?

North Carolina’s Coastal Plain covers approximately 45% of the state’s land area and consists of two sub-regions, the Inner Coastal Plain and the Outer Coastal Plain (The North Carolina Atlas). 

The Inner Coastal Plain is situated between the Piedmont to the west and the border of the Outer Coastal Plain to the east. This region is very flat and converges with the more hilly terrain of the Piedmont. However, it is still higher in elevation and more well drained than the Outer Coastal Plain.

The Outer Coastal Plain, also called the Tidewater region, includes the state’s seaside coastal features of the barrier islands (Outer Banks), sounds, marshes, and lower river systems.

The land of the Outer Coastal Plain is only a few feet above sea level, with the ocean dividing the inner coastal land area from the outer. 

The transition from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain is not always obvious as you travel across the state. This transition is marked by the Fall Line, where hard rocks of the Piedmont are buried beneath the softer sediments of the Coastal Plain. Although the Coastal Plain is generally lower, in the Fall Line its sediments sit atop the hills while Piedmont rocks are exposed along the rivers (Blevins and Schafale). Where the gradient transitions from the descending Piedmont to the flat Coastal Plain, rivers and streams cascade over the harder rocks of the Piedmont before mellowing out and slowing down as they meander across the Coastal Plain.

With the Coastal Plain’s variation in soil retention across the region, plant communities generally vary from mixed pine-hardwood forests (various pine varieties, oaks, and gums) to longleaf pine savanna (longleaf pine trees, scrub oak, and sweet bay) to cypress swamps (cypress trees, sweet bay, and gums) to pocosin (Atlantic white cedar, wax myrtle, titi, pond pine, black gum, and gallberry) to floodplain forests and more. Near the coastline, forests become less prevalent and beach dune (sea rocket, Dixie sandmat, seaside sandmat, and seabeach amaranth), scrub, and salt flat landscapes are more dominant.

As a result of the broad surface area of the Coastal Plain and ecotype variation, these areas support a healthy mix of wildlife species. The coast also has marine ecotypes including sounds, estuaries, coastal wetlands, blackwater river systems, non-riverine swamps, and floodplains.

Wildlife and habitat of the Coastal Plain faces increased challenges from tourism, development and some harmful practices from the commercial fishing industry. Development along the North Carolina coast is resulting in the loss of essential wetlands and habitats that help retain water. These ecosystems are crucial for enhancing resilience against stronger storms and managing inland water flow. Without them, coastal areas become more vulnerable to flooding and storm surges, highlighting the importance of protecting and restoring these natural features.

Wildlife in the Coastal Plain

The Coastal Plain is  composed of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species.

Red Wolves on the Coast:

NCWF’s work on the coast includes an active role in Red Wolf recovery. Red Wolves are one of North Carolina’s most popular endangered species among supporters- but also one of the state’s most imperiled species and the world’s most endangered wild canid.

The Red Wolf is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). While this level of protection affords the Red Wolf special considerations, it also makes the work of the biologists critically important because species recovery is dependent on the genetic diversity and survival of a small number of Red Wolves in the wild and the effectiveness of the methods used to increase population numbers. Literally, every Red Wolf counts.

What’s Being Done to Help Red Wolves

Management Practices: Red Wolf recovery utilizes management techniques such as captive breeding, island propagation, Red Wolf release, coyote sterilization, and pup-fostering. Read More

Red Wolf Center: Through the Red Wolf Center, NCWF and USFWS offer educational programming and community engagement opportunities for the Red Wolf Recovery Program. You can visit the center in person and register to attend Red Wolf webinars through NCWF’s website. 

Prey for the Pack: In collaboration with USFWS’ Partners Program, NCWF rolled out Prey for the Pack, a cost-share program to assist private landowners in making habitat improvements for Red Wolves and other wildlife on their properties. Landowners not wanting to apply for the cost-share habitat improvement portion of the program can still support Red Wolves by becoming a “supporter” and completing a zero-cost agreement. Every added acre of land in Red Wolf Territory provides increased habitat connectivity, and presents the opportunity to cooperate with the USFWS in building Red Wolf habitat, particularly as the landscape is impacted by current and future rising sea levels. Find Out More

Other Coastal North Carolina Species

While the variety of wildlife in the Coastal Plain is extensive, we’ll focus on three species in the region, exploring their presence on the landscape, challenges they face, and NCWF’s efforts to address these challenges.

Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus)

Tundra swans are a species of migratory waterfowl that overwinters in marshes and larger bodies of water on the North Carolina coast.

Tundra swans spend most of their time in the Arctic and Alaska before migrating to warmer climates in mid-September, including some of North Carolina’s coastal regions – particularly the Pungo Unit on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. Every year, people flock to these areas to view thousands of tundra swans, snow geese, ducks, and other migratory waterfowl. Approximately 65-75,000 tundra swans migrate to North Carolina each year (NCWRC).

