On a free afternoon Bobbie and I decided to explore Chincoteague NWR on a hike on the Woodland Trail near Tom's Cove. We pulled over at one spot to view one of the wild horses! I only wished I had the capacity to zoom in closer with my camera!
The trail was pavement littered with leaves and small twigs, was also suitable for bicycles!
In addition to the wild ponies, we were on the lookout for Sika Elk and the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel!
Found one! The Delmarva Fox Squirrel was introduced here in 1968. Native only to the Delmarva peninsula, its habitat was being destroyed.
Apparently, I still find fungi interesting..I think its a polypore of some sort.
At the pony overlook, we scanned the grazing field and did see a band of ponies a few hundred yards away....even with my binoculars they were quite distant. The Assateague Lighthouse also peeks out above the treeline.
Just when your walking along...the elusive squirrel runs out in front of you to tease!
The wildlife refuge also puts out nesting boxes for the squirrels, sort of unusual since they usually don't try to regulate nature. Apparently they have made an exception.
Another pretty (and large) 'shroom.
Here's Bobbie trying to capture an image of the frisky squirrel as it's playing hide and seek at the base of a tree!
After it scurried up the tree...I just waited for him to come down! He paused for a moment when he saw me...its not like I had a gun and had a hungry look in my eye...just a camera for cryin' out loud!
As I was waiting for the dumb thing to descend...Bruce and Aileen rode up on their bikes and were chatting with Bobbie when voila! I snapped this shot....with Bruce in it too!
After the close encounter with the squirrel, we were satisfied and decided to check out Tom's Cove visitor center, but on the way I couldn't resist pulling over for this resting Great Blue Heron! We would have explored for longer...but we had to be back to the MSC for our "cocktail party" in Pat and Geri's room before our 5pm dinner!
No comments:
Post a Comment