Bill and I  often get asked – why do we teach our landscape photography workshop at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague National Seashore in the winter? After all – we’re going to a beach – wouldn’t it be better to go in the summer?

Not really – winter is actually my favorite time of year to head to Chincoteague and Assasteague. And here are my top 5 reasons why

5. NO BUGS! Chincoteague and Assateague are famous for all the mosquitos and horse-flies in the summer. Kind of what you’d expect when you’re visiting a marsh and a beach – lots of annoying biting insects. I have never gotten bitten by bugs in the winter at Chincoteague and I’ve never had to cover myself with Deep Woods OFF!

Snow Geese at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge © 2013 Patty Hankins

4. LOTS OF BIRDS! Located along the Atlantic Flyway, thousands of migrating birds visit Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in the winter. Several of the marshes, ponds and waterways are located near the refuge roads, so I’ve been able to photograph many birds without needed a super long lens (I usually use either my 70-200mm or 100-400mm lens when photographing birds at Chincoteague

3. CONVENIENT LOCATIONS: Most of the places we’ll be photographing are within 100 feet of where we’ll be parking our cars. So if you get cold, you can jump back into the car to warm up before continuing to photograph.

Chincoteague Sunset © 2013 Patty Hankins

2.  SHORT DAYS: In early February, the sun comes up at 7 AM and sets at 5:30 PM. In June, sunrise is at 5:40 AM and sunset isn’t until 8:30 PM. So in the winter, you can sleep in a bit, grab a cup of coffee and still photograph a wonderful sunrise. And in the evening, you can photograph sunset and still have ordered dinner and drinks at my favorite local restaurant Bill’s  by 7 PM.

Sign at the Visitor Center at Chincoteague NWR

1. NO CROWDS! Most people visit Chincoteague and Assateague in the summer, so crowded beaches and long lines at the park entrance are the norm. We’ve never had to wait in a line in the winter and it’s not uncommon to see less than 20 other people in the entire park in the winter. Even the National Wildlife Refuge System recognizes that while summer is peak tourist migration season, winter is peak waterfowl migration season.

 Bill and I still have a few spaces left in our February workshop in Chincoteague. We’d love to have you join us on Feb 6-8. If you have any questions about the workshop or if it’s right for you, drop me a note and we’ll find a time to talk.