Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society

The Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society (CWRS) is a non-profit organization established and incorporated in 1989 by a group of local citizens. The purposes of the Society are two-fold: 1) To generate funds to support programs and activities of Alligator River and other national wildlife refuges in eastern North Carolina, particularly programs relating to public education and information, and 2) To assist in the recruitment of refuge volunteers. In general, the Society provides support for programs and initiatives identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CWRS has a formal Friends Partnership Agreement with the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Coastal wildlife refuge society Website

Related Stories

Female (mother) mallard (brown, black & white) leads 9 yellow/black & white) ducklings paddling down a canal
Mommy Mallard
On Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, a brood of mallard ducklings paddle behind their mother.
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Wildlife Wonders
2 long-legged, black & white wading American Avocets with long-up-curved bill
American Avocet
During a recent Pea Island Refuge bird walk the leader/photographer, Karen Lebing saw over 150 American Avocets.
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Brown, white striped stretched-neck American Bittern with long sharp bill looking straight up in a frozen stance has great camouflage coloring next to thick brush and bushes
American Bittern
Seen...or not...feeding along highway 12, on the southern portion of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, the American Bittern is well camouflaged.
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Pileated woodpecker on the side of a brown tree trunk where you can see it is creating a nesting cavity. The bird is all black except having a bright red crest and white stripes running from the head down the neck.
Pileated Woodpecker
Not counting the possibly extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the largest North American Woodpecker is the Pileated.
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Flock of long-billed dowitchers. They are brown, white & grey, standing in water feeding.
Long-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitchers is a shorebird that uses their lengthy bills to probe deeply into sand and mud searching for invertebrates to eat.
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Two different species of small gray, white and brown shorebirds feed together on green moss/algae covered rocks
Dunlin & Least Sandpiper
Feeding on aquatic invertebrates and insects living in the moss, a Least Sandpiper, on the left, and a Dunlin share a space to feed
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Tall, black/pink legged, white and pink feathered bird standing in water. Has a large/long spoon-shaped bill.
Roseate Spoonbill
This Roseate Spoonbill has been hanging around the impoundments at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge for several weeks now, and conveniently showed up again in time for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count on December 28!
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Juvenile bald eagle stands on a tree branch. All brown pluage, partial yellow beak.
Juvenile bald eagle
It takes about 4 years for an immature bald eagle to attain the bright yellow beak and the distinctive white head feathers that make it internationally distinct as the nation's symbol.
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A flock of white and blue geese standing in shallow water
Snow Geese
Hundreds of snow geese flew into the South Pond on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on a recent morning. The snow goose gets its name due to its white plumage. The classic snow goose is white with black wing tips
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Flock of white Ibis, tall, pink-legged, long-curved pink bill wading bird standing on shore
Keep an Eye on the Ibis
On Pea island National Wildlife Refuge you'll currently find flocks of white ibis wading in shallow water and feeding on the shore land.
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Large black bear walking on all fours through a green field. Extra furry coat is dotted with parts of brown weeds though which he had been walking.
Extra Furry Black Bear
Does the weather get so cold on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge that a resident black bear needs the extra furry coat as shown in the photo below?
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Blue-gray, white with a brown body stripe, female belted kingfisher sitting on the end of a branch
Belted kingfisher
Shown below is a Belted Kingfisher on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
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Brown 2 1/2 inch butterfly with bright colored defensive colored 'eyes' on the top of the wings
Common Buckeye
Recently, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge had this beautiful Common Buckeye butterfly.
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Large wading pink and white bird in shallow grey water, long spoon-shaped bill
In the Pink on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
A Roseate Spoonbill was recently spotted at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. The Roseate Spoonbill is not seen along the Outer Banks very often. When they do pass through the region, they add a beautiful splash of color. They are mostly found in southern Florida, the Caribbean, coastal...
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Black bear sitting in a field of dried, brown plants
Black Bears on the Refuge
American black bears are active on the refuge. After a very slow summer of bear sightings,
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Black bear pushing up against a leaning, heavily chewed and scratched wooden street sign
The Swiss Army Knife of Road Signs
A couple of years ago the staff of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge may have thought they were installing just a road sign...
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Gray & brown head and wings with a white neck & underbelly a kingbird sits atop green leaves
Eastern kingbird
Fierce protectors of their nest and surrounding territory, even against larger birds such as herons and hawks, this aggressive action taken by Kingbirds is one of the contributing factors as to why the small songbird is called a Kingbird.
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Large black bear with 3/4 of its body underwater in a Alligator River Refuge caNAL
Bear in Canal
You've got to know that walking around all day in a dark fur coat has got to be extra hot
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Flock of wild turkeys, 9 young and the mother, walking in a line from one green road shoulder across a brown road to the other green road shoulder.
Wild Turkey Line Up
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge has wild turkeys. Pictured below is a large family flock walking the refuge.
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One white cup-shaped flower with crimson base sounded by green leaves
Swamp Rose Mallow
Swamp rose mallow is a native wetland wildflower that is blooming on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
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a small yellow-throated warbler with black coloring across the eyes stands on a branch surrounded by green leaves a blue berries
Common Yellowthroat
A year 'round Outer Banks resident is the Common Yellowthroat warbler, pictured here on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
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A family of raccoons walk across a dirt road
Raccoon Family
A raccoon family has time together walking around Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. You can bet this raccoon family is looking for food.
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Brown, white, orange and black Yellow-Billed Cuckoo with insect in its bill while gripping a twig
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
On Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge the pictured Yellow-Billed Cuckoo ) found a snacklet. Yellow-Billed Cuckoos feed on a variety of spiders & insects.
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Black bear standing tall on hind feet in a field of green grass
Standing Black Bear
On Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, the two photos (below) captured this inquisitive bear as if he was posing for a police mug shot.
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5 young fledgling barn swallows lined up left to right standing on a branch hanging over green water as adult swallows swoop with food
5 Fledgling Barn Swallows
Five young barn swallows recently fledged from their nest on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Even though they can fly they're still getting meals from the mother and father swallow.
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Bright blue indigo bunting perched atop bright green-leafed branch
Indigo Bunting
BAM! That's the sensation you feel when your eyes spot an indigo bunting.
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Brown-gray 6 foot alligator right at water's edge, on a green canal bank
American Alligator
In case you didn't already know, a chicken and an alligator both hatch from eggs. It seems unlikely that two such visibly different animals would both come from eggs, but there you have it, it's true.
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Light purple upright stem of Pickerelweed blossoms surrounded by large green leaves
Pickerelweed with Bee
Pickerelweed has just started to bloom on the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. The plants occur on shorelines, ditches, and herbaceous wetlands.
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Wildlife Wonders
Black & white plumage bird on long pink/red legs wading in blue water
Sunrise Illuminates Black-necked Stilt
Wading in the shallow water on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, a Black-necked stilt searches for food. The soft light of the morning sunrise gives a peaceful feel to the scene.
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Long-legged little blue heron wading in blue water with a large blue crab dangling from the heron's bill
Little Blue Heron Goes Crabbing
A Little Blue Heron doesn't even wait for the Saturday June 10, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge annual crabbing rodeo. In this series of photos, the heron snags a large blue crab.
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Blue bird with brown & black patterned wings sitting on a branch
Blue grosbeak
A colorful beauty, the Blue grosbeak was currently spotted on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, adding a splash of bright blue to the refuge sky
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Beautiful turquoise, black, yellow striped butterfly, with red and blue highlights near a violet flower on a green leafy stalk
Zebra Swallowtail
Wildflowers are in bloom across Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. And blooming flowers attract butterflies, such as the Zebra Swallowtail, pictured below.
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Brown & white barred owl sitting in branches of a tree with small snake being held by one foot and the head end in the beak.
Owl & Thin Meal
In a tree on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge a barred owl has a thin meal.
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American black bear sow sitting up in field of green grass nursing cubs
American black bear sow & nursing cubs
It's not quite Mother's Day in the human scheme of events. But on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge everyday is Mother's Day for a sow (bear mother) with cubs to feed
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White bunches of app. 1" diameter flowers scattered over a 5 foot tall green shrub
American Elderberry
The American Elderberry is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 feet tall are in bloom at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
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Small, bright yellow & brown bird sits on branches in front of bright red whirlygig seed pod clusters
Yellow Palm Warbler
Photographed on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, the yellow and brown palm warbler spends some of its time in low bushes and on the the ground searching for food
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Yellow & red flowers on a brown woody vine
Crossvine
Crossvine is a woody vine native to the southeastern United States. It is in bloom on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
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Long-billed blue and purple-necked bird on stilted legs stands in blue shallow water
Foraging Shallow Waters
A Little Blue Heron hunts for food in shallow water along the edge of Pamlico Sound on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
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Brown, juvenile mink sits on field consisting of grasses &, wildflowers
Juvenile American Mink
A young mink hunts for food on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Mink are also found on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
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Iridescent blue, white, black and gray tree swallow standing on tree branch
Tree Swallow
Photographed on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, these tree swallows bicolor) are active birds, seemingly always on the hunt for food.
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White and brown barred owl sitting on tree branch next to the tree trunk
Barred Owl
One of the more commonly seen birds on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is the barred owl.
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Large black bear standing in green grass
Black Bear
The black bear population on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge does not hibernate during the winter months, as do black bears living in the frozen northern states and Canada
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White and pink bell-shaped flowers hand from brown branches
Highbush Blueberry
Highbush blueberry is a shrub that blooms early in the growing season on the edge of forests and in scrub-shrub wetlands
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3 white, yellow, brown & black pelicans stand next to the water
Three Brown Pelicans
Pictured are three brown pelicans on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Standing along the ocean shore you'll often see long lines of brown pelicans riding the air current just above the top of the wave line.
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Multiple flowering small white petals on green and brown tree branch
Coastal Serviceberry Blooms
Coastal Serviceberry is a small tree that blooms early in the growing season before the trees in the forest overstory have sprouted leaves.
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Partner Category

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Nature, Outdoor, and Recreation

Those who experience the outdoors and wildlife first-hand become its greatest conservationists.  We partner with these groups to foster their love of wildlife and conservation.

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Non-Governmental Organizations

Here we partner with a wider variety of other organizations on projects to meet shared conservation goals.

Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society

Other Partners

Here are just a few of our National Partners. You can view the full list of FWS partners, along with the regions and areas of focus our work together entails.

View Full Partner List

Partnership Services

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Through our partnerships we are able to expand our capabilities through the inclusion of services in areas such as:

  • Grant opportunities
  • Sponsorship of grants
  • Cooperative Agreements

To find out more about how our partner provides services view our partner services below.

View Partner Services