Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge invites students K-12 attending public, private, or home schools to participate in the 2012 Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest.

“The competition is an art-based educational program that allows students to participate in a nationwide waterfowl arts competition. The process also exposes students to the nation’s wealth of migratory waterfowl and motivates students to take active roles in conserving these species,” said Virginia Junior Duck Stamp Program Coordinator, Aubrey Hall.

Ms. Hall also emphasized that “the program is meant to be a fun journey into the world of waterfowl. The artistic skill level of the students is not the focus of the contest. Not only do we want artwork from all children, we enjoy seeing the variety of pictures that the students produce”.

All students entering the state contest will receive a Certificate of Participation.  Entries may also receive prizes or honorable mention ribbons. The State Best of Show will represent Virginia in the national competition.  National awards include a complimentary trip to the First Day of Duck Stamp Sales Ceremony in Washington, DC and a monetary award.

Participants select a bird from a list of native North American waterfowl.  Other design guidelines include, but are not limited to: a size of 9”x12” not exceeding ¼” in total thickness; horizontal orientation; and the absence of lettering, words, or signatures on the front of the design. For more information contact refuge staff or explore the Federal Duck Stamp website (http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/).

Entries must be mailed to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 62, Chincoteague, VA 23336 and postmarked by midnight, March 15, 2010.  Judging will occur Friday March 23, 2012.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.  We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals commitment to public service.  For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Publisher, Wild Pony Tales

This is the time of year when the outstanding work of the biologists and park rangers at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the National Park Service is showcased, helped along of course by the arrival of the snow geese and other migrating waterfowl.

I sometimes worry that the year-long fallout from the alternative beach parking controversy will overshadow all that is good about having the Refuge so close, about having a place we can go where it is quiet and we can, at least for a few hours, give our minds a break.

No matter what our views are on the future of beach parking and refuge management let’s not forget to give credit to the highly qualified and dedicated staff members who keep the place running every day of the year. I do not say this tritely or lightly.

I have taken our writers to Assateague many times to gather information for the stories on this website and I cannot recall an instance when our sources – I mean Lou Hinds, his managers, the biologists and park rangers – were not helpful and knowledgeable. Most of the people at the Refuge have degrees it took them years to obtain.

When I was teaching journalism in middle school I would sometimes have a student working on a class assignment call Amanda Daisy, the wildlife biologist, right from class, a real life interview by a 6th or 7th grader.

On a sad note I want to mention a park ranger who was especially helpful to us, Barry Brookshire. Barry was at the Refuge for 16 months until his contract ran out and then he returned to his home in Texas. But soon after he was found to have a malignant tumor in his colon. Doctors were successful in treating Barry but he has been unable to return to work. While at the Refuge he answered many questions for our young writers with all the patience of the teacher that he once was. At the Refuge Barry was what he called a “roving ranger,” moving around the pathways, talking to people, answering questions. If he didn’t know the answer he would go and find it.

Waterfowl Week is a special time at the Refuge. We have the event highlights in another story but what follows are more details, the times, places and descriptions of the activities coming up over Thanksgiving. Every single event is worth attending.

One of the big issues I have with the whole Assateague show is how easy it is to come here and never see a pony, or see them only at a great distance. When our niece, Marcy, was little I don’t think we got to see any ponies, except the ones at McDonalds for which I was thankful, until her third visit. And she only made it here once a year. We did see plenty of evidence, but few ponies.

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By Kate White

Co-Editor, Wild Pony Tales

If the two members of the Maryland Conservation Corps who gave a presentation on raptors at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge were looking for an enthusiastic audience they had to look no further than the first two rows of the auditorium.

It was the International Migratory Bird Day Festival at the Virginia refuge and two representatives from the Maryland Park Service had taken their Scales and Tales program on the road.

On the first two rows were members of the visiting O’Brian family from New Jersey. So when the presenters asked questions, such as what adaption meant and what was camouflage the hands of the younger spectators were ready and waiting. Their hands went up quickly followed by enthusiastic answers.

Erica McGrath told the audience the program she and her assistant, Samantha Ford, worked in was called Scales and Tales. Erica explained that what they do is take care of animals they find in captivity and mistreated or found unable to take care of themselves in the wild. Once in Sales and Tales  the animals and birds are treated for and taken care for until they die.

Sales and Tales is located at the Pocomoke River State Park, just north of the Virginia line.

The presenters were part of the program of events for the Bird Celebration held at the Virginia refuge. All of the events were held just outside or inside the Bateman Educational Center where visitors can buy gifts and find out what they can see on the Eastern Shore refuge which runs all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

So on May 11, people crowded inside checking out the different exhibits. (See separate story on the exhibits and artists.)

 In the afternoon, people began carrying cages in one by one. Guests were very curious as to what they were soon going to be doing. As more tourists and familiar faces arrived, a sign pointed everyone to a showing that was to be held in the auditorium called “Raptors,” featuring animals of prey and reptiles from the wild.

The host, Ms. Mcgrath, first presented a small box turtle. She said the cold-blooded reptile was run over by accident and was left on the side of the road. She told how these animals, do not sweat. Just like a dog, they have their mouths open breathing heavily to regain normal temperature and feel a lot cooler. The shell of a box turtle and any other turtle , is a form of camouflage. This coloring is called scoot. The color from a bird’s eye view makes it look like leaves on the ground floor. After years though, the coloring begins to chip off. It is also a part of the body that grows from the time it was born. The shell is attached to their body and cannot be taken off. To a turtle, the shell also works as a human ribcage.  

To tell whether it’s a girl or a boy, the trick is to look at the eyes. Boy’s have the dark red eyes but very rarely girls do get them and that could make everything confusing. So the most accurate way is to examine the belly of it and notice the lower bottom part. If the imprint looks like a thumb was there and pressed hard, that’s a sign the turtle’s male. For girls, the shell is more straightened and not as caved in.

