View allAll Photos Tagged OccoquanBay
A view of Occoquan Bay on the Potomac River. This was taken from Deephole Point in the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Deephole Point is on Deephole Point Road Trail. This trail is accessed from Easy Road Trail or Fox Road Trail. The trails are crushed gravel roads for bikes and pedestrians only. These are short flat trails. #OccoquanBay #sunstars #OccoquanBayNationalWildlifeRefuge #PotomacRiver #river #bay #water #Wasser #川 #rivière #baie #Bucht #DeepholePoint
A pair of Bald Eagles at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was taking pics of the empty nest when a pair of eagles decided to land in it. I decided to set up the tripod and change the lens and wait for them to leave. I saw them flying around but I didn't expect them to land. This was taken from Deephole Point Road Trail. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. #BaldEagle #park #OccoquanBayNationalWildlifeRefuge #WildlifeRefuge #OccoquanBay #HaliaeetusLeucocephalus #birds #nesting #BirdNest #鳥 #Vogelnest #NidD'oiseau #鳥の巣
A pair of Bald Eagles at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was taking pics of the empty nest when a pair of eagles decided to land in it. I decided to set up the tripod and change the lens and wait for them to leave. I saw them flying around but I didn't expect them to land. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. #BaldEagle #park #OccoquanBayNationalWildlifeRefuge #WildlifeRefuge #OccoquanBay #HaliaeetusLeucocephalus #birds #nesting #BirdNest #鳥 #Vogelnest #NidD'oiseau #鳥の巣
Raindrops falling in the water with the sound of otters splashing around the edges. The smell of brackish water.
A rainy tidal marsh on the Potomac River at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, VA. Very active with otter, osprey, blue heron and redwinged blackbirds.
The sound of raindrops hitting the foliage, the smell of flowers and wet earth.
Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, VA.
I set my alarm just a little later than I would've liked, but I did manage to be down by the river in time to capture this. Watching the sun come up has become a new obsession of mine; it's so grounding and thrilling at once!
Nautical twilight at the fishing pier at Leesylvania State park. What interesting about this pier is that it is a state border. The beginning of the pier is in Virginia but half way through it and you are in Maryland.
A fellow photographer I met at the park told me that before this place became a state park, it used to belong to a corporation that hosted a casino boat-el. They took advantage of the fact that gambling was illegal in Virginia but perfectly legal in Maryland and that the Potomac River belongs to the latter. They then built a dock out to the ship which attracted a lot of gamblers to this peaceful area at the time. I was hooked with the story so I did a little more research online and found out that outraged Virginians protested on this and the meeting between the Governors of Virginia and Maryland was held. Maryland governor agreed to strip Charles County's (a county in Maryland who had jurisdiction over this part of Potomac river) gambling license. The outlawing of gambling casinos off Virginia's shoreline then drove the corporation into bankruptcy, and it was forced to sell out. Then some years later, Daniel Ludwig who then owned the property donated half of it to the commonwealth of Virginia, and that was when Leesylvania State Park was born.
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A view of Occoquan Bay taken from the boat-launch area at Leeslyvania State Park right before the sun came out. The color of the sky gradually turned from silk pink to blue and you can see it from the reflection on the water as well. Smooth.
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November 21. Sunday morning.
Forced myself out of bed at 5am.
Jacketed up as it was 35 degree outside.
Grabbed a cup of coffee at 7-Eleven.
Drove 30 minutes down south in the dark.
Paid a $5 State Park fee.
Arrived at the lake 35 minutes before the sun.
All come down to this.
The first light at Leesylvania State Park.
I'm glad I made it. Gorgeous morning.
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“You don't need somebody to interpret for you what a beautiful sunrise it is. ”
- Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
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Nikkormat FTN w/Vivitar 28mm f 2.8 Prime on Kodak Plus X.
Departing Washington DC somewhere between Mount Vernon and the Occoquan Bay on the Potomac River.
