Mason Neck State Park

The Eagle Eye

Volume II1, Issue iv Winter, 2009

Points of interest:
♦ The park is open daily
from 8:00 am to dusk.
♦ We’ve got lots of winter
waterfowl on the bay! See
“Winter Wildlife” and “Tips
for Winter Birding” for
more information.
♦ Eagles begin their court-
ship in December. They’ll
also add material to their
nests in January as they
prepare for February’s
eggs.
Program Highlight: Wild for Waterfowl
One of the difficulties
with viewing waterfowl at
Mason Neck State Park is
that they’re sometimes
too distant to see well
with the naked eye.
Never fear, we’ve got you
covered!
Even if you don’t own
any birding equipment,
stop by our free Wild for
Waterfowl program on
Saturday & Sunday
mornings in December.
We’ll share our spotting
scope, binoculars and
knowledge with you, and
introduce you to the many
waterfowl that winter
here. You’re likely to see
Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup,
Ruddy Ducks, and more.
Wild For Waterfowl
is held most* Saturdays
and Sundays in Decem-
ber, from 10:30 to 11:30
am, and every Saturday
in January, from 10:00
am to 12:00 noon. Meet
at the Bay View Trail
head and join us for a
short hike.
*No programs December
26th and 27th.

Park Manager’s Notes

♦ To subscribe to the Eagle
Eye, send us an email with We had an excit-
“Eagle Eye” in the subject ing fall here at the park,
line. and provided some great
recreational opportunities
for our visitors. Our in-
terpretive programs
reached 821 participants,
and Majestic Eagles con-
tinues to be one of our
most popular weekly pro-
grams.
Congratulations
Inside this issue: to park interpreter Ri-
cardo Hoyos for becoming
Creature Feature 2 the Virginia State Parks’
District 3 employee of the
Winter Wildlife 2 year. Ricardo excels in
customer service, and we
Back Issues Available 3 frequently receive glowing
Share Your Wildlife comments about him on
3 our customer surveys. He
Sightings
seems equally comfortable
December Programs 4 leading hikes for experi-
enced birders and for
January Programs 4 young children. The
park’s interpretive pro-
Winter Wildlife Garden 5
Mason Neck State Park is located at 7301 High Point Rd., Lorton, VA, 22079.
Tips for Winter Birding 6 Phone: 703-339-2385. Fax: 703-339-2617. Email: masonneck@dcr.virginia.gov
gram is and has always
been an important aspect
of our mission, and we are
very proud of Ricardo.
Planning contin-
ues for our Visitor Center
expansion. Each week we
get closer to groundbreak-
ing for the new wing. Our
challenge now is to design
new and expanded inter-
pretive exhibits. We hope
to provide a fresh and
exciting Visitor Center
experience. Since the
park’s budget is very lim-
ited, Virginia Association
for Parks (VAFP) is rais-
ing money for these ex-
hibits on our behalf. De-
tails about our Visitor
Center will be posted on
their web site in the near
future. Until then, read
about similar projects at
www.virginiaparks.org/.
We continue
working to improve both
wildlife stewardship and
recreational opportunities
in the park. We regraded
access roads, conducted a
deer management project,
fought the sweetgum tree
saplings that constantly
invade our open areas,
and daily worked on park
maintenance. In volun-
teer news, an Eagle Scout
candidate recently rebuilt
some steps on the Bay
View Trail.
We look forward
to seeing you out in the
park this winter. Al-
though it may be a bit
chilly, I do recommend
exploring this interesting
and beautiful season in
nature. Enjoy your natu-
ral environment!
 Page 2
Creature Feature:Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Although this woodpecker’s
name sounds like a joke, it’s not. It
is the only fully migratory wood-
pecker in the eastern United States.
Making its summer home in Can-
ada, north-central and northeastern
US, it winters from the mid-Atlantic
states all the way south to Panama.
Mason Neck State Park is a good
place to look for it.
The Yellow-bellied Sap-
sucker is about the size of a robin.
It has a distinctive white stripe
along the wing, a red crown and
black and white bars across its
back. Males have a red throat while
females have a white throat. Young
Winter Wildlife
Never visited Mason Neck
State Park in the winter before?
Not sure why you should? Here are
some of the highlights of last win-
ter’s wildlife sightings. Many of
these species won’t be around in the
summer, so come see them while
you can!