Tundra swans are large birds, with wingspans reaching up to five feet. They are often confused with the non-native mute swan, introduced to the United States as ornamental features for parks and private estates. These species can be distinguished by the color of their bills: tundra swans have black bills while mute swans have bright orange bills, and adult tundra swans are larger in size than mute swans Mute swans remain year-round residents as opposed to the annual arrival of tundra swans in North Carolina.

Tundra swans are herbivorous and feed on a number of aquatic plants including mannagrass, pondweeds, and algae. They pair for life and are known to spend a year together before mating and building nests as a pair (USFWS). Females lay between two and six eggs at a time which incubate for 24 days before hatching. Parents are fiercely protective and will fend off predators such as foxes and raccoons that threaten their young.

Though tundra swans are a game species in North Carolina, the state institutes strict regulations with only 5,000 hunting permits issued through a lottery draw annually (NCWRC).

As a species on North Carolina’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need list, tundra swans face a number of threats including wetland loss, pollution, and lead exposure.. 

Lead Exposure and Wildlife

Ammunition and fishing tackle can introduce harmful lead to land and water that tundra swans and other species depend on. While foraging for vegetation, tundra swans and other waterfowl eat lead pellets. One element of NCWF’s Conservation Impact Plan is to advocate for alternatives to lead ammunition and angling tackle.

Recently, NCWF partnered with Duke University to survey 20,000 hunters to examine their knowledge about the impacts of lead on human and ecosystem health. Preliminary results suggest that hunters who know more about lead tend to take more precautionary measures which may limit their exposure to lead, like removing residue from harvested game, cleaning their hands, and wearing eye protection. Additionally, those who use non-lead ammunition tend to be more concerned about lead exposure, agree more with statements posed regarding the impact of lead on the ecosystem, and are less likely to think that lead is the most effective projectile, jacket, and/or shot type. An important step of this ongoing research is to evaluate potential alternatives to lead ammunition and programs hunters can voluntarily participate in to reduce their exposure to lead, and their impact on wildlife. While some technological improvements have been made to non-lead ammunition, availability and cost remain factors in hunter preference as well.

NCWF is strongly committed to working with researchers and the hunting community to eliminate unnecessary wildlife mortality from lead ammunition and safeguard human health when participating in outdoor recreation.

What You Can Do To Help

Learn:

• Migratory waterfowl are an integral part of ecological communities. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the migratory waterfowl our state has to offer and the challenges they face. Need a place to start? Here are some helpful resources:

Migratory Birds of North Carolina

Make the Most of Your Trips to Wildlife Refuges in North Carolina

Bird Migration in North Carolina – NCWF Webinar

The Journey North Program – Engaging Volunteers in Wildlife Migration Tracking

Act:

• Avoid the use of lead materials (including lead fishing weights and lead ammunition) in outdoor recreation.
• Participate in habitat restoration projects in areas that are popular for migratory birds, particularly wildlife refuges such as Pocosin Lakes, Alligator River, and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuges.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta)

Loggerhead sea turtles are the most common of the five sea turtle species (loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley, green, leatherback and hawksbill) found in North Carolina’s coastal waters. As a marine species, the loggerhead sea turtle’s range is expansive, with individuals in the Atlantic ocean traveling nearly 8,000 miles during migration.

These turtles spend the majority of their life in the water, moving between open ocean and shallow coastal waters, where most of their feeding occurs. They only venture onto land to lay eggs after mating, which occurs late in life, between 17 and 33 years of age (Spotila, 2004), and occurs between April and September.

Female loggerhead sea turtles leave the water and venture onto sandy beaches to excavate chambers to lay their eggs. The females lay between 45 and 200 eggs per clutch, which they lay over the course of several trips back and forth between her nest and the ocean to feed (Alaska Fish and Game).

They are an omnivorous species, mainly feeding on invertebrates on the ocean floor, in addition to fish, sea sponges, coral, jellyfish and more.

Loggerhead sea turtles are classified as a federally threatened species and face many threats including beachfront development, water and light pollution, marine debris, and commercial fishing bycatch – the unintended catch of wildlife because of the non-selectivity of the fishing gear used.

Sea Turtles and NCWF’s Save Our Sounds Initiative

The most reliable bycatch study done to date shows that for every pound of shrimp harvested in North Carolina’s waters, most of which are caught by otter trawls, over four pounds of non-target catch, including juvenile finfish, are discarded (Brown 2015). Alongside juvenile fish, other aquatic marine species including sea turtles are caught in nets and often injured or killed.

Through Save Our Sounds, NCWF advocates for a ban of shrimp trawling in coastal sounds and estuaries, which are critical nursery grounds for many marine wildlife species, and also important feeding areas for loggerheads and other sea turtles.

