SNOW GEESE and SHARKS

1/12/2015

Last week, I spent a few days at Chincoteague National Refuge on Assateague Island, Va. My wife and I usually spend a few days there each January after the Holidays. It is one of my favorite spots along the east coast to photograph our winter waterfowl. I was standing on the beach facing inland toward a small bay at 6:30 AM. It was very quiet with hardly any wind.All I could hear was the low roll of the waves. The temperature was about 25 degrees. The sun was just lighting the sky behind me and toward the west there was only a pink glow indicating sunrise was soon coming. As the sun first peeked a few rays above the horizon, there was a low, faint whistling rumble seeming to come out of the west--as I watched, a cloud of birds appeared outlined against the pink of the sky. As they came closer, the sound increased to a roar of screaming, honking Snow Geese falling out of the sky into the Bay just a few yards in front of me. I was told later the flock was around 50,000--they continued to come in waves of white and their yelping honk announcing their arrival to the feeding grounds. I could only stand in pure awe as they surrounded me and blocked out all other stimuli--this lasted for at least 20 minutes until all had "settled" into the Bay. It stayed noisy as some continued to move around a bit looking for that better feeding spot, and this continued all morning. I was fortunate to be in that position with my back to the sun and the geese no more than 50 yards away. Since they were moving around almost constantly, I was able to get some good flight pics. The flock include both the white variation as well as the "Blue Goose" darker variety.

This is a real treat and I highly recommend it to you. Access to this spot is easy and the geese are there every year-- all it takes is a willingness to get up before daylight at a cold time of the year and wait for their arrival!!

Now for the Sharks. To be honest, we did not really see any there, but we did find Sharks the next day in Ocean City, Maryland, about 50 miles north. Sharks is one of mine and Glyn's favorite restaurants and we always try to eat there at least once when we are in the neighborhood. This day we had lunch after a morning of Glyn shopping at Coach for needed leather goods(this is not my favorite stop on our annual visit here for reasons most guys will understand)!! But Sharks On The Harbor is!! They are located in the west Ocean City Marina area. Their menu varies daily and everything is fresh. This day I had their Beets and Berries salad and a bowl of Fisherman's Stew. The stew was the best I have had anywhere--cream based and just spicy enough! Glyn had the crab cake sandwich which she also highly recommends. This is a truly great restaurant with a great laid back atmosphere with a full bar located in a unique and picturesque setting. Don't miss it!!!

Enjoy the pics below.