By Renate Strub
“Beautiful land across the water” — Chincoteague in Native American language
“We are going to see dolphins up close!” exclaimed Nate with a big smile as we approached him on the dock at Chincoteague Island. “Dolphins, here in Virginia?” I asked with sparkling eyes. Nate, our pontoon boat captain and guide, explained that bottlenose dolphins arrive in April and stay until November when they head south for the winter.
We settled in our soft and spacious off-white swivel chairs, while Nate steered our small boat (max. six passengers) through the calm blue waters between Chincoteague and the barrier islands.
Mostly located on the Virginia side of Assateague Island and several barrier islands along the coast, the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is a 14,000-acre wildlife preserve operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Low islets covered with tall salt grass, evergreen, and deciduous trees form a natural barrier against the Atlantic Ocean, keeping the ‘inland’ waters smooth and calm. It is a perfect habitat for wildlife. For us visitors, a peaceful place to relax and leave our hectic daily life behind.
Bottlenose dolphins
Time lost meaning as Nate maneuvered back and forth at a slow speed trying to get close to the elusive dolphins. It was impossible to count them as they appeared and just as soon disappeared again, only to surface somewhere else. Sometimes we turned around in time to see and hear a big splash, as their tails slapped the water, sending plumes of bubbles into the air. One dolphin had a tear in its dorsal fin; I wondered what scrimmage it had gotten into.
Today, the dolphins didn’t feel like showing us some of their amazing aerial jumps. We didn’t mind. After all, we were not at a choreographed exhibition; we were watching wild animals in their free environment. And what a sight it was!
My attention kept pulling me back to our captain. Wearing a blue ‘Captain Nate’ cap of Daisey’s Island Cruises and a floral shirt, a few white hairs and his deep tan bespoke of many years spent on his beloved waters. His outgoing personality and exceptional knowledge of the region’s wildlife – he knows every wild pony by name – made our trip not only entertaining but also educational.
Clams and oysters
Nate pointed out an area in the distance where clams are farmed commercially. Visitors can enjoy clamming in the mud on the five-mile beach at Toms Cove; all they need is a bucket and a clam rake. Clams are easy to find as they leave a telltale hole in the mud, frequently squirting water out of it.
Oysters cultured in cages and trays in the clean saline Chincoteague waters produce a briny mollusk, much sought after by lovers of salty shellfish.
American Oystercatcher
A beautiful bird with a white belly, light pink legs, dark brown to black head and wings, and a long bright orange-red beak, the American Oystercatcher’s favorite food is oysters. How does such a rather small bird open these hard-to-crack shells?
Walking across an oyster bed, they look for a semi-submerged, partially open shell, and then use their long, slender beak to pry it open and extract the delicious morsel. As their name indicates, the oystercatchers love oysters, but also eat other mollusks and will even try sea urchins and starfish.
Wild Ponies
“Two ponies straight ahead!” Nate shouted. A light-brown mare and her young foal were grazing on a narrow grass strip.
We couldn’t get closer as it was low tide; the depth was less than two feet, too low for our boat. I longingly watched a group of kayakers approaching the shore. Noticing my disappointment, ever perceptive Nate consoled me: “Don’t be sad, we will now go to the north side, where we will see more ponies close up.”
On our way there, a majestic bald eagle greeted us, sitting high up on a branch of a dead tree. We also came across an empty osprey nest; maybe the chicks had fledged and were on their way to warmer regions. A brown pelican surprised us with its presence, effortlessly gliding across the cloudy sky, hardly flapping its wings. According to Nate, pelicans — like dolphins — come to this area in April and leave in November.
Getting close to the southern edge of Assateague Island, the beautiful 142-foot-tall (43 meters) red and white AssateagueLighthouse came into view; it is still an active navigational aid managed by the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. According to the website, the lighthouse is open to visitors only on weekends, but we were there on a Thursday and saw people at the top. The view must be phenomenal.
While slowly gliding through this magnificent scenery, Nate told us about the history of these ponies.
History of the Wild Ponies or Wild Horses
Wild ponies have lived on Assateague Island for centuries, maybe as far back as the 1600s. Some people believe the horses arrived here when a Spanish galleon sank offshore. Others believe they came with early colonial settlers who allowed them to graze on the island. Several shipwrecks found off the Maryland and Virginia coasts seem to corroborate the first theory. I prefer to believe that their origin is a mystery shrouded in the haze of time.
Two wild pony herds live on the 37-mile long Assateague Island, a barrier island off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. The northern two-thirds of the island belong to Maryland, the southern third to Virginia. The herds are separated by a fence along the state borders.
It seemed a good time to mention to Nate that while researching, I had found these animals sometimes referred to as ponies and other times as horses. What is the difference? “The difference,” Nate explained, “depends on the height of the animal, if it is up to fourteen and a half hands high, it is a pony. Anything above fourteen and a half hands is a horse.”
At last, we arrived at a site where a group of wild ponies was grazing close to the water! The ponies like to congregate in small numbers called ‘bands,’ usually a stallion and several mares. How exhilarating to see these marvelous creatures! Brown and white in the pinto pattern, they looked well nourished, calm and happy.
They look so tame that people sometimes forget that these are wild animals. But they should not be approached, let alone petted. They might feel threatened and could react aggressively. Admire them from a reasonable distance, they are wild and how lovely it is to see them enjoying their free life.
These ponies feed on salt marsh cord grass, dune grasses, bayberry twigs, rosehips & persimmons. Their kidneys are larger than those of other equines, that’s because they need to drink large quantities of water to be able to process all the salt in their feed. To my question, “Where do they find fresh water?” Nate said there are freshwater ponds on the island, but these ponies can drink sweet, salt, and brackish water. In fact, Nate said, at one point people tried to introduce other horses, such as mustangs, but they couldn’t handle the amount of salt in their diet. These wild ponies are uniquely adapted to their environment. Just another proof of how wise Mother Nature is!
Blue Crabs
Ah, if this wasn’t enough, we were in for one more treat: a blue crab catcher! Standing on his wide and low — just a couple of feet high — wooden boat, he was pulling cages filled with crabs out of the water, and then lowered the empty cages baited with fresh oily fish, such as menhaden, back into the water.
Maryland blue crabs are delicious and tremendously popular. Especially in Maryland, you can hardly escape seeing images of blue crabs on advertising boards, restaurants, flyers everywhere. And of course, on every menu!
There are strict regulations concerning harvesting size: male blue crabs have to be at least five inches across, not counting their legs; there is no size limitation for mature female crabs.
Blue crabs don’t like cold water, so in winter they retreat to deeper waters and burrow themselves into the muddy or sandy bottoms where they stay dormant until the temperature rises again.
Our unforgettable two-and-a-half-hour tour had to end, and we made our way back to our starting point. Nate is the best guide one could wish for. He is from Chincoteague and has been conducting these tours for the past ten years. You can tell by Nate’s facial expression and the tone of his voice that he is passionate about Chincoteague, its wildlife, and sharing his vast knowledge with his guests.
Approx. travel time to Chincoateague Island:
From Ocean City, Maryland: 1 hour
From Washington, DC or Philadelphia, PA: 3.5 hours
From Virginia Beach: 2 hours
Daisey’s Island Cruises: www.daiseysislandcruises.com/
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov/refuge/Chincoteague/about.html
2 comments
I’m ready! Thanks for sharing Renate. –MaryGo
I enjoyed reading this, Renate. It felt like I was right there with you.
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