At the end of the turtle section, a child asked the name of it. But it turns out that animals in the Sales and Tales program aren’t named because they feel it shows respect that they are from the wild.

When Erica pulled an Eastern King Snake from the bag, most of the girls pushed back in their seats. The children down front were only a few feet away. The way to tell it’s a King Snake, is by the marks of white trailing from start of neck to the end.  Most of the time, these snakes live up to 20 years total in captivity which is much more than in the wild, seven years. In the wild, they eat almost anything their jaws can fit around. Rats, snakes, and other reptiles are the main sources of this snake’s diet. To find food, their forked tongue goes in and out and takes samples of smells that determine heat.

The way it traps its prey is by constricting it slowly tightening the grip every time the trapped animal breathes out which is basically suffocating it. The King Snake is also immune to other snake’s venom unless it goes directly into their bloodstream. The stomach is so airtight that if they were to swallow venom it wouldn’t touch anything else and would be completely harmless to their body.

Next, a small brown owl with a bit of dark brown and specks of white was shown. The Screech Owl is the second smallest owl. On average, the weight is about 7.3 oz. Humans have seven vertebras in their neck. Owls however, have 14. That means their necks can turn a lot more than ours ever would. But it’s not true they can turn it 360 degrees. The most an owl’s head may turn is 270 degrees which gives the illusion its head can spin all the way back. Something pointed out to us was that on any owl their ears are not even. This deals with hearing different levels of the forest. the lower one can hear what’s happening below or farther down as the upper ear hole hears noises that come from high above them.

Also, the tuffs on their head that are commonly mistaken for ears are actually the owl’s eyebrows. They change the expression based on mood just as we do. When they are up, the owl is definitely alert and on guard. When they push down and droop, it’s possible they are either angry or sad. An apple core was thrown out the window of a passing vehicle and a wild animal, specifically a mouse, began to eat it. When the owl saw it, it swooped down and was hit by a wind gust estimated around 55 mph. It was unable to fly correctly afterwards and the wing still hasn’t healed.

The broad winged hawk they showed us was hit by a car with such impact, that the hawk’s jaw dislocated, ruined the eyesight and damaged the car’s siding. The eyesight is very important for a hawk especially because they have what’s called “binocular vision.” It involves depth perception which includes how far things are and how wide. With one eye it makes everything a bit more challenging when that’s needed to survive.

To catch an animal, they use speed rather than stealth as an owl does. The pressure they use with their clawed talons is more than 100 pounds. Human fingers only need to be attacked by seven pounds to break. A hawk’s beak keeps growing. In the wild, that can mean they have to stop eating because the top part grows so hooked the bottom cannot open. In captivity they fix this to make sure such a problem is not possible.

The last animal that was shown to us was a huge, white owl with black eyes. The barred owl is one of two owl species that have full black eyes. The other being the barn owl. Just as turtles and dogs, they have no sweat glands so breathing heavily with their mouth open helps cool them off easily.

A barred owl’s diet ranges from snakes and chipmunks to raccoons, mice and even smaller owls. Their wings unlike a hawk’s, are meant to be stealthy and as quiet as possible. Wings of an owl have serrated edges to stay quiet and talons that have 250 pounds of pressure with feathering on their legs as well. One wing on this owl was actually amputated because of damage to a wing. Wildlife officials believe it was an accident involving a car hitting it.

Scales and Tales is part of the environmental education program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Presentations can be seen at the Pocomoke River State Park. You can call 410-632-2566 for more information or email the park at jbitzel@dnr.state.md.us.

By Misty Thornton

Co-Editor, Wild Pony Tales

On an hot early morning on Assateague Island, VA, bird-lovers, park rangers and visitors gathered to enjoy a day full of family learning as well as some games and entertaining exhibits.

As we crossed the Assateague Channel Bridge to the beautiful island of Assateague, the air was moist and the sun was hot, but nothing was going to stop the excitement that was fluttering in the hearts of children and their parents. At the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge parking lots were filling up fast as people from all around came to enjoy themselves at the International Migratory Bird Day Festival.

Tee shirts and carving lessons were available just ouside the refuge information center, along with hotdogs and bottles of water.

Walking through the first set of doors to the information center four exhibits lined the lobby’s walls. Carver Bill Cowen had on display about 20 of his best power carved birds of all shapes and sizes from an arrangement of owls to a bright red cardinal.

Mr. Cowen said one of his birds made second best in the world at a competition.  As a carving teacher of about 30 years he said, “I love carving. It’s just something you can sit back, relax, and not even think about it. It’s like everything around you disappears and only you and your carvings are left.”  Mr. Cowen has a place on the island but mainly lives in New Jersey with his family and his business.

Then, there was an assortment of birds, ducks, and fish carvings on the next table done by Ed Kuhn of Onancock, VA., and there was also an exhibit that had photographs of birds, sunsets and wildlife taken by Robert Wilson.

The next exhibit was by Donnie Thornton. His had bird feathers with hand painted fine art on the front. He’s lived on the island all his life and painting feathers is just what comes natural. He’s been painting island houses, ponies, birds and plants on feathers for 17 years now. “When I’m not painting, I’m playing with my horse, Nugget,” said Mr. Thornton.

Inside the information center there was plenty more for visitors to experience. The conference room was the place for children. There was face painting, woodcarving for kids, experts to talk about birds and fuzzy, live birds that would later get center stage in the Scales and Tales program in the auditorium.

Coming out of the conference room and back into the main center, were two main exhibits. Residents Wayne and JeanBonde had on exhibit a large variety of duck stamps representing each year since 1934.

“The migratory bird stamps have been around since the first one in 1934. We decided to collect them which meant we had to go back and get all the other stamps in the series that we didn’t have from 1934 until 1977, ” said Ms. Bonde. “We went to stamp shows trying to find as inexpensive  used ones as we could fine. It took us a while, maybe about 20 years.”

