Rachel Carson Reserve

I know this belongs on Carolina Towns and Trails, but I still have to research estuaries and their importance before I post there. Today we traveled down to the Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve (that is so hard to type), located across Taylor's Creek in Beaufort, NC (the island stretched across the bottom of the photo, below). We couldn't find a trail that led to the ocean side, but we did hike into the interior of the western tip of the island.

With sandy soil and evergreens, the terrain is sparse, and we fought burrs working their way onto our socks even as we enjoyed the sight of Sun Blankets teetering in a slight breeze. But it's a great sanctuary for wildlife, and we spotted two of the wild horses that live on the reserve, along with oyster napping in their beds, pelicans, ibises, a heron, an osprey, and two types of crabs. It's times like these that I wonder if I visit Carolina destinations so I can blog, or I blog so I have an excuse to visit Carolina destinations!
A few photos:

During the three minute ferry ride across the creek, we spotted this wild horse grazing near ibises:

The ferry, piloted by Captain Farmer. Beaufort is in the background.

One view of the reserve:

Fiddler-type crabs scuttling toward nearby brush:

Close-up of a little guy who decided to take us on:

We soon happened on one of his larger cousins:

One of the wild horses. I have a better photo that I'm saving for the CT&T post:

What we believe is an osprey:

And last, for this post anyway, a photo of a butterfly that landed on a nearby Sun (Indian) Blanket:

A rugged little getaway just yards from Beaufort, NC.