Sometimes you lucky out with sunlight, and sometimes you don’t. One this morning after the fog lifted you could witness some great colours on the water. These are just two of many I got that morning.
What is on or near the shore affects what colours you see reflected on the water’s surface. It could be boats, boat covers, kayaks, SUPs, etc. Also if the sun happens to be behind your back or at an angle can affect how you see the colours.
Articles on our near shore can add to the photo in ways you may not have originally expected. Get out and enjoy the summer between the rain. If your weather is like New York, we have downpours almost everyday.
There are a lot of great egrets at Assateague. You can many times see them just as you cross over the bridge onto the island. From the island side if you look on both sides of the road at the marsh areas you usually see a few on each side after the bridge.
This is in front of the building right next to the National Park boat launch on Ferry Landing Road.
These were all taken on the bay side of the island from a kayak.
Near one of the nature viewing areas.
I mostly saw egrets standing on trees, or standing next to the water in the grasses. They pose great for pictures!
Not all bad light days make for bad shots. The morning I took these this past clouds were covering the sun and the lighting conditions were not optimal. I got some good feeding shots regardless and shots of the parents with fish.
Will the baby take it or not? Many times I see the baby not accept it and swim in another direction with the parent following.
These pictures were all taken at a distance with zoom lens.
The hand offTrying to fit it in.Going down the hatch.
A cloudy day does not always ruin your chance at getting good photos. Go out and enjoy nature even when it is not sunny.
I have had loons swim under my kayak before. This time a mother loon called to her mate. The mate came swimming back to watch the baby loon. The mother promptly went under water and popped up above water on the other side of my kayak. In its mouth was a big fish.
She then went under the water and I could locate her by the light coloured fish she had in her mouth going under my kayak. She then popped up on the side she was originally on, but close to my kayak. I thought for sure she was going to share it with her mate. Nope! I can’t believe she ate the whole thing herself!
Was she showing up her mate by catching a big one so fast? Was she showing off to me? Nature is better than TV. Loons are pretty cool birds. As always keep your distance. If they approach you, let it be on their terms.
There are lots of opportunities to see wildlife at Assateague Island in Maryland. Besides getting up close views of pelicans at sunrise via paddle board you can also go out on a kayak or paddle board for trips through the marshy areas on the bay. One of the many birds you can see is a green heron.
Green Herons like to hang out at the water’s edge to bring in fish or catch dragonflies. They are small in comparison to great blue herons.
This heron seemed to be quite successful at catching fish.
This one proudly paraded around in the grass with a little fish it caught. There are many things to see at Assateague while on the water. When you go to Assateague don’t ignore the bayside, you may miss out on a lot.
There are a lot of different kinds of wildlife to see at Assateague Island and the surrounding area. No telling where this American Bald Eagle’s nest is. It could be on the mainland or somewhere on the island. I only saw the eagle one day when I was there, so like the Adirondack eagles it probably travels a lot within the bay area.
These pictures were all taken from a kayak. It is hard to be steady when on a kayak. You can’t use a tripod.
This is an adult eagle. They get the white feathers totally in around their head by the time they are five. After they are born and fledge they mostly have brown feathers as juveniles.
When I saw it look down I was hoping it would swoop down and catch a fish. Not to be this day. I would like to see an eagle catch a fish.
After a while it flew away to another dead tree in another part of the bay. After three trips to Assateague, this was my first time seeing an eagle there. I felt lucky.
The best places to go are on the bay side of the island and some areas along the mainland side of the bay. Some areas near beaches or access points near the bay may be picked over by others before you. If you can go by kayak, canoe, or paddle board, it may be better to put in on the mainland side of the Verrazano Bridge. You can see the boat launch on the upper middle section of this map.
National Park Boat Launches
There are good places to launch on the National Park land. Follow the signs after you cross the bridge and travel on Bayberry Road. There are a couple of places with obvious areas with a lot of extra stone on the shoulder roadside to park and launch before you get to the park tollbooth. These are free spots on the right. I recommend also launching from Old Ferry Landing Road launch. This is after the tollbooth, so you need to pay. There are paved parking spots at the launch and one restroom. If you are a veteran you may be eligible for a free lifetime National Park Pass. I believe there is also a pass for seniors. Otherwise, it is over $20 to enter the park for day use. I believe this covers multiple days though.
What Do You Need?
To make it easier, there are certain tools you can bring to clam. Some people bring a rake to scrap or dig up the clam. Many times just by rubbing your foot along the bottom while standing you can feel where they are. The rake can be used to loosen them. Others use a rake with a basket where they can scoop up the clam. Kids however seem to enjoy swimming down to grab them. Bring buckets to hold them clams in with water as well.
Sometimes other things come up with the clam.A combination rake with basket.Sometimes you can find multiple clams in the same location.He liked to dive under the water to bring them up.She was very happy to find some on her own and add to the effort.He found a lot of large clams in chest deep water.
Notice in all the above shots clams were not found in shallow water. Sometimes you can find them there but also look in deeper water sometimes as well.
Official bucket holder and clam collector.Heading back after collecting 120 or more clams.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience. We all returned after about an hour and a half out on the water on our kayaks and paddle boards. Sometimes finding your own food is an adventure.
I made a short trip to Assateague Island, Maryland for a few days to meet friends who secure a campsite every year. To get the week they want, they have four devices up and ready to click at the moment the campsites go up on the website for that week the following year. One device got the reservation. I guess July is the harder month to try to reserve because schools in the southern U.S. and north both have off that entire month, whereas June and August they don’t.
This horse was on the beach at sunrise at the state park camper’s beach. I was there three days and two of the days at sunrise the horses were there to watch the sun come up. The beach is a short walk from the campsites and over a dune. It is worth getting up at 5 or 5:30 to watch the beautiful sunrise with the added bonus of horses!
I try to keep a distance from the loons, but have several times over the past few years had one or more come up and swim close to me. This is the first time I felt I was being tasked to step in as a baby sitter.
Left by mom next to my kayak, the baby eyed me intently.
The mother and baby swam up close to my kayak, then the mother disappeared under the water to fish, while the baby stayed above water chilling out near my kayak. Normally the baby swims in the water following the direction the mom went under the water in peeping all the way. This time the baby was quiet.
A few minutes later the mother came up with a fish.
She tried to present it to the baby.
The baby turned its head away. Either it was full or it was too big for it.
Mom continued to swim around with the fish in its mouth hoping the baby would change its mind. Who knew? My new summer side hustle in life is a loon babysitter.
Loons are fun birds to watch. I took 3 kayak trips on a lake over three days. Each time I watch these loons for an hour or so. I have a zoom lens ,an extender and these are cropped.
The lighting changed even within the hour or so I watched them this day. It depended on which way they were facing, cloud cover, and what objects they were near. In this case I believe the green colour was a reflection in the water from a boat cover. The mom kept the little one near the shore of the lake.
Mom! That’s too big for me!
The parents kept parading around with small fish that seemed much too big for the baby. I think the baby finally ate them when they cut them in pieces. It is fun to watch nature. Loons are becoming my favourite birds. They have such personality.
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