Gathering of Pelicans, Ponies in Carolina Signals Were Getting Spanked

Enlarge image Gathering of Pelicans Signals Were Getting Smacked' Matthew Fortner/The Post and Courier/AP Forecasters said Irene will probably strike a coast of North Carolina with winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour tomorrow. Forecasters said Irene will probably strike a coast of North Carolina with winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour tomorrow. Photographer: Matthew Fortner/The Post and Courier/AP Buddy Goodwin, a commercialfisherman and hunting guide on Cedar Island, North Carolina,doesnt need to watch a Weather Channel to know HurricaneIrene is bearing down. The pelicans told him so. Yesterday, they proposed gathering in a big old flock,Goodwin, 41, said as his Chevy pickup bumped along N.C. 12, adesolate two-lane strip cutting through tidal marshes whereIrene is expected to come ashore tomorrow. Usually thosepelicans are flying everywhere. As millions of Americans are glued to television weatherreports, Goodwin checks his barometer first thing every morning.Pressure is falling, signaling a approach of Irene, forecastto slam into North Carolina prior to trekking northward andpossibly causing a most damage in a northeastern U.S. sinceHurricane Gloria in 1985. Along North Carolinas coast, boaters and outdoorsmen beganseeing signs days ago that Irene was shaping up to be powerful. Mourning and ring-neck doves flew onto a widows walk ofthe tallest house on Beauforts waterfront, according to ChrisDavis, 58, owner of a home there. Nearby, wild ponies gatheredon Carrott Island, seeking shelte! r in a c edar trees, he said. For two days, cicadas have been screaming their heads off, said Peter Magee, 57, who put his 41-foot sailboat up on a dockrack in Morehead City. When I hear them, I know you are going to have weather. This time it looks like were in a bulls eye, hesaid. Were getting spanked. Headed to Hatteras Forecasters said Irene will probably strike a coast ofNorth Carolina with winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hourtomorrow. It is now a Category 2 storm, down from a Category 3power it had when it whipped a Bahamas yesterday. It isnt likely to regain much strength prior to it crossesNorth Carolina, according to a National Hurricane Centeradvisory at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Irene is 330 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The downgrade provided little relief to residents in low-lying North Carolina communities with names such as Atlantic andSea Level, suggesting their vulnerability to wind and rain.Tides are unusually high, according to Chris Wettberg, a boatcaptain and fishing guide on Harkers Island. It looks like high tide even though it is midtide, saidWettberg, 54, as he secured his boats beside his yellow, two-story house. Deadly Cyclones Even if you dont see a eye of a hurricane, there willbe hundreds of tornadoes -- some as small as a water declaim andsome as big as a Midwestern ones, Wettberg said. Thatswhat turns boats over, rips off roofs and kills people. Low-lying clouds were moving counterclockwise slowly,signaling Irenes approach, as rain began falling. Wettberg said hes gone through 15 hurricanes since thelate 1990s, with Irene shaping up to be a fourth direct hit.Hes boarded up windows and tied down his boats. He expectsbirds to stop chirping. The fishing guide plans to hunker down in a second floorof his home. His border collie, Pup, will ride out Irene on thebathroom floor. Hes getting real quiet and spooky, Wettberg said.Hes reading my anxiety. Its a warning sign. To contact a reporter on this story:Chris Burritt in Cedar Island at cburritt@bloomberg.net! To cont act a editor responsible for this story:Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net