Christian Radich was built by Framnæs Mech. Yard in 1937. She was built as a sail training ship: the orlops (dormitories) had capacity for berthing 80-90 students (maximum 80 today after renovation), a large galley for learning to cook, carpentry training, and earlier there was also a machine shop on board (where the galley is now) for the training of engineers. The purpose of the training ship was to train sailors. Sailing-ships were the usual vessels around the turn of the century and that is why the sailing ships continued as a school ship later on.
Even though the initiator to build Christian Radich is often referred to as “Captain”, his profession was general manager of a saw mill and he was also part owner in another. However, he loved the sea, and it is said that he never got tired of listening to stories from his cousin who was a captain. Simeon Christian Radich lived from 1822 to 1889. His birthplace was Halden, but he lived most of his life in Oslo, at that time named Kristiania. Thus the ship is strongly associated with Oslo.
Technical specifications:
Christian RadichName Sk/S Christian Radich -Three mast – Fully Rigged Ship
Homeport: Oslo
Ship building yard: Framnæs Mekaniske Verksted, Norway
Year of construction: 1937
LOA w/bowspritz: 73,00 m
Beam: 9,70 m
Depht: 4,70 m
Height: 37,70 m
Tonnage
Net tonns: 198,00 tonn
Gross tons: 663,00 tonn
Deplacements: 1050,00 tonn
Sail area: 1360,00 m2
Number of sails: 27
Crew, about: 15-20 persons
Main engine Caterpilar: 900 hk
Speed, engine: 10 knots
Speed, sailing: 14 knots
Source: www.radich.no/en/the-ship/
As the sun ascend through layers of clouds, it painted the deep blue sky gold. Leesylvania State Park.
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Occoquan Bay NWR
There were actually many more coots (and other water birds) than are seen in the photo, and from a distance it just looked like a clump of black dots.
The land between Occoquan Creek & Marumsco Creek is now referred to as Deep Hole Point and Deep Hole Farm. Before it became the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, Virginia on Dawson Beach Road, it was a tobacco plantation purchased in 1690 by Martin Scarlet, Stafford County representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses between 1680 until his death in 1695. He was a close friend and political associate of George Mason, John Washington, and William Fitzhugh. In 1909, Deep Hole Farm was conveyed to John Lindsey Dawson of Fairfax County. He raised cattle (Angus) and wheat on Deep Hole Farm. The Potomac River Beach on Deep Hole Point became known as Dawson Beach. It was a popular local attraction until the Dawson family sold the farm in 1949. This area later became known as Dawson Beach Road.
This property is now the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is located in Woodbridge on the Potomac River. This was the site for U.S. Army Harry Diamond Laboratories (HDL) research facilities until 1994. Important development work on electromagnetic research was conducted here contributing to the development and practical application of electromagnetic pulse by the War Department
In 1940, the National Defense Research Committee organized the Ordinance Development Division of the National Bureau of Standards to develop advanced ordinance. The initial mission was the development of advanced fuses for bombs, mortar rounds, and rockets. The Woodbridge laboratory was one of seven research facilities working on this project. Harry Diamond was a pioneer in the field of radio signals and engineering who became the technical director of this program.
In 1950, the Department of the Army purchased 649 acres of Deep Hole Farm for a transmitting station. In 1952, the site was designated as the Department of the Army Transmitting Station under the U. S. Army Command and Administrative Communications Agency, Chief Signal Officer. The station became one of the largest communications facilities in the world.
On May 19, 1952 a transmitter station began operation here replacing an earlier transmitter site at Battery Cove, Virginia on the George Washington Parkway near Alexandria. In 1962, the Woodbridge station officially became the U. S. Army CONUS Regional Communications Command, East Coast Radio Transmitting Station, Woodbridge, Virginia. In 1962, military scientific research became a corporate laboratory assigned to the Army Materiel Command. This produced the name change to Harry Diamond Laboratories. On February 18, 1969 the Secretary of Defense consolidated all high frequency (HF) radio facilities in the Washington Metropolitan Area to Naval and Air Force installations. In 1965, Woodbridge station was placed under the United States Army Strategic Communications Command. The existing communications equipment was removed after this change. On July 1, 1970, the Woodbridge Transmitting Station became a electromagnetic pulse development and test site. It was designated USAMC Woodbridge Research Facility.