For each species, only the
first reported sighting each month is
included. Nowhere near all our win-
tertime species are listed here, only
what was reported in the Visitor
Center wildlife log. Don’t forget to
let us know what you see this year!
December, 2008
4th Whitetail Deer; Bufflehead.
6th Purple Finch; American Robin;
Cedar Waxwing;
Hooded Merganser; House
Wren; Marsh Wren;
Eastern Towhee; White-
throated Sparrow.
8th Common Merganser; Tundra
Swan; Woodchuck.
T H E E A G LE E Y E
birds are brown and white, still with
that white stripe along the wing. All
individuals have the namesake pale
yellow wash on the belly as well,
though it’s often hard to see.
A good way to find the Yel-
low-bellied Sapsucker is to look for
its distinctive horizontal rows of drill
holes on tree trunks. In our area,
species reported to be popular with
sapsuckers include beech, apple,
cherry and sweetgum trees. Each
bird has a few favorite individual
trees to which it returns frequently.
Once you find the telltale neat rows
of holes, you’ve got a good chance of
finding the bird.
10th Eared Grebe.
13th Opossum; Wood Duck; Lesser
Scaup; Ruddy Duck;
Red Shouldered Hawk; Wild
Turkey.
21st Bald Eagle.
26th Common Goldeneye; Redhead.
27th Northern Watersnake; Garter
Snake.
28th Brown Creeper.
30th Red Fox.
January, 2008
3rd Tundra Swan.
4th Canvasback; Northern
Watersnake; Barred Owl;
Bald Eagle.
5th Common Merganser.
7th Gadwall.
9th Beaver.
10th Purple Finch.
11th Red-shouldered Hawk; Red
Fox.
Volume II1, Issue iv
The sapsucker is important to
our ecosystem because later in the
year, sap from its holes is also an im-
portant food source for other animals,
such as hummingbirds and woodland
butterflies like the northern pearly-
eye.
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
arrives in our area as early as late
September. It will stick
around through winter
and early spring, and de-
part for its summer home
by the end of April at the
very latest. Watch for it in
the park as well as your
own back yard!
23rd White-throated Sparrow; Dark-
eyed Junco; Kinglet (species
unknown).
29th Rusty Blackbird; Hooded
Merganser; Bufflehead;
Mallard.
30th Barred Owl.
February, 2008
2nd Common Merganser; Mallard;
Gadwall; American
Wigeon; Bald Eagle.
8th Bat (species unknown).
16th Wild Turkey.
22nd Wood Duck; American Robin.
26th Cooper’s Hawk; White-throated
Sparrow.
White-throated Sparrow
Page 3
Back Issues Available
Have you recently sub-
scribed to the Eagle Eye? Do you
wonder what you missed from ear-
lier issues? The five issues listed
below are available in PDF format
upon request.
Summer, 2007
♦ Butterflies!
♦ How Not To Hit A Squirrel
Fall, 2007
♦ Are Aliens in Your Back
Yard?
♦ Bring Nature into your Life
♦ If It’s Dead, What Good Is
It?
Share Your Wildlife Sightings
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Please share your park
wildlife observations by writing
them in Mason Neck State Park’s
Wildlife Log, located in the Visitor
Center. Anyone in the park may
contribute to the log. The wildlife
log entries let visitors as well as
staff know when migrants have
arrived or departed, which wild-
flowers are in bloom, and whether
any rare or unusual species have
shown up. We also use the entries
to update park bird and butterfly
checklist brochures as well as the
“Recent Wildlife Sightings” list on
the Visitor Center whiteboard.
When logging your wildlife
sightings, don’t hesitate to record
even the most ordinary species.
T H E E A G LE E Y E
♦ The Fascinating Fox
♦ Those Deadly Deer
♦ Autumn Arrivals
Spring, 2009
♦ Creature Feature: the Vir-
ginia Opossum
♦ Meet the Staff of Mason
Neck State Park
♦ Gardening for Wildlife
♦ Spring Birding Whiplash
Summer, 2009
♦ Park Wildlife Photos
♦ Become a Citizen Scientist
♦ Picky Little Caterpillars
♦
Although you may find the
Pileated Woodpecker boring, a for-
eign visitor may find it to be the
most special of birds. Daily data is
also important to monitor many
animals’ presence, from migrating
birds to hibernating turtles.