What You Can Do To Help

Learn:

• Learn more about sea turtles and coastal issues through these resources:

Save Our Sounds

Ocean Plastics and Wildlife Webinar

Sea Turtle Management and Conservation in North Carolina

Act:

• Advocate for common-sense policies around commercial fishing practices, particularly as it pertains to bycatch as a result of shrimp trawling.
• Contain your personal trash and keep it from entering waterways, where it can harm wildlife. Participate in beachfront trash cleanups, such as those offered through coastal NCWF Community Wildlife Chapters.
• Respect warnings and guidelines around sea turtle nesting areas and keep your distance from these fragile areas and the species within them.
• Work to decrease artificial lighting in coastal areas, which disorients hatchlings and keeps them from finding their way to the ocean.

Eastern Black Rails (Laterallus jamaicensis)

Eastern black rails are listed on the state’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need list. A ground nesting bird residing in coastal marshland areas, eastern black rails are a notoriously elusive species. Though they are not a flightless bird species, they prefer to walk or run on the ground, even when threatened.

Yet, their mastery of camouflage and evasion of predators is not the sole factor contributing to their elusive nature. Designated as federally threatened since 2020, eastern black rails have witnessed a staggering decline in their habitat, with estimates suggesting a loss of over 90% since the 1900s. Bryan Watts, Director at The Center for Conservation Biology (CCB), approximates a decline of over 70% or greater in the eastern black rail population during the same period.

The primary contributors to eastern black rail decline are habitat degradation, fragmentation, and erosion caused by climate change-induced flooding. Additionally, as ground-nesters, black rail eggs and fledglings are vulnerable to predation, primarily by raccoons and snakes.

Moreover, eastern black rails undergo a period of flightless molt shortly after hatching, rendering them highly susceptible to predators and, in some instances, encroaching wildfires. Eastern black rails engage in biparental care—a rarity among avian species. Both parents contribute to nest maintenance and incubation, with the male often assuming nesting duties alongside the female.

Eastern black rails have been found to have multiple clutches per breeding season, with some individuals laying up to three clutches per year. The typical clutch size for eastern black rail is anywhere from 7 to 13 eggs, a number fairly common among ground-nesting birds. This high number of eggs within a clutch compensates for egg and hatchling mortality that is common in birds that nest below the protective tree canopy. The survival of chicks can range from one to seven per clutch.

Millennium Forest and Atlantic White Cedar Project

NCWF, in partnership with the USFWS’s Coastal Program, is working to improve habitat for the eastern black rail. The project will also restore Atlantic white cedar, a threatened forest ecosystem, to portions of its historic range on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

NCWF and USFWS are working on two habitat projects in the Pungo Unit to benefit eastern black rails. First, a two-stage ditch system will be installed to improve water management capabilities in the cooperative farm fields and provide habitat for eastern black rails. In addition, a 43 acre block will be created and managed for shallow water and hummocks for black rail habitat. The shallow water will promote early successional, emergent wetland plants. Creation of this 43-acre wetland habitat will benefit wintering migratory waterfowl and other secretive marsh birds.

Thirty acres of Atlantic white cedar will be restored to historical ranges on two sites on prior converted cropland. One site is located adjacent to the Red Wolf Center in Columbia and will improve upon a previous restoration project. Walking trails and informational panels, translated in both English and Spanish, on the benefits of habitat restoration will be installed. The second site is located on the highly visited Pungo Unit. Both projects will serve as demonstration sites to educate refuge visitors, local school children, and community members.

What You Can Do To Help

Learn:

• Marshlands and other wetlands are important habitats for eastern black rails and other wildlife. You can learn more about wetlands and eastern black rails here:

NCWF Scholarship Recipient Bailey Kephart Researches Federally Threatened Black Rails

North Carolina Wildlife Species That Need Help Now

Birds, Butterflies, and Cedars – Millennium Forest and Atlantic White Cedar Project

A Call from the Top – Gov. Cooper’s Executive Order provides critical roadmap for NC wetlands

Act:

• Advocate for common-sense policies around wetlands protections and management.
• Participate in coastal habitat restoration, trash cleanups, and tree plantings, such as the Millenium project and other opportunities offered through coastal NCWF Community Wildlife Chapters.

Written by:

 

– Bates Whitaker, NCWF Communications & Marketing Manager

 

 

– Dr. Liz Rutledge, NCWF VP of Wildlife Resources

 

Sources:

• Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (n.d.). Loggerhead sea turtle.
  https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=loggerheadseaturtle.printerfriendly
• Blevins, D., & Schafale, M. P. (2011). Wild North Carolina: Discovering the wonders of our state’s natural communities. The University of North Carolina Press.
• North Carolina Encyclopedia. (2005). Coastal plain region: NC Atlas Revisited.
  https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/region/coastal-plain/ncatlasrevisited
• North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. (n.d.). Tundra swan.
  https://www.ncwildlife.org/species/tundra-swan
• Spotila, J. R. (2004). Sea turtles: A complete guide to their biology, behavior, and conservation. Johns Hopkins University Press. https://archive.org/details/seaturtlescomple0000spot
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2024, February). Bird of the month: Tundra swan.
  https://www.fws.gov/story/2024-02/bird-month-tundra-swan