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Mason Neck a year-round paradise for eagle-eyed birders
Eastern Neck Island's marshes a magnet for winter waterfowl
Silent decoy of ring-necked duck echoes the past
The right place, at the right time:
In 1965, two bald eagle nests were spotted on a Potomac River peninsula in northern Virginia.
This discovery came at a crucial juncture in the history of Mason Neck peninsula. Nearly a century of logging had severely depleted the mature hardwood forest habitat. Sediment and pollution from upstream sources had compromised water quality in the river, its neighboring bays and marshes. The bald eagle was an endangered species. And developers had great plans for the quiet, rolling lands of Mason Neck peninsula.
When a story begins like this, one doesn’t often find this kind of ending: nearly 6,000 acres secured in public lands for wildlife and recreation, including a nationally recognized site for viewing bald eagles.
Those two eagle nests sighted in 1965 provided an immediate springboard for citizen action that continues to this day. The same year that the nests were sighted, the Mason Neck Conservation Committee burst into being. By 1967, the Nature Conservancy began purchasing Mason Neck land, to be held until public agencies could purchase the land in turn. Later in the year, the Commonwealth of Virginia obtained the first parcel of what is now Mason Neck State Park.
Today, Mason Neck State Park and the neighboring Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge—both part of the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network—are among those that steward the rich natural, cultural and historic sites on the 10,000-acre Mason Neck peninsula.
Mason Neck, on the west shore of the Potomac River in northern Virginia, is bounded to the north by Gunston Cove and Pohick Cove, and to the south by Occaquan Bay and Belmont Bay.
Some of the peninsula’s earliest inhabitants were the Dogue Indians. The first recorded history of the area is from Capt. John Smith, who wrote of his meeting with the Dogue in 1608 and charted the chief’s village of Tauxenent on his map of Virginia.
The area was at times referred to as Doggs Island and Doeg Neck, until it came into the hands of the Mason family.
In 1755, George Mason IV, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, built his home on the peninsula. This Georgian house and outbuildings, known as Gunston Hall Plantation, is on the National Historic Register and open to the public for tours. Native American sites and a 2,300-acre plantation owned by George Mason V are being studied by a panel of historians and archaeologists.
With thousands of unbroken acres of field, forest, marshland and shoreline, the Mason Neck wildlife population is abundant and diverse. Wildlife that frequents the area includes more than 200 species of songbirds, 31 species of mammals and 44 species of reptiles and amphibians. It includes osprey, whistling swans, hawks, a variety of ducks, fox, bobcat, white-tailed deer—and, of course, eagles. Eagles use the mature forests for shelter and nesting sites, and the marshes, bays and river for foraging and hunting.
Mason Neck State Park encompasses 1,814 acres, including several hundred acres of mature oak, holly and hickory, as well as the exceptionally pristine Kane’s Creek and marshland, which cuts into the center of the peninsula from Belmont Bay. The park is dedicated to passive recreation, environmental education and wildlife habitat, especially for bald eagles.
Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge system, was the first federal refuge established specifically for the protection of bald eagles. It sprawls over 2,277 acres of hardwood forest, with the largest freshwater marsh in northern Virginia and the largest great blue heron rookery in the Mid-Atlantic region, hosting more than 1,400 nests.
Seven bald eagle nests occur on or adjacent to the refuge, along with an eagle roost and a wintering population of 50 to 60 birds. “There are days when I see more eagles than deer,” said park supervisor Jeff Foster, smiling.
Visitors will be amazed at how quickly the heavily developed throughways of northern Virginia transition to tranquility. Although Mason Neck State Park receives approximately 100,000 visitors a year, Foster says it rarely feels that way.
“The birding here is just outstanding, year-round,” Foster explained, “so our visitors are distributed throughout the year, too.”
The park is very active in environmental education, including work with a volunteer corps, a junior ranger program, and many programs for school students. The park also offers popular stream studies, bird-watching sessions, and canoe trips, including a moonlight paddle on Kane’s Creek.
Four trails traverse the park, covering approximately 31ž2 miles of woodland and shoreline. The Dogue Trail, currently under construction, will add nearly three miles of trail to the system, including elevated platforms across marshes and meadows.
At the wildlife refuge, visitors can enjoy approximately four miles of trails, one of which delivers travelers to a sweeping view of the Great Marsh. This spot provides a wonderful opportunity to see eagles and wintering waterfowl.
Highpoint Trail is also under construction, but will fill a unique niche once completed. This three-mile, multiuse path will link the grounds of the park, the refuge, and historic Gunston Hall. Highpoint Trail is one of the many cooperative initiatives that Mason Neck managers are using to promote joint use of the peninsula’s offerings.
Year Round Birding
January/February: Resident bald eagles rebuild nests and lay eggs. Wintering eagles commonly feed in Great marsh. Open water freezes, concentrating diving ducks in deeper sections of the river.
March: Resident eagles incubate their eggs. Most waterfowl have migrated north.
April: Eaglets Hatch. Great blue heron courtship and nesting activity peaks.
May: Broods of wood ducks, black ducks, and Canada geese feed along the creeks and marsh. Songbird migration peaks, with many pairs staying to nest.
June: Eaglets fledge.
July: Young great blue herons learn to fish in the marsh. Young geese and ducklings start to fly. Swallows, kingbirds and flycatchers feast on insects.
August: Adult bald eagles leave Mason Neck after the young fledge. Immature eagles from the surrounding area arrive. Shore and wading birds increase in numbers.
September: Teal, mallards, and black ducks arrive on their southward journey. Egret and heron numbers increase until cold weather pushes them south. Songbird and raptor migration peaks late in the month.
October: Eagles and their young that nested elsewhere arrive to spend the winter.
November/December: Resident eagles begin courtship and breeding. Wintering eagles are visible feeding in the marsh and flying to and from the roost. The influx of diving ducks swells the winter waterfowl population.
— U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge
Directions:
Mason Neck State Park and Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge are located on the western shore of the Potomac River in northern Virginia, approximately 20 miles south of Washington, DC.
Access to Mason Neck State Park is via U.S. 1, then five miles east on Route 242 (Gunston Road) to the park entrance.
For information about Mason Neck State Park, write to: Mason Neck State Park, 7301 High Point Road, Lorton, VA 22079; call 703-550-0362 or visit www.state.va.us/dcr/parks/masonnec.htm
For information about the Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, write to: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, 14344 Jefferson Davis Highway, Woodbridge, VA 22191 or call 703-490-4979.
To learn about other sites in the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, visit www.baygateways.net