You can also tap into a
wider community of bird watchers
by joining va-bird, the Virginia
Society of Ornithology’s birding
listserv. Birders from all over Vir-
ginia submit their bird sightings,
which are then sent out to the list’s
subscribers. You can track migra-
tion by watching the posts, find out
when and where a rare species has
been discovered, and share your
own Virginia bird sightings. Sub-
scribe at http://
mailman.listserve.com/
listmanager/listinfo/va-bird. As
described last issue, eBird is an-
other way to share birding observa-
tions. Visit http://www.eBird.com
to find out more. If you’re more
interested in entomology than orni-
thology, several Yahoo groups exist
to share local butterfly and bug
Volume II1, Issue iv
♦ Creature Feature: Saddle-
back Caterpillar
♦ Living On The Edge: Creat-
ing Wildlife Habitat
Fall, 2009
♦ Creature Feature: Little
Brown Bat
♦ eBird: More Citizen Science
♦ Autumn in the Wildlife Gar-
den
♦ Bluebird Box News
♦ Wildlife to Watch
♦ Late Season Butterfly Photos
observations. Washbutterflies
(http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/
group/washbutterflies/) is run by
the Washington Area Butterfly
Club, and VA-MD-DE Bugs (http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/VA-MD-
DE-Bugs/) discusses all of our local
insects and spiders.
Sharing your wildlife ob-
servations with others is a great
way to contribute to citizen science
while doing something you love.
Encouraging children to report
their own wildlife sightings gets
them excited about nature. Thank
you for helping us monitor wildlife
in the park.
Red-spotted Purple
 Page 4
December Programs
SATURDAYS
Wild for Winter Waterfowl
10:30-11:30 am
Come join us as we observe
swans, ducks and other mi-
grating waterfowl that re-
side in Belmont Bay during the winter
months. We’ll have a spotting scope
available for public use. Meet at Bay
View Trail head. Free.
GPS Adventures
12:30-2:30 pm
Come join us on this one
mile hike with park GPS
units. We’ll explore nature
while searching for hidden caches!
This program is most appropriate for
January Programs
SATURDAYS
Wild for Winter Waterfowl
10:00 am– 12:00 noon
Come join us as we observe
swans, ducks and other
migrating waterfowl that
reside in Belmont Bay during the win-
ter months. We’ll have a spotting
scope available for public use. Meet at
Bay View Trail head. Free.
GPS Adventures
1:00-3:00 pm
Come join us on this one
mile hike with park GPS
units. We’ll explore nature
while searching for hidden caches!
This program is most appropriate for
ages six and up. Maximum of 10 par-
ticipants. First come, first served.
T H E E A G LE E Y E
ages six and up. Maximum of 10 par-
ticipants. First come, first served.
Meet at Visitor Center. $3/person or
$8/family.
Majestic Eagles
3:30-4:30 pm
Look for bald eagles with
us, and discover their fas-
cinating lives. Meet at
Visitor Center. Free.
SUNDAYS
Wild for Winter Waterfowl
10:30-11:30 am
Come join us as we observe
swans, ducks and other
migrating waterfowl that
Meet at Visitor Center. $3/person or
$8/family.
Majestic Eagles
4:00-5:00 pm
Look for bald eagles with
us, and discover their fasci-
nating lives. Watch as ea-
gles glide across the skies above Bel-
mont Bay. Meet at Visitor Center.
Free.
SUNDAYS
Winter Ranger Hike
1:00-3:00 pm
Come see Belmont Bay up
close with our Park Inter-
preter. Discover wildlife
Volume II1, Issue iv
reside in Belmont Bay during the
winter months. We’ll have a spotting
scope available for public use. Meet
at Bay View Trail head. Free.
Majestic Eagles
3:30-4:30 pm
Look for bald eagles with
us, and discover their fasci-
nating lives. Meet at Visi-
tor Center. Free.
Parking fees apply at all times: $3 per
car on weekdays, $4 per car on week-
ends and holidays.
There will be no
guided programs
December 26th-
27th.
and what you can do to preserve the
natural world. Bring sturdy shoes,
water and your camera, and dress
appropriately for the weather. Meet
at Bay View Trail head. Free.
Majestic Eagles
4:00-5:00 pm
Look for bald eagles with
us, and discover their fasci-
nating lives. Watch as ea-
gles glide across the skies above Bel-
mont Bay. Meet at Visitor Center.
Free.
