Beach Birds and Ponies

Frank had made reservations for Ocean City months ago. We were looking forward to seeing his daughters but as the date approached, the weather forecast was not good. Rain storms every day!

It turned out to be not so bad. We did have rain on the way there, but our first full day at the beach was partly cloudy with wind but little rain. The next day was similar, and by Monday the sun came out. Finally rain storms moved in on Tuesday while we were driving home.

I didn't see many birds other than gulls, perhaps because of the wind. On Monday we went to Assateague Island, on the Maryland side. (There is no road that goes the length of the island, so to reach the Virginia stretch of the island, you have to drive inland and then back out over Chincoteague Island. We've been there many times but this time we were a short drive from the Maryland end of the island.)

I had told Frank's sons-in-law that we would see wild ponies, and the ponies cooperated. Signs warn you to stay 40 feet from them, but these seemed very accustomed to tourists. Still, I zoomed in to get these pictures. 

In the final image, there are a few birds standing in the foreground. Far away on the right side is a herd of wild ponies. 

To see more photos from this area, page through my Eastern Shore posts.