Winter living along most of the East Coast has its challenges. The Outer Banks is no exception. The weather is less than desirable most of this month. Those days when it’s not foggy and cold, it probably is windy and rainy. Sunny and warm February days this time of year are few and far between. Just because the weather stinks does not mean there aren’t fun things to do on the Outer Banks. Here are three things you might want to put on your Outer Banks Bucketlist for February.
Visit the North Carolina Aquarium
Roanoke Island has a few inside activities that would be good to do this month. The NC Aquarium is one of those. Some fun exhibits to see include:
- a giant tank full of many local saltwater species
- a touch tank where you can touch many types of local sea creatures
- an exhibit for otters and an exhibit for alligators; both native to our local marshes
The Aquarium also receives cold-stunned turtles this time of year. The Aquarium nurses them back to health and then releases them when our local waters warm up. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see some of these turtles being rehabilitated.
Waterfowl Watching
Ducks and geese from as far north as the Arctic Circle winter on the Outer Banks. Years ago, a hunter shot a snow goose near Buxton that was tagged in Siberia! It’s common this time of year to see tundra swan in the sound off of the Duck boardwalk. You can also see thousands of birds in the Pea Island National Refuge just south of Oregon Inlet. Duck hunting season usually ends in January. Assuming it is over, and you want a hard-core waterfowl adventure then walk to one of the duck blinds in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. There are a few duck blinds between Whalebone Junction and the Bodie Island lighthouse on the sound side of NC12. You’ll need a pair of waders but it’s a great place to get away from it all and see the waterfowl fly. The worse the weather gets the more waterfowl moves around. This is a great month to view waterfowl!
View Art
With the bad weather, there are still many fun artsy things to do inside this time of year. The Dare County Art’s Council holds their annual Frank Stick Memorial Art Show this month. Frank Stick was a famous outdoors painter before he lived on the Outer Banks. He was an illustrator for some of the most popular magazines of his time. Stick also was one of the original developers of Southern Shores. This art show hosts some of the best from Outer Banks artists.
Some of that art is inspired by the Outer Banks and some is not. If you love the Outer Banks, then this show is a “must see”. Besides this art show, Dare County’s Art Council also hosts the Outer Banks Film Society. They often have unusual and good moves that you won’t see in most commercial movie theaters. It’s worth going to the Dare County Art’s Council’s web site and finding an artistic event to support this time of year.
If you are looking to avoid the super cold and snowy weather from up north, then the Outer Banks may be the place for you. Also, if you are here and are looking for something fun to do then you may want to try something on our Outer Banks bucketlist for February.
Leave a Reply