In the meantime, in 1977, they started buying a migratory bird stamp each year which keeps them up to date. The older used stamps, 1934 up to 1977, are all signed by the hunters using them.  “It is a requirement,” explained Mr. Bonde, “if you are going to hunt waterfowl, that you have one of the migratory bird stamps signed by you in your possession for that year. From 1977 on, all the migratory bird stamps I have are unsigned.

Right now a migratory bird stamp costs $15. “They can also be used to gain entrances onto refuges and state parks,” said Mr. Bonde.

Further along in the information center was an artist, Jenny Somers, who had hand painted over 50 pictures. She lives on Chincoteague. “Every moment of free time I have I’m usually painting the scenery and the world around me. What a better place to do that then right outside of my home.”

There were exhibits of photographs and more paintings. One thing that attracted the most attention wasn’t an exhibit at all. It was the live eagle cam which brings the eagles and on that day just-born eaglets right onto a TV screen in the information center. The actual nest is high in the pines just off the Wildlife Loop. With visitors and Wild Pony Tales cameras looking on the first of two eggs hatched right before our eyes. Visitors were overjoyed to see the mother caring for her baby. The two eggs were special to the refuge staff because the first three eggs had been destroyed in a wind storm.  (See separate story on the site.)

When the excitement died down it was time for the Scales and Tales presentation where Erica Mcgrath and Samantha Ford from the Conservation Corp. in Maryland gave detailed information on their animals they brought with them from Pocomoke River State Park. Their animals all have been wounded at some point in their life and have been taken under the park’s wing. The animals included from owls, turtles, falcons and even an Eastern King Snake. (See a separate story.)

The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the National Park Service both hold events and programs for families and children throughout the summer.

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By Kate White and Robert Boswell

By now one of the three eaglets in the nest atop the tall loblolly pines on the Wildlife Loop would have used its egg tooth to break through the outer shell, taking a first breath, and soon opening eyes to see the real world it had just entered.

But instead, the eggs, three of them, are somewhere at the bottom of the trees, victims of the 71 mph winds that blew across the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on February 25, knocking part of the nest down and disappointing visitors who had been coming to the refuge visitor center to see nature in real time on the live cam, eagle parents sitting on three eggs, waiting for new life.

The parent eagles, like in years past, had returned to their nest in January, bringing up sticks and branches to make repairs and then, right on schedule lay three eggs. Three eggs that were never to hatch.

The disappointment of the fallen nest hit park ranger Sally Bowden like a brick when she opened the visitor center Saturday morning, February 26. On her way to work, she had gotten a cell phone call from Robert Meehan, a maintenance employee, who comes in early to power up the exhibits including the popular eagle camera where so many visitors had watched the eagles rebuilding, sitting on their eggs and getting ready for parenthood.

“I came into the visitor center around 8:45 Saturday. I walked back here (to the live cam) and about died,” said Ms. Bowden. “When I saw the nest and no eggs, I knew right away what had happened.”

Ms. Bowden said she wrote it the log book, a journal kept by the refuge on a table below the camera where visitors had been recording their comments since the nest rebuilding had begun.  “When I opened the visitor center at 9 a.m. we had 180 folks that Saturday and they were very disappointed, almost in tears. We were handing out Kleenexes.”

Some of the visitors came every weekend and almost every day to check on the progress of the eggs, Ms. Bowden said. “The first one was due to hatch this weekend, March 4-7.

So will the eagles lay more eggs? “The eagles have been observed mating and rebuilding the nest,” said the park ranger, “but it is up to nature whether or not they will lay eggs again. At this point, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed.”

In fact, the eagles came back to the nest Saturday morning, after the Friday wind, and brought along a duck to eat, perhaps to have something aboard when the little ones were ready. No one knows, of course, what they felt when they discovered their eggs and part of the nest missing. But the eagles were seen sitting on the nest and rearranging as if the eggs were still there.

It was not the first time nature had dealt a heavy hand to young wildlife on Assateague Island. On July 3, 2008 a biologist discovered a full nest of loggerhead turtle eggs in the sand of Toms Cove Hook. Excitement spread among the refuge staff , only to turn to sadness when a September nor’easter sent waves crashing ashore, saturating the egg chamber and drowning all 166 hatchlings.

The eagle cam has become a very popular attraction in the Bateman Center, the place where many of the 1.4 million visitors to the refuge begin their trip.

When there are eagle babies in the nest visitors can see parents taking turns on the nest and feeding. But the menu will not be like anything a newborn human might eat at home. The eaglets grow strong on a diet of regurgitated fish, rabbit, snake, duck, turtle and perhaps a piece of squirrel.

Questions about the eagles can be directed to the visitor center through email at FW5RW_CNWR@fws.gov and by phone 757-336-6122. Other developments can be found on http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/ Those who want more eagle details can go to www.nationaleaglecenters.org.

The habitat of the wildlife refuge is a wonderful area to have these birds because it has mostly what the eagle considers as food, said Ossana Wolff, another park ranger.  Ms. Wolff  said the waiting time for hatchlings could take 35 days. “Often one or more of the eaglets don’t make it.” The newborn has a furry body with grayish-white skin and a smoky beak. “At this time their only protection is their parents,” said Ms. Wolff. “The offspring that lives are taught how to fly when they are two or three months old.

The journal by now has many messages left by visitors. One child left a drawing of both parent eagles. Another wrote, “Eagles both still building like they have a deadline to meet.” Yet another, “Both eagles are on the nesting spot. The male seems to be calling the shots,” and another wrote, “Both eagles are on the nest. They seem to be having a disagreement about a stick.”