Page 5
Winter in the Wildlife Garden: planning for the spring
It’s frigid outside, and your
garden is a winter wonderland of
icicles and snow drifts. The most
wildlife you probably see are the
birds and squirrels coming to the
feeders you’ve hung in your yard, or
to any berries left on dormant
plants. Gardening should be the
last thing on your mind, right?
Wrong! In between watching the
activity at the feeders, this is the
perfect time to start planning new
additions to the garden—the annu-
als you’ll replant as well as any per-
ennials you want to add.
Winter is also a great time
to start learning and planning for a
brand new garden. Snuggle up in a
warm cozy chair as you look
through books, web sites and cata-
logs of lush flowers. What could be
better as snow falls outside?
You’ll probably want to in-
clude native plants in your garden,
although not all natives are neces-
sarily better than non-natives at
providing wildlife habitat. This is
especially true since many plants
broadly labeled native have very
specific growing needs, just as some
animals have very specific habitat
requirements. A desert plant from
Arizona won’t do so well here, for
example. Do your homework and
consider each plant on its own mer-
its and requirements.
When you’re ready to buy
plants, where should you go? Many
plant suppliers are hopping on the
native gardening bandwagon, so
you might even start your search in
big-name catalogs such as Park
Seed (www.parkseed.com/) or Bur-
pee (www.burpee.com/), even
though they don’t specialize in na-
tive or wildlife gardening.
If you aren’t satisfied with
mainstream stores, try nurseries
that specialize in native and wildlife
gardening. Below you’ll find some
T H E E A G LE E Y E
handy web sites that offer good in-
formation about wildlife gardening
and growing native plants, as well
as sources for buying native plants
in the mid-Atlantic region.
The National Wildlife Fed-
eration (NWF) has a helpful website
dedicated to wildlife gardening:
www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/.
They list information on providing
essential habitat, attracting differ-
ent kinds of wildlife, and even
building bat boxes and bird houses.
NWF has also produced a line of
native plants, American Beauties,
and the site offers a tool to find
nearby nurseries that sell the
plants. Here are a few listed within
100 miles of the park’s zip code:
♦ Behnke Nurseries Com-
pany, 11300 Baltimore Ave-
nue, Beltsville, MD (301) 937-
1100. 29 miles from zip code
22079.
♦ Catoctin Gardens, 35 Fairfax
Street S.E., Leesburg, VA 703-
669-1020. 35 miles from zip
code 22079.
♦ Riva Gardens, 3234 Riva
Road, Riva, MD (410) 956-2942.
38 miles from zip code 22079.
♦ Bru-Mar Gardens, 1009 Bay
Ridge Road, Annapolis, MD
(410) 990-9898. 43 miles from
zip code 22079
Other catalogs and nurser-
ies that specialize in native plants
for the mid-Atlantic area include
the following:
♦ Native Seeds Inc., 14590 Tria-
delphia Mill Road, Dayton, MD
21036. Seeds only. Free catalog.
301-596-9818.
♦ Enchanter’s Garden, in Hin-
ton, WV, specializes in mid-
Volume II1, Issue iv
Atlantic area native plants.
(304) 466-3154. http://
www.enchantersgarden.com/
♦ Meadowood Nursery, 24
Meadowood Drive, Hummels-
town, PA 17036. (717) 566-
9875. http://
www.meadowoodnursery.com/
♦ Redbud Native Plant Nurs-
ery, 1214 North Middletown
Road, Glen Mills, PA
19342 610-358-4300. http://
redbudnativeplantnursery.com/
♦ Nature By Design, 300 Cal-
vert Avenue, Alexandria,
VA 22301. 703-683-GROW
(4769). http://www.nature-by-
design.com
Also check out the Native
Plant Database at http://
www.wildflower.org/plants/. You
can search for specific plants’ info in
the database and peruse specialized
plant lists for butterfly, bird, and
other wildlife gardens, as well as
regional recommendations.
To find native alternatives
to common invasive species, try the
Plantwise database (http://
www.wildflower.org/alternatives/
index.php). It can be especially
helpful if you’re transitioning from
an ordinary garden to a wildlife-
focused garden, or if you’re just get-
ting started and want to check out
the possible benefits and drawbacks
of a certain plant.
Finally, the Maryland Na-
tive Plant Society’s web site has lots
of information relevant to our area:
http://www.mdflora.org/. You can
also find other states’ native plant
societies listed here: http://
www.mdflora.org/nps_lists.html.
