Chincoteague and Assateague Island Photos

Snow geese

2015 Chincoteague pony buy-backs

Heron with lunch

Assateague Lighthouse

Fog at Black Duck Pond

Sunset

Sunrise at Black Duck Pond

Snow geese

Photo HodgePodge

View of Wallops Island, and southern Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, from the International Space Station.   The old Chincoteague NAS, now NOAA, is visible on the mainland.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge - Fall and Spring

Just some older, favorite photos taken on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, which is located (confusingly) on Assateague Island, Virginia.  The first two photos are from the fall, the others from the spring...

A nice buck

Snow geese - photo by Julia Flanagan

Mare and foal

Assateague Lighthouse staircase

Ponies and egrets

Playful foals

Grooming a buddy

Avian Cholera In Idaho?

Wow.  I'm amazed.  I have heard of avian cholera in the past, but the discovery of 2,000 dead snow geese in Idaho surprised me.  The geese are migrating from Mexico back north to the shores of Alaska.  And these dead birds were all found in southeast Idaho, near the Mud Lake Wildlife Management area.  It seems they all died in flight and dropped, dead, to the earth.  Avian cholera can kill the bird within six to forty-eight hours after the original infection.  The birds fell over quite a few acres of land, and wildlife officials hope they removed all the carcasses before further contamination could occur.  However, several bald eagles were spotted in the area, and it is feared that they had already fed on the dead geese.  Avian cholera is not easily transmitted to humans - but it is easily transferred between birds, most especially through carrion eaters, such as crows, ravens, eagles, ospreys, and vultures.  Most of the geese carcasses were incinerated, while others are being used for testing, to pinpoint  exactly which disease killed this flock on the wing.  The most likely disease is avian cholera, which can be spread by feces and through water contact.  We need to keep an eye on the sky, and report any unusual mass deaths of birds to local health and wildlife authorities.
  Texas Red, the colt who won the Breeders Cup Juvenile race in November, and became the instant favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby, is no longer on the Triple Crown trail.  The colt has suffered from foot problems since the beginning of the new year, and has been unable to train consistently.  His owners are now looking forward to the summer races for three-year-olds.
   We had temperatures of 80 degrees (F) Sunday and Monday here in Boulder.  Yesterday we struggled to reach 45 degrees, with dreary, grey overcast skies and a light wind.  The weather folks say we'll hit 65 today, but have rain tonight and tomorrow morning.  All I can see is grey, bleak skies - no sign of the sun, which could be seen trying to burn through the cloud cover yesterday.  Yuck.  I do not like dreary days.

Snow Views and My Kits

Chincoteague pony yesterday on Assateague Island

Snow geese

Aerial view of Tom's Cove, Assateague Island, and Chincoteague above it

Snow this morning at my apartment

Nedi

Lovey

Photos of Assateague Island, Virginia

The public beach on a hazy summer day in 1974

Sunrise on the beach, 1 January 2015

2013 youngsters - with rear toward camera is Lucy's Teapot, Sonny's Legacy is the white horse with the chestnut head, hind leg and tail, and White Saddle's marking is hidden by Lucy's head...

Egret 

Snow geese in early morning light

Delmarva fox squirrel

Sunset across Tom's Cove, 31 December 2014

Photo Miscellany

Snow geese at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Acrobatic squirrels

Aurora, Colorado - Is stop that hard to spell?

Dragons don't exist?  Tell that to this leaf-tailed gecko...

Giant armadillos roam Peru at night

Red-tailed bird of paradise

Peek-a-boo raccoon kit

Chincoteague and Assateague Photos

Early morning fog at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island

Snow geese in flight at Assateague Island

This photo was taken by Patrick J Hendrickson of Highcamera.com.  It shows the Assateague Lighthouse getting it's first new stripe of paint last week.  My great-grandfather and grandfather were lighthouse keepers here, but at that time, the lighthouse was just rosy-red brick, without any paint.

Old "Eastern Shore-type" home on Chincoteague

Southern part of Main Street on Chincoteague