Kate White, a 9^th grader at Arcadia High School,  is co-editor and Mr. Boswell is publisher of www.wildponytales.info, a web magazine that covers Chincoteague and Assateague Islands in Virginia.

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By Kate White

Right on schedule, to the pure delight of visitors who find their way to the live cam at the back of the exhibit area at the information center on Assateague Island, the eagles have returned to their nest, made repairs and are now sitting on two eggs.

People can stay as long as they want and many leave entries in the Eagle Eye, a journal where visitors can record a message, or like one child did, a drawing

The Eagle Cam has become a very popular attraction in the Bateman Center on Assateague, the place where many of the 1.4 million visitors to the refuge begin their trip.

Questions about the eagles can be directed to the visitor center through email at FW5RW_CNWR@fws.gov and by phone 757-336-6122. Other developments can be found on at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/

When the young eagles arrive in about five weeks visitors can see the parents taking turns on the nest and feeding their babies. But the menu will not be like anything a newborn might eat at home. For the eaglets it will be  fish, rabbits, snakes, duck, turtles and perhaps a piece of squirrel.

The habitat of the wildlife refuge is a wonderful area to have these birds because it has mostly what the eagle considers as food, said Ossana Wolff, a park ranger.  “Every once and a while we’ll see one of them bring up a whole fish to feed on, but most times they just cut it apart. They are very opportunistic.”

 The eagles spend most of their time in high places scoping out food from up in some of the tall loblolly pine trees that are found throughout the island.

Ms. Wolff is one of the newest park rangers. She originally came from the Washington D.C. area.  She attended Virginia Tech, and received a degree in Natural Resources Conservation. She helps out in camps held at the refuge throughout the summer.

The cam attracts regulars from the island of Chincoteague, Ms. Wolff said,  and also people who come in frequently time to time just to see the camera and check on the eagles. The storm a few months back brought this all to a halt and put the camera out of order. Recently, it has been fixed and the camera’s fans are coming back fast.

During the late days of January and the first days of February, the eagles lay their eggs, usually two or three. The waiting time for the hatchlings could take 35 days. Not all the eaglets live. The newborn has furry body with grayish-white skin and a smokey beak. At this time, their only protections are their parents. The offspring that lives are taught how to fly when they are two or three months old.

The comments left in the journal by guests go from the present to the first day the camera was turned on.

 Their nest looks to be about ½ an eagle body long and 3 eagle bodies wide, larger than It was a week ago, one visitor wrote. Here are some other comments.

1/11/11

Eagles both still building like they have a deadline to meet.

Eagles Cam Fan

1/10/11

Both eagles are on the nesting spot. The male seems to be calling the shots.

Eagle Cam Fan

1/3/11

Both Eagles are on the nest. They seem to be having a disagreement about a stick.

Eagles Cam Fan

Right now, the eagles are rebuilding the nest from recent destruction by the wind of the storm which was around 25 to 26 mph. They have recovered most of their nest recently in only a few weeks time, but it’s still not finished. “They bring back more bits and pieces of foliage of leaves and twigs when they return to their home, and it’s visible to see what they added that day that wasn’t there before”, said Ms. Wolff. “It is built higher than 55 feet.” What they usually do at the tree is keep watch over it and mess around with the nest packing it together, so it’s secure.

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The first time I ever saw the river otter, I was pretty sure it was a muskrat or maybe a beaver. I was watching the bank side for birds to photograph, when I heard a faint splash.

I looked out into the water and saw a smooth body that was brown and thin. At first I thought maybe it was a snake, but then it came up again revealing a small head with whiskers on the side. I watched it slowly make its way along the bank, and he was literally gliding in the water, twisting and twirling all the time.

I looked over to Mr. and Mrs. Boswell, who were following in the car, and said, “that’s an otter, and went chasing after it.” It was one of the most exciting moments I experienced since we began shooting photos for our website. In a situation like this you can be glad you know your camera equipment. There isn’t time to think about settings, you barely have time to focus and shoot. With my heart pounding, I just knew I had a chance of getting some of our best shots. I was not disappointed.

After swimming and diving his way along the waterway, he, maybe it was a she, turned away from me and climbed up on the bank on the opposite side from me, but still not more than 25 feet away.

Otters, being curious creatures, are interested in almost anything, so as soon as I started making some clucking noises, he quickly turned his head my way and looked right at me. Then he decided to put on an act. It looked like he was performing a little dance, but really all he was doing was shaking off some water, turning around and around. Then he just plopped right down on the bank, enjoying the warm sun.

After a little while he slid off the bank into the water continuing back the way he had come. A few weeks later we photographed another otter, or maybe it was the same one. But the thrill of those few minutes with my dancing otter is something I will never forget. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I did taking them.

Otter Facts:

* The range of the river otter is throughout Virginia. This species is semi-aquatic or almost entirely aquatic and they are most abundant in food-rich coastal areas and the lower parts of streams and rivers.

* The breeding season is about 3 months in the late winter and early spring. A litter of 1-6 kits is born from March to April in natal dens (overhanging banks, tree knots and abandoned stream bank burrows). This species does not dig its own burrow. The male avoids the area of birth but rejoins the family while the young learn to swim.

* The family group stays together for 6 months-1 year. They are active at any hour and season. They feed mostly from dawn-midmorning, and in the evening. The life span for the otter in the wild is usually 8-9 years.

* River otters can live no more than a few hundred meters from the water. Clean and unpolluted waterways isolated from human contact is preferred by the river otter. Their aquatic habitat consists of log jams and submerged trees. They occasionally use duck blinds and abandoned boat houses.

* Otters have a total length from 3 to 4.2 feet, and a weight of 10-25 pounds. The males are larger than the females.

* The river otter is recognizable from other creatures as river otters have a streamlined body. They also have short legs and webbed toes. Another characteristic is that the river otter has small eyes and ears.

* River otters can swim at around seven miles per hour and dive to 35 feet. When the otter dives flaps of skin close-off the otter’s nose as well as ears. This allows it to stay underwater for two minutes or longer before it must come up for air.

* One of the biggest things about the otter is that it has a long tapering tail which is thick at the base and thin at the tip and helps the otter navigate through the water rapidly. The tail measures 40 to 50 inches long. Males are larger than females in most cases and have a mass which averages 5-10 kilograms. The weight of an adult otter ranges from 11 to 33 pounds.

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By Wilma Young

Welcome to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Today you will be walking the Woodland Trail. We can’t know in advance all the things you will encounter on the trail, but we can give you an idea of the possibilities and probabilities.

Before you begin your walk, just as your car turns off the Beach Road onto the Woodland Trail, there’s a landmark on your right. Just a few slabs of concrete in a tangle of greenbrier vines. This is all that’s left of an old life saving station- probably a portion of the cistern. In the previous century there were four of these stations on Assateague Island. Two of them were here on the Virginia’s end of the island.

Imagine now that it’s the eighteenth century. You would have been near the shore line, hearing the surf; instead of which, you are hearing the sounds of the pine forest, nearly a mile from the beach. Barrier islands grow and change rapidly. They are always in transition.

The Assateague Beach Life Saving Station was established in 1875. It wouldn’t have been manned in summer weather, but between August and June, a keeper and six or eight men were on duty twenty-four hours a day. These surf-men got room, board and twenty dollars a month in pay. You won’t, be surprised to learn that they trapped Muskrats to supplement their incomes. They not only endangered their lives rescuing crew men and saving the ships, they also did beach patrol, returning lost property they found, giving assistance to hunters and fishermen who had gotten lost on the island and providing them with food and lodging. In times of storm and high tides, they evacuated families who lived on the islands.

As you walk through the forest, you may encounter a Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel. You will recognize him by his unusual size. He’s the largest of the tree squirrels, weighing up to three pounds and tail included, may be up to thirty inches long. His coat varies in color from light grey with silver chest and belly, to nearly black. Smaller species of squirrel seem to dash recklessly through the tree tops, traveling on tiny branches and launching themselves through the air, catching a nearby limb as if they were trapeze artists. The Delmarva’s are more cautious in the tree tops, running on larger limbs more suited to supporting their weight. They spend a great deal of time on the ground.  Now and then a grey squirrel may share habitat with the Delmarva’s. We try to discourage this by transporting them to more suitable areas as it is the Delmarva’s who are endangered.

Once, the Delmarva’s were common on the Delmarva Peninsula, ranging into New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They depended on the Loblolly Pine for shelter as well as for the supply of seeds from the cones of the pine. Clear cutting of the forest denied them the advantages of food, shelter and space and moved them into the endangered category.

 By the 1920′s, they were extinct in all states except Maryland. Between 1968 and 1971, thirty of these squirrels were moved here to Chincoteague Refuge where they were released near the lighthouse and here on the woodland trail. They seem to be prospering here as they have not only loblolly seeds to eat but also acorns, and buds and flowers of trees.

The Maritime Forest provides loblollies for the squirrels to make nests in and the occasional Hardwood Hollow Trees for dens. The refuge provides nesting boxes as well.

 Odd name: Loblolly. One researcher writes that the early settlers were impressed with the ever presence of this versatile pine and named it for the common and ever-present breakfast food of England- their porridge known as Loblolly. Lob is of the Middle English origin and meant literally “thick” and Lolly was a dialect word for broth. Loblolly also means “a mud puddle” which doesn’t say much for the porridge- but perhaps we can justify it for the loblolly tree because this pine does like to have its roots in a damp environment.

As the Loblolly grows taller, the lower branches fall which gives the forest a relatively clear understory with not too many places for predators to hide.

The Great Horned Owl may silently sweep down in the dusk and pick off a young squirrel. Owls have special soft downy feathers at wings’ edge which eliminate the flapping noise most birds produce in flight. These owls haven’t large ears- just tufts of feathers on either side of the top of the head. Small creatures must be especially vigilant because the owls have eyes positioned on the front of their heads giving them better binocular vision than birds with eyes on the sides of their heads. The owl doesn’t have moonlight or starlight every night that he’s hungry, so he listens too for rodents rustling in the leaves. This is the owl whose haunting mournful call is often used on movie sound tracks.

The understory isn’t completely clear. Greenbrier is a thorny tangled vine with heart shaped leaves that gives the squirrel a hiding place on the ground and would trip the unwary human and would certainly impede other predators.

Trumpet Creepers and grape vines add to the tangle in some parts of the forest. Poison Ivy achieves spectacular growth in this environment with the stems reaching the thickness of your forearm and climbing to the tops of the pine trees. The fruit, twigs and berries provide excellent and abundant food supply for white tailed deer, sikas, possums, ponies and at least fifty species of birds.

If you see a small heart-shaped face peering at you from a thicket, it’s our Sika. You’ve heard about them if you’ve been on the refuge more than ten minutes. These are the small Asian elk with the distinctive white patch on their rumps – their trademark- the powder-puff behind. A few Sikas, probably less than twenty were released on the island in the 1920’s.  Present population estimate is somewhat less than a thousand.

When you reach the pony overlook you will be facing an area of marsh with groundsel and marsh elder, flea bane and seaside goldenrod in season.

In the distance is the red and white 142 foot horizontally striped lighthouse about a mile and a half away. This is surprising when you remember that when the original 45 foot lighthouse was built in 1833 it stood near open sea. Toms Hook, the curved sandy stretch of the island has developed since the mid 1800′s.

To both right and left are small stands of Loblollies on slightly raised land areas. Often there are ponies loafing under the trees.