Enjoy your armchair gar-
dening this winter, and keep those
bird feeders full!
Page 6
Tips for Winter Birding
Winter is a great time to
come birdwatching at Mason Neck
State Park. Many fascinating
birds are here only in the cold
weather, from the shy Winter
Wren to the elegant Tundra Swan
and the dramatic Hooded Mergan-
ser. Winter also holds special
weather-related attractions not to
be missed. If you’re unfamiliar
with visiting the park in winter, or
with wintertime birding in general,
here are some tips to help you plan
and enjoy your trip.
Tundra Swan
What can I expect to see?
Our winter-only residents
include waterfowl like Ruddy
Ducks, Bufflehead and Common
Loons; songbirds such as Dark-
eyed Juncos, White-throated Spar-
rows and both Golden-crowned and
Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and many
more. Eagles also will be courting
in the winter so watch for their
midair displays. Consult the
“Birds of Mason Neck State Park”
brochure, available at the visitor
center, for a full list of seasonal
species.
Where will I see it?
Large mixed rafts (floating
flocks) of ducks & other waterfowl
can be seen on Belmont Bay, from
the mouth of the Occoquan River
across to our shores and up into
Kanes Creek. Good views of the
bay are from behind the Visitor
Center, from the overlook in the
Picnic Area, and from the bay side
of the Bay View Trail.
Songbirds often congregate
in brush piles or dense bushes, and
T H E E A G LE E Y E
near food sources like holly trees or
the Visitor Center bird feeders.
Hiking the Bay View Trail is your
best choice for seeing both songbirds
and waterfowl. Listen for chicka-
dees as you walk along too. They
often are found with other species,
so their “chick-a-dee-dee-dee!” might
alert you to kinglets, nuthatches,
sparrows and more.
Bald Eagles are most likely
to be seen flying over Belmont Bay,
whether hunting for fish or engag-
ing in courtship displays. When we
get a prolonged cold snap, however,
the entire Belmont Bay may freeze
over. This attracts dozens of Bald
Eagles to congregate on the ice and
scratch for frozen minnows. An ea-
gle waddling comically across the
ice is a sight not to be forgotten!
When should I come?
As during the rest of the
year, birds are most active first
thing in the morning. You may en-
ter the park as early as 8 am, when
we open. There are also special
winter occasions to visit the park.
During or after a snowfall, you can
look for tracks and other signs in
the snow and listen to birds chirp-
ing and singing among the serene
snow covered trees. If you visit just
before a snowstorm hits, look for
birds hastily searching for food. As
mentioned above, one of the most
special winter moments can occur
after several very cold days and
nights. If the bay has frozen over
you may find dozens of eagles scat-
tered across the ice-- we’ve seen as
many as 50 out there at once. Also
consider attending one of our guided
bird walks— see the program sched-
ules on page 4. Whenever you visit,
keep in mind that duck hunting sea-
son is November 21st-December 5th
and December 12th-January 30th.
Although there is no duck hunting
within the park, several hunters’
blinds are in Belmont Bay near our
boundaries. You may hear occa-
sional gunshots or see the hunters’
Volume II1, Issue iv
decoys on the water. Hunting is
never allowed on Sundays in Vir-
ginia, so visit then if you prefer to
avoid the hunters altogether.
What special equipment should
I bring?
Of course bring your usual
birding equipment: a field guide,
your binoculars, and especially a
spotting scope if you have one,
since the ducks are sometimes far
across the bay. After that, consider
the weather and dress for warmth.
Multiple layers of clothing are best
so you can add or remove them as
needed. The park is usually wind-
ier than inland areas, so expect
additional wind chill-- gloves are a
must for using your binoculars.
Good waterproof hiking boots (not
sneakers) should keep your feet
warm and dry even if there’s snow
on the ground. A day pack will hold
extra clothing along with the rest of
your supplies. A thermos of hot cof-
fee or cocoa and some portable
snacks like granola bars or dried
fruit should keep up your energy
along the trail.
Hooded Merganser (male)
Even if you’ve never hiked
in wintertime before, let alone
birded then, give it a try this year.
You’ll be amazed at how different a
place the park is in the winter, and
how rewarding. Whether you have
a single target species like Tundra
Swan or Bald Eagle, or want to
rack up as many species in a day as
you can, Mason Neck State Park is
a great place for winter birding.
Hope to see you soon!