Off the beaten path

I went back to Five Rivers again yesterday to take some more pictures.  Yeah, twice in three days.  What can i say?  I really like the place!  This time, I did the loop around the pond a few times, and I found a bunch of other trails that I didn’t see the other day.  I followed one and it brought me out near a small river (or brook) with lots of cool stuff to shoot.  At one point, I saw a small black animal swimming in the creek then up on the bank, then back in the creek and so on.  I couldn’t keep track of him after a while, so I didn’t get a shot.

What I did get shots of were a family of geese.  The mother and father had three little goslings that they kept a very close watch of.  A few times when I was shooting them, one of the parents ‘hissed’ at me.  I understand they are very protective of their young, but I wasn’t that close.  I had the 70-300mm lens, so I didn’t have to get too close.  But hey, I was on their turf, so I understand.

The babies were really cute, with their soft yellow and brown fur and tiny little beaks.  I wish I had been able to get a little closer so I could get really good shots of their fur.  It seemed really fine.  You can see how fine in some of the pics I took.  Let me know what you think of them.

I can’t wait to go back.  If you live in the area, you should definitely check it out.  See ya soon!

The wild life…

On more than a few occasions, I have mentioned Assateague in my blog.  I have also mentioned that I grew up close to the area and really miss it.  Last week, I got a chance to head to Virginia, and while I was there, I drove over to Assateague to shoot some of the wildlife.  What I saw there was pretty scary.  A winter storm had caused some serious damage to the beach and the wildlife refuge surrounding it.  Trees were down all over the place.  Sand was blown from the beach all the way out to the toll booths some half a mile or more away.

The beach was almost gone.  The roads that usually branch off to the parking area were roped off and giant dump trucks were working feverishly to replace the sand that had been blown or washed away from the beach.  I have never seen it this bad in all my years going there.  Even the day I was there it was very windy.

While I was there I took a few shots of the wildlife.  It is my favorite part of visiting Assateague.  The wild ponies are almost always around, and this time was no different.  There were quite a few out in the pasture.  There are also always some great birds there.  Herons, egrets, ducks, geese and many others.  It is a photographer’s dream.  Here are some shots that I got that day…

Wild ponies and some downed trees

He took off just as I was trying to get the shot

Soaring away

Hiding from me

Where is your favorite place to visit?  One that stands out in your mind…

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