Friday, October 23, 2009

Camera Critters, Chincoteague ponies

Several times a year my husband and I spend a weekend at  Chincoteague Island, Va. The biggest attraction here is at the Chincoteague National Wildlife refuge. During our May visit this year we passed a couple of the ponies and two foals walking down the road.

 







The ponies can been seen all around the refuge. I do not know many places where you can sit on a beach in the company of wild ponies. Sometimes we see them walking down the road or off in the fields, they are just so cute. There is a legend that the Chincoteague ponies are descendants from two Arabians that survived a shipwreck and swam ashore back in the 1600's.









Once a year to keep the herd size down , the local volunteer fire dept holds a pony auction. When I was a just a kid my favorite book was Misty of Chincoteague, I think I read it over and over. Besides seeing the horses Chincoteague is one of my favorite places to go birding. One of my photos shows Cattle Egrets sitting on the ponies.






Thanks for the visit, enjoy your day!



" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown





39 comments:

  1. What a fairy-tale place - kept me awake to see it again and again at a quarter past four in the morning - apart from taking care of my two year old son, whos sleep hasn't been to good and it just started to rain...
    A wonderful Saturday for you all !

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  2. I loved the book Misty of Chincoteague too! I've always wanted to go there to see the horses, so thanks for sharing your photos. It looks like a beautiful place to vist, and the birding would be an added bonus too!

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  3. Wow you are so blessed to see those lovely creatures!

    I would love to join this meme but I don't see the link in your post?

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  4. Cool pictures..I love the third picture with the cattle egrets!

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  5. What a great place. Wild ponies and egrets...nice shots.

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  6. Eileen: Beautiful capture of the ponies and the egrets on their back. The shot with all the birds and ponies was special. That one pony looked like it had donkey colors.

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  7. Wonderful shots!
    I loved the Misty story growing up as well. Years later it was nice to know it was based on a true story about these ponies.
    I've seen the wild ponies near Cape Hatteras.
    Have you ever watched the annual pony swim?

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  8. This place looks an Eden!
    Great pictures too!

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  9. I've never been to a wildlife refuge that had ponies roaming around. I love the pictures with egrets on their backs, and the legend is fascinating!

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  10. What fun! These are great shots, especially love the 3rd one. "Misty" was one of my favorite books growing up. Thanks for sharing these. Kathy

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  11. Eileen,
    I loved this post. What fun to spend time with these wonderful ponies, spend time in nature, and watch birds -- all at the same time. Wonderful! I enjoyed it all.

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  12. Growing up a horse lovin' kid the Misty books were my favorites, I always wanted to see the Chincoteague ponies! Thanks for sharing this!

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  13. what a real beauty! no wonder all little girls in america wants a pony. :)

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  14. So cute!I love horses and ponies, they are adorable and your last picture is outstanding.A whole family!
    Wonderful post and happy camera critters
    purrs and love
    Luna

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  15. What a beautiful place - we loved these photos and really felt like we were there with you. :)

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  16. Lovely pony shots, I have visited Chincoteague/Assateague a few times but the ponies were always quite a distance away across the marshes.

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  17. I loved reading Misty of Chincoteague as a child too, in fact all of Marguerite Henry's books.

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  18. Sounds like a wonderful place to visit, I would love to see the wild ponies. The cattle egrets on their backs is something to see. Cool legend.

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  19. That is just so neat. I loved the Misty of Chincoteague books.

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  20. Great shots, I must get hold of the book soon.

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  21. they are so cute, i love the birds sitting on there backs

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  22. oh, dear, how sweet that foal is. :)

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  23. What a wonderful place ;)

    Have a nice weekend!

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  24. Eileen, I would love you to see the kookaburra that visited me.

    Adventure Before Dementia

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  25. No wonder you visit several times a year - it's enchanting! Thank you for sharing.

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  26. what a cute ponies, love all your animal posts, the white birds. happy weekend.

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  27. That's pretty neaqt to see ponies just ambling down the road, and on the beach. Sounds like a lovely place to visit!

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  28. I haven't seen wild ponies before....that's awesome!

    thanks for letting me know about those birds...lol! now I know what kind they are....that was water...from the rain....

    thanks for coming by!

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  29. Wow, that is awesome! That would be such a cool place to visit. Beautiful pictures. :)

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  30. What a great place to visit! Nice captures.

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  31. A very interesting post, with excellent photos. It is amazing to see the Egrets on the pony's back.

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  32. Welcome to Nature Notes Eileen! I am usually prompt in getting around, but am down with a bug. Your blog is so perfectly suited to Nature Notes. I was not familiar with the area that you visited. How neat that you could be with wild ponies and that there is an area that they can be free. Beautiful and I am so happy to have you for Nature Notes... Michelle

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  33. A lovely peaceful post! The ponies are sweet - especially the little one with the sea behind it.

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  34. How fun to see these photos. I'd love to see the ponies in person.
    Misty was one of my favorite childhood books, too.

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  35. Sounds like a great place to explore! Love your photos, I feel like I was there too!

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  36. I also read Misty of Chincoteague during my childhood, and seeing your photos brought back lots of great memories. Thanks for sharing!

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  37. I loved that book, too. Actually, I loved anything to do with horses when I was a girl. How wondrous it must be to sit on the beach with wild ponies. Thanks for taking us along!

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  38. Wow...I've heard of them and seeing them in your photos are great. I love the shot with the birds.

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  39. You are very lucky to see those marvelous animals..

    Happy Halloween!

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