Chincoteague Revisited

Another visit to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands for us this past weekend... (lucky for us it wasn't right now as they are under water!) Over the weekend we had beautiful weather, and once again I took a ton of photos... over 900! I was wanting to get beach sunrise photos, so I was up both mornings at 5am... Saturday to be on the beach and Sunday to be in the marsh. I am pleased with the results! We had a great time again, but weekends don't last long enough. Chincoteague is definitely a seasonal tourist town as many places were already closed. Our next trip will be in the spring!

Here is what I have to share.... hope you enjoy!

Morning one... before sunrise on Assateague Beach... with calm waters and no wind

Breaking dawn on the beach...

A gorgeous Assateague sunrise... definitely worth getting up at 5am and being the first person on the beach!

A sanderling adding interest to the picture as it feeds....

Early morning is good for wildlife too!

Up before the Great Blue Heron, who was still on his roost.

Some early morning fishing for a Great Egret...

Guess he didn't like me watching, because he took off...
But I caught him in flight!

Even ponies wake up early!

Mr. and Mrs. Cormorant having an early morning swim

Later on... we walked one of the trails and came across the endangered and protected Delmarva Fox Squirrel.

Up in a tree, eating some sort of small nut.

Another nice Chincoteague landscape, with the lighthouse in the background.

One of the stallions on the island

A whitetail doe, running across the marsh

Double-crested Cormorants on a log, drying their wings

A Great Blue Heron... ever watchful

Oops! Got an itch!

We even saw a clan of wild children running along the beach!! (Just kidding... they're mine!)

In her own little world...

A Western Sandpiper and a Semi-Palmated Plover

A Greater Yellowlegs

A gull like a kite

A Ghost Crab... thinking no one can see him!

A sanderling....
"Just me and my shadow"

One of the reasons we went down in November was to see the migration of the Snow Geese. I had heard they come to Chincoteague by the thousands to rest. My understanding is that they were not even at maximum yet, but they were impressive.

This is of a flock on the water...

And when they all take off... it really is a sight to see!
I did not get the most ideal shot of a take-off, as we were on the other side of the pond.
You can see in this photo all the cars lined up... of other people doing the smae thing I was!

But I got some nice photos of them...
As they settle down at sunset.

Sunset on the marsh

Next morning... back out at 5am... walked a half mile in to the overlook.

The marsh before sunrise...

Last but certainly not least....

Breaking dawn on the marsh

Thanks for looking!

Beautiful, WildRose. You captured the essence very well.

Thanks for sharing VWR, and for getting up so early to take those lovely shots.

Beautiful photos. I love nature and wildlife photography. My BIL has taken thousands of photos of the critters that live in our woods - it is his favorite way to relax. I can't wait to get home tonight and show him yours. Terri

Beautiful images, Karen. The weather was perfect for you. Chincoteague and Assateague provide a nice variety of photo opportunities. I try to visit when human activity is at a minimum. If I had access to an ATV, I would like to drive along the shoreline. You have to purchase an Off Road Vehicle (ORV) for $70.00.

In early 2009, Assateague attracted a lot of birders when a Snowy Owl stopped off for a brief visit. But you had to either walk a few miles or have access to an All Terrain Vehicle. This past Spring there was a pair of Bald Eagles nesting along the wildlife drive at Chincoteague. I did get to photograph them from the road.

I wasn't sure that the Snow Geese had pushed that far south, yet. I visited Bombay Hook in Delaware twice in the last month and their last estimate was about 10,000. I assume you didn't see any Tundra Swans. They should be arriving soon.

Thanks for sharing your mini-vacation.

A little Chincoteague anecdote - The last time I was there was in the late 80s when Aspen was just a 3 month old puppy. I was sitting in a beach chair, reading (aka dosing), and Aspen was beside me on a beach blanket. I woke up to her little puppy barks - a pony had come right up to the blanket and was in the process of stealing a tennis shoe! I could understand food, but a tennis shoe??? Anyway, it took off down the beach with the shoe dangling from it's mouth - Aspen and I following in hot pursuit. I did eventually retrieve the shoe when the pony dropped it about a 1/4 - 1/2 mile from where we started. All in all, I think Aspen was really pleased with herself for both sounding the alert and achieving the successful outcome! Terri

This message was edited Nov 13, 2009 10:00 AM

That's a funny story Terri... not sure why he took your shoe! Now they do not allow dogs or domestic pets of any kind on the Assateague side. However, I did see doggie paw prints in the sand when we went walking.

Charlie... there were ALOT of birding and serious photography people there last weekend! When I did the marsh sunset photos, the line of cars along that back straight stretch of Wildlife Loop was bumper to bumper! You couldn't hardly set up! We only saw one pair of tundra swans and I was surprised! I thought they came in at the same time. Now I know! Yes, we inquired about the ORV Pass but we couldn't do it at that time. We did walk north for more than a mile on the beach on Sunday but I was worn out when we got back to the truck! Sand walking is so much harder! They told us in August when we were there that there were two nesting pairs of eagles, but we never saw them.

Hubby and I did see one thing kind of special the first morning. We were driving over to the beach and had just passed through the gate house area.... it was about 10 minutes til 6am. Right in front of us, our headlights broke up a scuffle between two Sika bucks! It was too dark yet for pictures and neither of us could pull cameras out quick enough... but it was cool to see. Deer are in rut this time of year and get kind of crazy!

I do love the place though, and will continue to go back!

One of my favorite places. On one of my visits there, in the spring, I got up really early to run the wildlife loop and surprised eight ponies, five mares, and three foals in the parking lot. I must have seen every variety of bird, that inhabits Chincoteague in the spring on that run - it was spectacular! On another visit, we were there just before a storm, and got some incredible photos of the sky. Stunning pictures, VA_Wild_Rose, but I particularly love the sunrise and sunset ones! Where do you stay when you go there?

So far, we have only stayed at the Comfort Suites. With three girls, we like having the indoor pool and they also have a good breakfast included every morning. I may look into some other options in the summer.

Thanks for your compliments!

Va_Wild_Rose, As always your photos are astoundingly beautiful. It looks like you all had a wonderful time. It's so nice that you are doing your best to get the girls involved in a love of nature. So nice to see them not playing Nintendo! I voted for your photo of them running on the beach from your last trip!!

This message was edited Nov 15, 2009 10:02 PM

What she said.....
Thanks for taking us along- Beautiful!