Wings Over Water 2026 Dates and News
Dates for the 2026 Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival have been set.
Main Session: Tuesday, October 13 thru Sunday, October 18
WOW Encore: Friday, December 4 thru Sunday, December 6.
2026 WOW registration opens the first week of June
2026 Keynote speaker: Scott Weidensaul
Honoring an Extraordinary Person
Bonnie Woodall Strawser
We lost a major friend. A friend to wildlife and wildlands and to thousands of visitors, co-workers, friends and family.. Bonnie put in 42 years of work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. She was there at the design and building of the current Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges Visitor Center and subsequent raising of the building to prolong it’s usefulness. She was there at the design and opening of the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center on Roanoke Island. And she was there at the beginning of the annual Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival in 1997. For the past 2 years she was the president of the refuge non-profit support group, Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society.
Bonnie Gail Woodall Strawser, age 75, of Manteo, NC, joined Jesus in eternal glory on Saturday, January 10, 2026. Bonnie was a bold and adventurous woman of faith whose life was marked by courage, conviction, and a love of God and people. She was a lifelong learner, an infamous networker, and a woman of her word. If Bonnie couldn’t solve the problem, no one could!
The greatest honor was the privilege of calling Bonnie “Mom.” Jenna Erpelding (Bryon, Kory, and Mya), Amy Lane Outlaw (Ken and Laney), Erika Burkhart (Heath, Waylon, Heidi, Jolene, Lincoln, and Gus), and Kanan Strawser have that privilege. Bonnie was predeceased by her daughter, Anna-Marie Strawser; parents, Mary and Basil Woodall; and siblings, Gwen Lane and Sonny Alston.
Service oriented and always seeking the next challenge, Bonnie cultured a huge network of professional and community friends. She especially loved her fire family, Fish and Wildlife family, and her Source Church family, among countless others.
If only one word could be chosen to describe Bonnie, it would be trailblazer. She set the bar high. Truthfully, there’s way too many accomplishments, way too many travels and way too many stories… and we’re paying by the word!! So instead…
Please join us in praising God and celebrating Bonnie’s life on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at Manteo First Assembly, 812 Wingina Avenue, Manteo, NC 27954. Per Bonnie’s instructions, please wear colors – this is a party! A reception will follow.
Instead of flowers, the family requests donations to Source Church’s Source of Hope Food Pantry, 318 Budleigh Street, Manteo, NC 27954.
Honoring an Extraordinary Person
Patricia ‘Pat’ Jamison Moore
Frisco, NC: Patricia Kate Jamison Moore, age 97, died May 5, 2025 at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, Washington, NC. Pat was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Ross and Athea Selph Jamison. Pat attended Little Rock Central High School, Arkansas State Teachers College and the University of Arkansas. She was married to Raymond Neal Moore for 69 years before his passing in 2019, and was also predeceased by her brother Ross Jamison and his wife Alice.
Pat was known as an accomplished teacher, a gifted artist, an avid birdwatcher. She worked with and supported numerous environmental preservation organizations. She used her gifts to great advantage for many years volunteering with the National Audubon Society, Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS), Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Pat’s interest in bird study began at an early age with her parents who were founding members of Arkansas Audubon Society (AAS). Her involvement with AAS as a Life Member included attending 100 consecutive meetings over a 50-year period, most of those years requiring long drives from her home state. While living in Maryland she was an active member of the Maryland Ornithological Society. She was a section leader of Christmas Bird Counts and did both field work and artwork for the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas.
In retirement Pat and Neal built a home in Frisco, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They eagerly welcomed family, friends, and countless visiting birders to their guest quarters which was an integral part of their home. Pat planned and led bird walks for many years for the local bird club, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and at Pea Island NWR. By sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge, the interest in birdwatching was sparked in many of those who participated in these walks. In Pat’s later years, when she was less mobile, she shared her passion for birds by the bay window every Friday at Pea Island NWR Visitor Center. With binoculars, telescopes, field guides, and checklists at hand, she helped both novice and experienced birders from near and far see and identify the birds in view through that window overlooking the big impoundment.
Pat was a tireless and dedicated planner for the ”Wings Over Water” Wildlife Festival and as the compiler of National Audubon Society’s Cape Hatteras Christmas Bird Count. She looked forward with great enthusiasm to both of those events and to being with the people who participated in them.
Throughout her life Pat valued family and longtime friends as well as newer friends and acquaintances. This was evident by her continuing communication with all. When asked several years ago how she would like to be remembered, she replied: “Her spirit lives on in the lives she inspired and nurtured.”
Pat is survived by her nephew, William Jamison (Debbie), niece Elizabeth Jamison, grand-nephew Dr. Trevor Jamison, niece Louanne Moore Tippins, grand-nephew James Moore Tippins, and cousins. Pat’s family is grateful to her many friends including Ricky Davis, Paula and John Wright, and others who stayed in touch with her. Pat was especially thankful for those who helped her maintain an independent life in her home: Mark Barris, Marcia and Jim Lyons, Joanna Otten, Donna Marie Fabel, Peggy and Mike Eubank, the dedicated volunteers of Hatteras Meals, and the volunteers of Pea Island NWR.
