North Carolina Outer Banks: Currituck NWR

After visiting the backwaters of the North Landing River with Erik Moore of Moore To See Photo Expeditions in Virginia Beach, we motored south into Currituck Sound at the VA-NC border to photograph some big Live Oaks at Freshman's Island in Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.

As we approached the island, we found this harem of wild horses feeding on river grasses. These animals are descended from Spanish Colonial Mustangs, a rare breed brought over by Spanish explorers in the 1600s. The Outer Banks were a graveyard for ships, so these horses' ancestors survived shipwrecks and made a life in the tough maritime forest ecosystem of the area. Current population is estimated at only around 100 individuals, so finding them was very special.