Chincoteague Island

Up until a few months ago, I didn't know this place existed. It's an Atlantic barrier island in the part of Virginia that's north of the Chesapeake Bay. We were there in early April, but in the summer season, it looks to be a really good seashore resort community. It also has a great national park, where most of these pictures were taken.

When you come to a sign like this, what else can you do but go and try to find them?


And indeed, we saw several wild ponies throughout the park:


We also saw a rare squirrel that's only endemic to that area, but I didn't know what it was at the time, so I didn't take any pictures. The rest of the wildlife is decidedly avian:

Female cardinal cooling off:


A close-up view of an osprey:


An unusually sharp shot of a vulture:


Bonaparte's Gull on its way to Canada:

Two Willets hunting the same dinner:

Northern Gannet show

Is it just me, or does "Northern Gannet" sound like a good name for a jet fighter? F-22 Northern Gannet. I can almost see it.

Gannets are migratory, with the spring migration occurring at the end of March, and that coincided with our trip to Virginia. On a ferry from Cape May to Lewes, we caught a whole aerial show, up close and personal. They were following the ferry and trying to get at any fish that turned up in its churn:

Gannets normally eat the fish they catch underwater, but once in a while, you could catch a glimpse of it:


Parting shot - sunset over Delaware Bay: