Volunteers hope to lure birds to NC beach

WILMINGTON, NC (AP) – Some volunteers hope that removing some
plants will prompt shore birds to return to a North Carolina
coastal island.

Audubon North Carolina volunteers plan to use shovels
and rakes next month to remove vegetation from the north
end of Wrightsville Beach.

Andy Wood with Audubon North Carolina says thinning the plants
should help bring birds back to the Mason Inlet Waterbird
Management Area.

Wood says Mason Inlet has been managed by New Hanover County to
avoid threatening expensive property on the north side of
Wrightsville Beach. But he says that protection has prevented waves
from clearing out plants for birds that like sandy, vegetation-free
areas.

Wood says only about three acres of the 300-acre sanctuary will
be cleared to provide the birds with nesting areas.

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