Beauty, Adventure and Photography on Wye Island

Rare old growth forest, tons of wildfowl, endangered species and much more ...

We sat motionless and in silence, watching a great blue heron Heron just 15 feet away from us. He was laser focused and on the hunt, frozen still on the shore edge. Cocked and loaded, his razor sharp beak was aiming to plunge lightning fast into the shallow water and snap up a fish for dinner.

NOAA chart of showing the location and approach to Wye Island.

Hiking trail map of Wye Island NRMA. We explored the green and blue trails on this adventure.

Anchored in the Wye River, we planned our adventure of the adjacent island.

The dirt road led us to photographic adventure throughout the trails, forests, and coves.

Join Us on this multi-day Sailing & Photo Workshop

Base Camp, our 31' sailboat, was anchored in barely 5 feet of water at the head of Dividing Creek surrounded on three sides by the Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area and what we consider the crown jewel of the Chesapeake Bay. Wye Island is located in the tidal recesses of the Chesapeake Bay and surrounded by the Wye River and the Wye East River. There is almost 3 thousand acres of protected land and 6+ miles of hiking trails to explore and capture by camera. We anchored so close to land that we could practically reach out and touch the tree branches lining the shore. And we indeed had stadium seating for the constant display of waterfowl all around us. 
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Wye Island is rich in wildlife and waterfowl with some wildlife even being on the endangered species list. There is an old growth forest with a 275+ year old holly tree. There are miles of hiking trails lined with wild berries for the picking. Add into the mix our approach from a sailboat and you have the perfect recipe for worldclass photographing opportunities.

From the deck of Base Camp we continued to watch the heron hunting. In the past hour we had seen about a dozen of these twiggy-legged majestic creatures. Some of them were even perched on branches precariously high up in trees seemingly defying all laws of gravity. More impressive still were the numerous bald eagles continually swooping and diving into the water catching fish in their sharp talons. The inviting protected island sanctuary, rich in food supplies above and below the water attracts enormous quantities of migratory and wintering birds.

A picturesque setting overlooking Grapevine Cove on the Wye River.

Lots of nesting osprey on navigation buoys.

We stepped onto Wye Island from our dinghy at one of the designated landing areas.

Once our private great blue heron show was over, we ventured to the island with cameras, tripods and trail-maps in hand. Boarding our dinghy, we floated about 15 yards to a designated landing area, bumping the bow of our inflatable into the shore just before stepping onto dry land.

This centuries old holly tree seemed like the overseer of Wye Island and its rich waterfowl and wildlife.

Anchored in beautiful Dividing Creek, we were so close to land we could almost reach out and touch the adjacent tree branches.

As we explored, we kept a keen eye out for the endangered Delmarva fox squirrels. They can easily be distinguished from the common gray squirrel by their larger size, lighter color and shy, quiet behavior. And rather than jumping from tree to tree, Delmarva fox squirrels will descend down a tree and travel on the ground to the next tree.

​The trail meandered through the forest and past empty anchorages like Grapevine Cove where we spotted a rope swing dangling over the water and an old Adirondack chair perfectly positioned to watch wildlife activity. It invited us to sit awhile and ponder our good fortune for discovering such a peaceful and beautiful place. The photographic subjects on the Island seemed endless. Giant pines trees lined the trails with frogs and mushrooms at our feet. And of course there is the rich waterfowl.

A next stop on our adventure might be the close but small and quaint water town of St. Michaels though we didn't want to leave our Crown Jewel of the Chesapeake.

Down on hands and knees we found colorful mushrooms growing on the forest floor.

We found a set of picturesque bridges leading us through the forest.

Unique and sometimes twisted trees lined the hiking trails. We even found a Wye Oak tree here and there.

We all agreed to return often especially when the blackberries were perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy for eating without us making a sourpuss face.