Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Assateague

I was at Assateague last weekend and I got to see some different wildlife: Atlantic mussels that squeak as they shut, dolphins playing in the waves, red winged blackbirds with a spot of red and yellow, and sika deer. Small guys, darker than white-tails with light spots on either side of their backbones. I saw them foraging around for grasses at night and in the late afternoon. Apparently they were introduced to the Eastern Shore from Asia as pets. The ponies on the island mostly hung out in the marshes. I saw one rummaging through some kids cooler too. They didn't know what to do so just snook up behind it and took pictures. I studied a few tracks- various birds, deer, rabbits.
The weather was also an experience. Nice and calm all day with cirrus clouds, a transition to frontal system, rain in the evening which cleared up by 1 AM or so. Starting at about 5 AM we got pummeled with what I guess were 40 mph winds. The tent was flush against my face; and I was sleeping in the middle.
Assateague is a great spot, I recommend that y'all go out there.

2 comments:

Matt Bukowski said...

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Were you able to camp right on the beach? Were the Sika deer friendly? thanks for posting.

Flaire said...

yeah right on the beach, it was tight. didn't really get too close to the deer though