Where did these shaggy ponies come from?  You may take your choice of fact or legend. The early islanders let their live stock graze on the Barrier islands. These may be the descendents of those horses who have adapted to the harsh environment. Or you may choose to accept the stories of horses shipwrecked in the 1700’s – which swam to the safety of the islands and established a colony here. If you have a romantic streak, you may blend fact and legend. In any case, enjoy these hardy little island dwellers.

After leaving the pony overlook, you’ll come into an area where pools of fresh water stand near the trail. Here the vines and small shrubs are thicker and here is where you’ll find a large amount of bird activity.

You may be thinking that if it’s damp there’s a chance of snakes and amphibians- and you’d be correct. But don’t panic. As far as we know there are no venomous reptiles in residence here. We do have Hognose Snakes. This fellow gets his name from an up-turned snout. If threatened, he puts on a brave front; hisses, puffs out his head, and if this fails to make you back off, he will lie on his back, tongue hanging out of his gaping mouth and play dead.

The Black Rat Snake grows quite long; possibly 5 feet and is an excellent tree climber – often living in tree cavities. He is not venomous either.

Here near the fresh water ponds and brackish marshes you may find southern leopard frogs. They come in green or brown.

 The other amphibians you’re likely to encounter on the refuge are Fowler’s toads. They appear on sandy trails or around buildings. Their skin is dry, usually in shades of brown or grey with pale chests.

There’s a slight possibility of meeting a Red-Backed Salamander. They are only two and to five inches long. Not threatening creatures.

As this site is on the Atlantic flyway, we have a great many species of birds who visit us. We can’t begin to guess which ones you’ll encounter…it’s all up to season, weather and chance. Over Three hundred have been identified on this refuge, and twenty that have been seen only once or twice. Would you believe that the common house sparrow, The English Sparrow… falls into the Latter category, having been seen here only rarely. Oddly enough they are commonly seen on the next island to our west on Chincoteague Island.

 Warblers are frequent visitors to our refuge, some of them like the Pine Warbler and Prairie Warbler nesting here. Yellow Rumped Warblers were formerly called Myrtle Warblers because of their preference for the berries of the wax Myrtle bushes. Those berries are wax like and few other birds are able to digest them.

Red Eyed and White Eyed Vireos both nest here. These little fellows hide in myrtle thickets which provide excellent camouflage. During breeding season they sing throughout the day.

Bald eagles may be seen soaring over the refuge. . They aren’t bald you know, they have white feathers on their heads.  Turkey Vultures, often seen wheeling in the neighborhood really is bald.

If you don’t see woodpeckers along this trail, you’ll probably hear them. They peck at trees to locate food and also do a good bit of hammering in lieu of song, to impress their mates and also establish territory. Downy, hairy and Red Bellied Woodpeckers are seen here as well as Pileated Woodpeckers. The northern flicker is common as well. The Red Woodpecker is an occasional visitor.

You may hear a great scuffling in the leaves, in which case, look for the Rufous-sided Towhee leaves; he is, as his name suggests, rusty reddish brown. He has named himself, shouting “see tow See” although some listeners say he is asking you to “drink your tea”.

You’ll not be surprised to see Starlings here. From a flock of one hundred birds released in Manhattan in 1890, they have spread across the continent.  Their consumption of insects may be the one favorable characteristic of this bird.

You see, we’re nowhere near covering the three hundred plus species you might encounter: Owls, Buntings, Cardinals, Chickadees, Juncos… the list goes on…but walk the trail with alert.

Wilma Young served as a senior volunteer at several national parks, coming to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge three times. 

Her last stay at the Chincoteague refuge was just before her 80th birthday in 1997-98. On this third stay she served as an environmental education teacher for the Chincoteague Natural History Association. As a volunteer in her first two summers, along with the various duties she was given, Wilma found time to write. She spent hours reading about Chincoteague history and conducting research in the libraries. Some of her articles later found their way onto the Refuge web site, some were published in our local newspapers and some were used as trail guides for other volunteers. Today, at the age of 90, Wilma is as intensely interested in protecting our planet as she ever was. She can talk non-stop about the ways we humans have found to cause harm to our environment. She is passionate about things most people never take the time to learn. Years ago she wrote a story for her granddaughter, explaining why she often wasn’t home. “Every living thing depends on other living things and although we know a lot of the connections, we don’t know them all.” In explaining her work with the Refuge to her granddaughter, Wilma wrote, “…I help report the numbers on the goose collars…I answer questions our visitors have about all the wild creatures…I notify the biologists of any reports of unusual sightings of sick animal or creatures caught in nets…sometimes I pick up trash on the beach…I wander the trails, answering more questions…and best of all I look up a lot of stuff then write about it to help people understand how much we all need each other.” It is hard to find the words to describe this caring, kind and concerned grandmother. But her precise and accurate writing speaks for itself. We are pleased to publish her work in Wild Pony Tales. – Robert Boswell, publisher. 

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By Misty Thornton

Each year thousands of pony lovers arrive on the island of Chincoteague, Virginia the last week in July just to wrap their eyes around the famous Chincoteague ponies, many for a whole week full of fun and sight-seeing.

The Saltwater Cowboys, almost as famous as the Chincoteague ponies, begin their work on Saturday, the week before Pony Penning,  with the roundup of the southern herd. Then, on Sunday they move to the northern range at the tip of the Virginia side of the island to round up the larger herd of around 100 ponies plus foals. Where the land is so much bigger than the southern range, it  takes longer to round the ponies up and put them into their corra l. The northern herd is less seen by the public because the access road, which runs 7.5 miles into the wilderness, is only open to hikers.

Both the southern and northern ranges are part of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The ponies are owned by the Chincotegue Volunteer Fire Company.

The swim which takes place on Wednesday of “Pony Week” is the event that brings 30,000 to 40,000 visitors to this small island off the Virginia coast, but on the last Monday in July what’s known as the Beach Run has become its own attraction. More than 3,000 visitors made up of  vacationers, pony-lovers and pony bidders line the Assateague beach early in the morning  to see the northern herd escorted along the Atlantic Ocean to the  southern corral on Beach Road.  This day is just the start of the  Pony Penning, a weeklong event.

This year’s beach run started off with traffic backed up just as visitors arrived on the bridge to Assateague Island before 6 a.m. because only one toll booth was open and collecting money. So everyone had to wait in a very impatient line to enter the island. When we finally got onto Assateague, the parking lot for the beach was packed.

Walking north from the parking lot, we joined the crowd in search of the perfect viewing spot. As we walked along the beach we saw family after family with their beach equipment, towels, water, binoculars, sunscreen,  chairs and anything else they could carry to help them pass the hour-plus wait as the sun rose over the Atlantic. Everyone was settling down in what they hoped would be  just the right spot to catch an early morning glimpse of the Chincoteague wild ponies.

One of these early morning families was from Maryland. Their family car wasn’t the regular car with the total of five seats in all. It was a strtch limo, with enough seats for the parents to carry all 10 of their children. “We always thought it would be nice to bring the kids here, and we’ve been coming for a couple years now,” said Tammy, the mother.

The wait was on but it wasn’t so bad. As the sun started to rise, the ripples in the water made it look like the horizon of orange and yellow was exploding into waves that crashed along the island sand. Children played in the ripples with their bathing suits on, and little ones dug holes into the sand to try and build some small sand castles.

After a wait of nearly two hours, at 7:30 a.m. the ponies appeared in a distance through light fog, all encouraged along by the Cowboys in a tight formation. As they passed, spectators cheered, most getting their first up-close look at a Chincoteague pony.

Except for a few “buybacks” the foals, even those just born, would not return to Assateague.  Most would be taken to new homes by owners who cast the highest bids at the upcoming auction on Thursday. Buybacks are a few chosen ponies that are auctioned off but returned to the herd.

The end of their trip on this Monday were the big corrals on the Beach Road curve, where all ponies from both herds and all their foals would spend the night.

Nestled by their mothers, the foals slept and nursed while the parents ate and drank the fresh water that was awaiting them when they entered the corral to join the southern ponies. Groups of ponies played and pranced about sometimes accidentally bumping into their mothers. Life in the corral would only last until early Wednesday morning, known as swim day, when the ponies would either swim or go by trailer lighting up the eyes of thousands who had come from across the nation to see them.

The writer celebrated her 90th birthday in November. In the late 1980’s, she served as a volunteer and intern at several national parks, including the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Along with her volunteer duties, she found time to make use of her research and writing talents. This is one of a number of articles and trail guides she wrote. Following a chance meeting with Wild Pony Tales publisher, Robert Boswell, four years ago on the Chincoteague Refuge tour bus, she made this article and others available to the website.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge was created for migratory birds in 1943 and is suitably located on the Atlantic flyway. The refuge is a major stopover and wintering area for waterfowl and spring migrations of shorebirds are tremendous, with the peak migration of songbirds through the area occurring during April. People often think of waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds as the most important of the migratory birds, and these birds are, of course, seen in large numbers at Chincoteague Refuge.

Songbirds, also neo-tropical migrants, visit the refuge in huge numbers in spring and fall. Prairie Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos, White-eyed Vireos, Yellow Warblers, Indigo Buntings and all manner of colorful, fascinating song birds spend time feeding and resting in the shrubs and maritime forest of Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

Neo-tropical migratory birds are those species whose breeding areas and wintering areas span the Arctic and temperate areas of North America and the semi-tropical and tropical areas of Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Some of our migrants do not go to the tropics, wintering instead at the southern limit of their range and to the Gulf of Mexico. The golden and bald eagles and the Black Crowned Night Heron make these shorter, though potentially hazardous, trips.

Migration is a particularly stressful time for birds; therefore, food and shelter take on added importance. Storms can lead to the deaths of migrants. Power lines can be killers of owls and raptors. Oil spills kill or endanger water birds. Poisons such as lead and mercury cause indirect or accidental death. Birds collide with spot lighted buildings, and TV and radio towers. Migrating birds are adversely affected by the destruction of stopover sites. Development on the coasts and the filling in of , wetlands have been contributing factors. As these staging areas dwindle, birds are more densely concentrated in small areas. The food supply must then be shared by more birds and the high concentration of birds increases the possibility of disease spreading among the avian population and also increases the opportunity for predation.

Even shore birds that appear to be abundant (Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones. Sanderlings, Dunlins) may be in jeopardy because of their dependence upon a few sites that supply super-abundant food
resources.

The long distances between presently existing rest areas may be prohibitive for such birds as the Piping Plover and many of the sandpipers. Disturbance of the migratory pattern may cause some birds to arrive so late that they can raise only one brood although ordinarily they might be able to raise two or even three.

Although all species of birds do not show the same rate of decline, it is known that at least one hundred and fifty species of North American birds are in jeopardy. There is no quick and easy solution to the diminishing of neo-tropical birds as each species may present a slightly different problem. These varied needs suggest the importance of attempting to maintain as diverse a habitat as possible.

Neo-tropical migrants make up sixty to eighty percent of all the breeding birds in the forests of eastern North America. These songbirds play a critical role in the eco-system both as consumers and as prey. Their breeding range consists of over fifteen million square miles, yet their wintering grounds comprise only two and three tenths million square miles.

Deforestation of this winter range has certainly been responsible for a percentage of the decline of many species. It is estimated that the tropical forests are being lost at a rate of one to three percent a year. Some countries such as Costa Rica and Cuba have lost eighty percent of their original forests.

