Poquoson, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Atlantic Menhaden ⎯⎯⎯ Cownose Ray
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 4, 2026
1. Atlantic Menhaden / Cownose Ray Marker
Inscription.
Atlantic Menhaden, also, Cownose Ray. . There are a number of other species that inhabit the Back River estuary, including Cabia, Black Sea Bass, Catfish, Oyster Toadfish and American Eel.,
Fun Fact. Atlantic Menhaden (known locally as Bunker is a bony, oily fish closely related to the Herring. They are found in large number in the bay during the spring and summer. The Menhaden fishery is one of the most important and productive on the Atlantic coast. The first Menhaden factory in Virginia was established across the Back River from Topping Creek at Factory Point. Bunkers are used locally as bait in crab pots., Cownose Ray has a kite-shaped body. Rays travel in large schools. One school witnessed near the Chesapeake Capes was estimated to contain five million rays. Cownose Rays have a poisonous spine at the base of their tail and are potentially dangerous.
There are a number of other species that inhabit the Back River estuary, including Cabia, Black Sea Bass, Catfish, Oyster Toadfish and American Eel.
Fun Fact
Atlantic Menhaden (known locally as Bunker is a bony, oily fish closely related to the Herring. They are found in large number in the bay during the spring and summer. The Menhaden fishery is one of the most important and productive on the Atlantic coast. The first Menhaden factory in Virginia was established across the Back River from Topping Creek at Factory Point. Bunkers are used locally as bait in crab pots.
Cownose Ray has a kite-shaped body. Rays travel in large schools. One school witnessed near the Chesapeake Capes was estimated to contain five million rays. Cownose Rays have a poisonous spine at the base of their tail and are potentially dangerous.
Location. 37° 7.527′ N, 76° 21.832′ W. Marker is in Poquoson, Virginia. It can be reached from Poquoson Museum Marsh Trail
Click or scan to see this page online
south of Poquoson Avenue (Virginia Route 171), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 988 Poquoson Ave, Poquoson VA 23662, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Virginias Peninsula, in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Tidewater, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 7, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 7, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos:1, 2. submitted on June 7, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
