Wild Delmarva

Sunrise was really beautiful today. Gulls and sea ducks were flying over the water parallel to the Atlantic coast. The sun rose into a thin cloudy haze and the warm colors painted the sky red for a few minutes.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

The wild ponies of Assateague have been on the barrier Island since the 1600s. There are two stories about how they got there. In the first story, a Spanish ship sank off the coast and the ponies swam to the island. In the second story, a farmer or farmers let their ponies run wild there as there was no need to build a fence. However they made it to Assateague thousands of visitors come to the National Wildlife Refuge every year to see them in the wild.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

A Bufflehead takes off this morning shortly after sunrise. This is the smallest diving duck we have on the Delmarva Peninsula and they won’t be with us much longer as they breed in Canada.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

A Herring Gull holds a mussel on Assateague Island today. These gulls catch mussels and drop them on rocks to break open the shells and then eat the tasty bivalves.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

A touch of frost rims a feather at sunrise.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

A young female Gray Seal pup – probably only about four months old – watches the sunrise this morning on one of Delmarva’s Atlantic Beaches. Gray Seals are pupped in colonies from Eastern Canada as far south as Massachusetts so this pup has wandered many miles in a relatively short time. Gray Seal pups are weaned about three weeks after birth and they are on their own shortly after that.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

Just to be sure I had the ID correct I asked Derek Stoner of the Delaware Nature Society to confirm this is a Dark-eyed Junco. Here’s what he said, “Yes, used to be called Slate-colored Junco, which makes sense due to its gray coloration on the back. Also known as Snowbirds, because most people only see them in the winter. They breed in boreal habitat and high mountain regions in the US and Canada.” Thanks Derek!

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

Snow Geese are usually white but with Delmarva’s fields covered with snow for weeks they have had to forage in muddy wetlands for food. So now it is not unusual to find Snow Geese looking like they need a bath.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

I’ve never heard anyone claim the Turkey Vulture is our most beautiful, handsome or regal bird. But watching this beautiful flyer soar seemingly effortlessly over the Delmarva Peninsula is another thing. Our skies have more than the normal amount of Turkey and Black Vultures now as they are migrating through here.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

A male Northern Cardinal struggles to hold onto a branch during the snowstorm this morning. Gale-force wind gusts made life outside difficult today.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming