Things to do / Travel Guide
Wild ponies roam freely, little loggerhead turtles amble across starlit sands, and red wolves howl at the wind in eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
Whale and Dolphin Watching in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
If it is marine life you have come to track, dolphin- and whale-watching cruises are available in coastal communities from the Delmarva Peninsula all the way down to North Carolina shore's Cape Fear. From late-July through early-October, you can stand along Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach in Delaware on the Delmarva Peninsula and watch dolphins frolic just offshore. If you want a closer encounter, dolphin-watching cruises can be arranged in either town as well as in Ocean City, Maryland. Virginia Beach and Hampton, in eastern Virginia, and the Manteo waterfront, Nags Head, the Roanoke Sound, and the area from Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout, in North Carolina's Outer Banks, offer a wide range of whale- and dolphin-watching tours. The tours generally run from June-Labor Day, are several hours in length, and will usually guarantee a sighting; if you miss them on your first trip, the second tour will probably be free.
Flora and Fauna on the Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula's flora and fauna are marvelous to marvel at. Along the shoreline in Delaware's Holts Landing State Park's harbors you can spot large hawks, osprey, and herons. Follow your ears to the songbirds hiding in forest trees and shrubs. Watch where you step to identify the sand prints of one of the resident deer, raccoon, possum, or muskrat. The Delmarva Peninsula is also known for its population of endangered foxes and Virginia northern flying squirrels.
At the 14,000-acre Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on the Virginia end of Assateague Island you can see perhaps the most wonderful wildlife sight in the region: a 400-year-old breed of wild ponies. While studies have shown that their heritage is Spanish mustang, after centuries of isolation these lovely beasts have evolved into a breed of their own.
As one of the top five shorebird migratory staging areas east of the Rocky Mountains, Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge has also been named an International Shorebird Reserve. The paths and trails that crisscross the refuge are great places for bird watching, as well as for learning about the natural habitats of marsh and maritime forests.
Flora and Fauna in Eastern Virginia
The edge of the Chesapeake Bay in Mathews, the New Point Comfort Nature Preserve and Observation Walkway is a good place to make the acquaintance of industrious fiddler crabs and the enchanting Seaside Dragonlets, a unique saltwater dragonfly. Nearby, on the sands of Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve, you can catch sight of the endangered Northeastern Tiger Beetle. Study the area along the tidal lagoons and shrubby swamps to spot more than 185 different species of birds, as well as 25 different types of shorebirds. At the Back Bay Refuge south of Virginia Beach, an incredible spectacle awaits you in December, when 10,000 snow geese stop in for a visit!
The 8,000-acre Newport News Park in Newport News, one of the largest municipal parks in the country, offers woodlands, lakes, and meadows. The park acts as a pristine setting for viewing the area's native wildlife including deer, foxes, otter, raccoon, and beaver.
Hands-down, one of the best places to experience the diversity of eastern Virginia's wildlife is at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Suffolk. Walk amidst pine, Atlantic white-cedar, maple-blackgum, and bald cypress, as more than 200 species of birds nest, fly, wheel, and whistle in the backwoods. In the months from April-June, the number of species you'll see is simply stunning, and in the winter you can catch sight of black birds and robins, as well as the Swainson's warbler and Wayne's warbler. If you are lucky, you might get to give a white-tailed deer, black bear, or bobcat the once-over in some of the refuge's swampy areas. More likely, you will see otter, bats, raccoons, mink, and grey and red foxes.
Flora and Fauna on the North Carolina Shore
Corolla, on Carova Beach, or the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, in Currituck, is good place to watch elegant, solitary wild horses. Like the Chincoteague horses, the wild horses of Corolla were also believed to be descendents of Spanish Mustangs or Spanish Barb horses. After more than four centuries of isolation, and with limited vegetation on the sandy dunes of the Outer Banks, however, they have developed into a separate, rugged breed of wild horses called the “Banker Horse.” Another of the North Carolina shore's most endearing and imperiled creatures are the loggerhead sea turtles that nest along the shorelines of the Outer Banks. Creep quietly onto the beaches at night anytime from May 15th-August 15th and you may just see the green sea turtles pull themselves onto the shore in search of the perfect nest. In late summer you can see the hatchlings taking their first lessons in land- and sand-survival. Bald Head Island (where the Cape Fear River joins the Atlantic Ocean), Top Sail Island, Hammocks Beach State Park, and Kitty Hawk are popular loggerhead sea turtle nesting spots, but many places along the Outer Banks beaches will allow you to get a glimpse of this exciting phenomenon. Even the loggerhead turtle experts and conservationists aren't exactly sure when the hatchings and sand crawls will take place; careful daily observation throughout the season gives them clues about when and where to watch. You can contact one of the loggerhead turtle protection and preservation organizations in Top Sail Island or Kitty Hawk for updated information.
The North Carolina shore offers even more fauna fascination: howling Red wolves. The best place to hear the doleful wail of these endangered animals is on the 152,000-acre Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Roanoke Island's Manteo. Year-round, you can take a unique “howling safari” to experience a thrilling call-and-response, wolf-human howling dialogue.
The Outer Banks are located along the “Atlantic flyway,” the main thoroughfare for birds flying a north-south migratory path. For birding, hang a pair of binoculars around your neck and head to the northern portion of Currituck Sound or Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (near Hatteras, on Hatteras Island) where you will see piping plover as well as a wide range of wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors. The brightly-colored painted bunting is a local favorite - look for their vibrant greens, blues, and reds in scrubby shrub areas near saltwater; you can also spot peregrines, glossy and white ibises, American bitterns, and double-crested cormorants. The Audobon Society provides a detailed list of some of North Carolina shore's best birding trails.
While North Carolina's Outer Banks can, and have been, described as “Hatterasil,” an Algonquin word for “less vegetation,” plant-lovers can still get their fill of plants, trees, and shrubs unique to the region. At the National Natural Landmark Nags Head Woods Preserve, on West Ocean Acres Drive, you can stroll through 640 acres of mid-Atlantic maritime and hardwood forests. You will see the greatest ecological diversity (more than 300 plant species) on the Sweetgum Swamp Trail, reputed to be the best nature display on the North Carolina shore. Nags Head Woods is one of four places in the world that offers a unique combination of maritime swamp forest and maritime deciduous forest, protected from the salty ocean from Jockey's Ridge, the largest sand dune on the East Coast.
Nature Spots in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, North Carolina's Outer Banks
Nature-Wildlife
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