Blog - Sharks of Onslow County

Bottlenose dolphins of Onslow County surfacing in tidal estuary at sunrise | Photo credit: Howard Crumpler Photography, 2026

Dolphins of Onslow County Waters: Ecology and Shared Shoreline

Angelique Mitchell, MPS February 21, 2026 No Comments

Dolphins of Onslow County: A Coastal Population There is often a moment before you see them. A breath breaks the air first — a soft exhale that sounds almost human…

Solitary shark swimming underwater along the North Carolina coast

How Sharks Carry the Future: Life Histories Written in Tide and Time

Angelique Mitchell, MPS February 14, 2026 No Comments

The Season Beneath the Surface Along the North Carolina coast, spring does not arrive all at once. It filters in through temperature gradients, longer light, and currents that shift almost…

Winter salt marsh with exposed snow-covered flats and animal tracks leading through Spartina grass along a coastal creek in North Carolina.

Winter at the Exposed Marsh

Angelique Mitchell, MPS February 7, 2026 No Comments

The surface that appears At low tide in winter the creek mouths behind Topsail Island widen into ground that is usually concealed, and the exposed marsh does not appear emptied…

Winter ocean horizon off Topsail Island in Onslow County where great white sharks live miles offshore.

Reader Request: The Horizon Line: Where Great White Sharks Live off Onslow County

Angelique Mitchell, MPS January 30, 2026 2 Comments

At low tide in winter, the creeks around Topsail Island narrow into quiet channels. Spartina stems lean toward one another across dark water. Oyster reefs stand exposed, their edges iced…

Along the winter shores of Surf City and Topsail Island, the winter guild of nearshore sharks haven’t vanished—they’ve repositioned. Explore how cold water reshapes nearshore predators and the hidden ecology beneath the surf.

The Winter Guild: Nearshore Sharks and the Ecology of Cold Water

Angelique Mitchell, MPS January 23, 2026 No Comments

On a winter morning in Surf City, the beach feels emptied of its usual cast. Pelicans still cruise the shoreline in loose, patient lines, rising and settling with the wind.…

At low tide, a barnacle looks like stone. But each one began as a drifting speck—crossing currents, reading the chemistry of water, and making a single irreversible choice about where to live.

The Life of a Barnacle

Angelique Mitchell, MPS January 17, 2026 No Comments

A microscopic epic of drift, decision, and devotion On a winter walk along a pier in Surf City, the boards are bleached pale by sun and salt. Wind threads through…

Estuarine marsh edge in Onslow County, North Carolina, showing open water, emergent marsh grasses, and the transition from subtidal habitat to higher marsh zones.

The Hidden City in the Grass

Angelique Mitchell, MPS January 10, 2026 No Comments

How seagrasses and marsh grasses—and the animals within them—build the marshes of Onslow County In Onslow County’s estuarine marshes, the best time to understand how the landscape works is when…

Winter salt marsh along the North Carolina coast showing exposed creek-bank sediments where microscopic foraminifera preserve environmental history

Foraminifera: The Marsh’s Memory Keepers

Angelique Mitchell, MPS January 3, 2026 1 Comment

What microscopic shells along Topsail and Surf City tell us about ancient seas, living marshes, and the future coastline On a winter walk along the marsh edge in Topsail or…

Winter sea ducks - threshold species- on gray coastal waters beneath breaking waves.

Threshold Species at the Year’s Turn

Angelique Mitchell, MPS December 27, 2025 No Comments

Winter birds and hidden skates in a changing coastal system Late December along the coast does not announce itself loudly. The holidays have passed, the shoreline empties, and the light—almost…

North Carolina marine folklore marine legends

5 Marine Myths Under the Mistletoe: Folklore and Real Creatures in North Carolina’s Waters

Angelique Mitchell, MPS December 19, 2025 No Comments

Winter Stories Along the Water’s Edge Winter settles softly over Onslow County. The marshes turn the color of worn rope, the New River flows like cold steel between its banks,…