Stromboli's Rolling Log: Day 29, Monday May 1, 2016 Last day at Chincoteague

Day 29, Monday May 1, 2016 Last day at Chincoteague

Salutări prietenilor mei din România.

I should start with map of the two Islands as where we went today is to the very northern portion of Assateague Island. This is in the state of Maryland and contains the “other” herd of horses that run wild and are located here. Between the two portions of the Island is a very uninhabited strip of the Island . So, in order to get to the northern portion (only 20 miles by foot) , it is necessary to drive a circuitous 60 miles . The Maryland portion of the Island has less birdlife as there are few mud flats like the southern portion, so the shore birds especially do not pick it as a prime habitat to feed.

There is a State Park there, that parallels the National Seashore on the
Ocean side, Most of the NWR is on the back bay area.

This is the southern portion of the NWR. The northern
portion is off the map to the right.

The Visitor Center is finely attired and roomy.

One portion of the NWR in Maryland. THese are
impoundments that are managed for best results.

There are however some birds, and we did identify 44 species today including 4 new ones. they were the PURPLE FINCH (here in the park), the FIELD SPARROW, A LIITLE GREEN HERON, And a flock of BUFFLEHEAD ducks. The rains came down quite hard at times although in the AM t was good weather albeit very overcast.

We started the day at Maria’s Restaurant in Chincoteague, where they served a good substantial breakfast buffet which kept us going during the day. One of the roads took us along the Pokemock River. That wound around for many mies. A trip to the Visitor Center just before we crossed thuebridge to the Park, helped us get our bearings in the Park. This is a National Park so showing our “All time Pass” got us in the gate easily. We told the ranger that we didn’t see many birds posted in the book they keep, and he indicated that birders often stop on the way in, but seldom stop on the way out to record their birds that they saw. I told hm we would be happy to do that and at the end of the drive we did stop back and gave him a list of birds which he will post in the book.

These Dogwood are just peaking their blloms in Maryland right now.

One of the long boardwalks in the Refuge today. Not much moving.

A small group of Bufflehead ducks

A Little Blue Heron close to the road.

We walked a long boardwalk over one of the marshes, and poked into any road or trailhead that we could. Stopping for songbirds allows us to see some movement in the bushes and a potential bird find. Even with the rain the birds were still quite active today. It is the wind that keeps them down .Those days are reallly tough birding.

So, northern Assateague (National Seashore) did give us some birds and the horses along the way. The two closeups were just standing there dripping wet from the rain. It was a good trip.

Tomorrow we head for Lewes, Delaware for a look at the oldest Dutch settlement in the Americas, from the 1600’s. Also two very large NWR nearby. Should be fun. Enjoy the photos

Wallops Isand (NAS) is a Naval base for electronic signalling and
reception for the military .It is adjacent to Chincoteague Is.
There we more than two dozen of these antennae there.