While this can account for some of the decline of our song birds, we in North America must bear some of the responsibility. The Breeding Bird Survey has reported continuing decline of song
birds over the past twenty-seven years. The decline appears to fall under the categories of out-right habitat loss as well as the degradation of habitat. Prairie fragmentation in North American has caused us to lose numbers of grassland birds such as the Bobolink and Dickcissel. Fifty-four percent of our wetlands have been drained, filled and converted to other uses. It is possible that the Midwest has lost
as much as seventy to ninety percent of its wetlands.

Fragmentation of the forests results in birds being forced to nest in small woodlots where they are vulnerable to predators such as skunks, raccoons, jays, grackles, snakes and house pets as well as to the parasitism of cowbirds. Predators thrive on the edge of the woodlands.

Brown-headed cowbirds once favored open country west of the Mississippi using the open prairie for feeding and social display. As forests were cleared, their range extended. Now they range over the entire United States. They are not nest builders, choosing instead to lay their eggs in the nests of song birds. Cowbirds parasitize at least one hundred and forty-four species of birds, most commonly Vireos, Warblers and Flycatchers.

Although they depend on other birds to raise their young, they are an extremely successful species, doubling their population in eight years.

The refuge, created in 1943 to provide habitat and protection for migratory birds is an excellent site for both migrating and nesting birds. The fresh water impoundments on the refuge are managed for the benefit of waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds. Water levels in some of these impoundments are slowly lowered in April and May to provide ideal conditions for the germination and growth of plants suitable as food for waterfowl which migrate through the refuge in the fall and those which remain on the refuge all winter. The receding water levels provide excellent feeding opportunities for shore and wading birds.

A recently completed habitat enhancement project on the refuge involved the planting of Wax Myrtle shrubs along a portion of the Beach Road. This grassy area is regularly frequented by brown-
headed cowbirds. The wax myrtle will eventually provide additional habitat for neo-tropical migrants and reduce the feeding area for cowbirds. This effort may reduce the number of parasitized nests in the adjacent Loblolly Pine forest.

Since 1973, we have had an Endangered Species Act which allows the USFWS to classify a species as Endangered when there is imminent danger of its extinction. Those species likely to be in danger
soon are considered Threatened. There are also candidates for Special Concern: those known to have suffered losses but still awaiting formal recognition of the severity of their decline. The National Audubon Society recognizes the un-official impairment to a species. This group, thought to be in a decline, is named in a Blue List. Some birds appear to be doing well in many regions of the country, but are of local concern.

Plans for the recovery of breeding populations include the effort to restore habitat, the use of captive breeding programs with release as a goal (as in the peregrine falcon programs), the introduction of nesting boxes for purple martins and blue birds and the closing of areas to public use at breeding time for such birds as the piping plover. There is also an effort to assist developing countries in the use of their natural resources without the concomitant effect of destroying wetlands, grasslands and woodlands.

There is no quick and easy solution to the diminishing of our birds as each species may present a slightly different problem. These varied needs suggest to us that we should attempt to maintain as many diverse habitats as possible.

So why do we care whether we lose a few species of bird? People come first, right? Remember that canaries were taken into the mines. If the birds died, the miner knew that his own life was endangered. We are now looking at birds’ reactions to give us a clue about our general health as related to the environment. What threatens the birds also threatens us. Ozone depletion may cause Cancer and it may damage food production. Our water sources are already showing the effects of acid rain. Fish productions are limited by this. Rapid climate changes damage our agricultural systems.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

On a global and national level, we can support projects which fight against environmental destruction and encourage environmental diversity.

On a local level, homeowners who are responsible for small yards may contribute by providing shelter and feeding sites. A bird bath is a simple addition to the yard. Pools or clean stream beds large enough to support plants that grow in and around water are an even greater asset. If your municipality has no local “weed” ordinance, and if you have no driving desire to own a “perfect” lawn, you might plant native wild flowers and shrubs. Standing dead tree trunks also offer nest sites and shelter.

WHY DO BIRDS MIGRATE?

Over the centuries, people have been fascinated by bird migration. Why do birds migrate? How do they manage to locate breeding and wintering sites? In fact, for many years the mystery was where they went. Aristotle firmly believed that some birds hibernated in hollow trees or perhaps buried themselves in mud. One of the more fanciful notions was that they flew to the moon for the winter.

A theory held until fairly recently was the transmutation of species. People thought that one species disappeared and a different one appeared in its place.

Most people found it easy enough to believe that large, obviously strong birds, could fly long distances; but they doubted that small birds would be able to endure long flights and so assumed that the little fellows must hitch rides on the backs of larger birds or on ships going in the general direction of their destination.

Some birds make spectacularly long flights. some manage remarkable continuous flights without rest as others achieve unusual speeds.

Dr. Robin Baker, in his book “The Mystery of Migration”, makes this startling observation: “Every year, as the summer wanes, willow Warblers weighing only a few grams undertake a journey of 8000
kilometers (5000 miles) to escape winter’s rigors. In human terms, this is equivalent to traveling ten times the distance from the earth to the moon or 38,625,000 kilometers (24,140,000 miles)”.
Weather may be a triggering factor in migration but the underlying reason is surely to ensure food supply. Birds do not migrate unless they are ready to do so.

HOW DO BIRDS KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING?

It cannot be assumed that young birds follow older birds during migration because in some species, the young migrate at different times. Sometimes preceding the adults.

Although birds have excellent vision and could possibly remember landmarks, this doesn’t explain how young birds can find their winter homes on their first unescorted trips. It is probable that birds use a number of clues including sight, smell, and the earth’s magnetic force. Possibly they take bearings from sun, moon and stars and even have an ability to recognize home after an absence of as much as eight years. Beyond these things they may use a number of clues that we do not even suspect.

If migration is so stressful, why do birds persist in repeating this hardship? Migration makes it possible for birds to have the best of all worlds: abundant food in an agreeable climate while they raise their families and warm homes in winter, with rich food sources during their resting period.