Day 11: January 11th - Atlantic Coastal Plain

Occasional showers, calm winds, 47 degrees

Atlantic Coastal Plain south of Diver, Delaware

     We're on the road, heading south through New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and now Virginia.  Living in the Hudson Highlands, we  are in "topo shock" as we leave the mountains and enter the Atlantic Coastal Plain.   The Coastal Plain is an area of low elevation and low relief what extends all the way from New Jersey to Florida.  Composed of mostly sandstone and in many areas covered with deposits of sand, the region is ideal for agriculture.  Unfortunately (in the eyes of many of us birders), it is also ideal for development.  Flat, good drainage, and proximity to the attraction of the shore makes this prime real estate.  The combination of the dreary weather, the occasional rainfall, and the fact that we are in transit, makes for limited wildlife observations today, but tomorrow, we plan on visiting Chincoteague Island in Virginia, and we should be able to more than make up for our "sacrifice" today.  So, until tomorrow......