In July 1971, Harry Diamond Laboratories (HDL) acquired the Woodbridge transmission station from the U. S. Army Mobility Equipment Research & Development Command (MERDC) as part of nuclear weapons effects research. The primary mission of the Woodbridge Research Facility was to conduct experiments into the simulated effects of EMP normally generated by a nuclear detonation, on strategic and tactical electrical and electronic systems. HDL also developed and operated simulators providing the EMP environment for testing permanent and mobile military systems. The primary purpose of this satellite scientific testing site was to support the military systems survivability studies conducted by scientists at the U. S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphia, Maryland.
In 1972, the mission of Harry Diamond Laboratories became finding scientific alternatives for crowd control. During 1992, the United States Army consolidated its seven existing laboratories into the Army Research Laboratory. In 1989 the electromagnetic pulse testing stopped at the HDL Woodbridge Research Facility. On July 1, 1991 the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was endorsed by President George H. W. Bush and the Woodbridge Research Facility was slated for closure. In 1994 all research at the Woodbridge laboratory on the Potomac River had stopped, and the facility was no longer under intense security. The United States Army needed to conduct more powerful testing, and the Woodbridge area was too dangerous for modern electromagnetic pulse testing as the surrounding area became heavily populated.
After it was closed, the buildings of Harry Diamond Laboratories were dismantled. In 1997, the 580 acres of the Woodbridge Harry Diamond Laboratories site became the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge of the Department of the Interior United States Fish & Wildlife Service. It is frequently visited by birdwatchers as predatory birds of the region are frequently observed here hunting the Potomac River. There are more than 200 identified species of wildlife now reside among the concrete foundations of the former military communications transmission station.
Related link:
Courtesy of Dwayne & Maryanne Moyers, Realtors in Fairfax County, Prince William County, and Stafford County. Visit us at www.TheMoyersTeam.com
A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. - Chinese Proverb
Woodbridge, Virginia - Occocquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
I snapped this photo from Amtrak train 94 as we crossed Occoquan Bay at Woodbridge, Virginia. I was traveling from Washington, DC to Richmond on April 19, 2012 to visit my flickr contact John H. Bowman and his wife Ruth Ann.
A powerboat is launching out into the bay toward the Potomac River, sending a nice wake behind.
View my collections on flickr here: Collections
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This map of Bull Run tributary and the Occoquan River indicates regional and state parks, and landmarks along the waterway separating Fairfax and Prince William Counties. The map highlights the following features of the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail:
Bull Run Regional Park
Route 28 (Centreville Road) Bridge
Bull Run Marina Regional Park
Fountainhead Regional Park
Lake Ridge Community Park
Occoquan Regional Park
Mason Neck State Park
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Courtesy of Dwayne & Maryanne Moyers, Northern Virginia Realtors. Visit us at www.TheMoyersTeam.com.
Occoquan Bay NWR, Woodbridge, VA - June 13, 2009. Our birding group couldn't figure out why a piece of scat appeared to be moving on its own. Closer observation revealed a beetle working hard to move the stinking thing, and doing a pretty good job!
A young male staring at the water. Even the youth have serious and reflective moments. I wonder what is he thinking about. Location: Veterans Park/Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge
Volunteer assist Dad and kids with landing catfish at youth fishing event at Occoquan Bay NWR, VA
Photo by Robert Pos.
I found this pretty feather next to the trail. Think it's a wild turkey feather, maybe.
Just took a photo, left the feather behind for someone else to also discover!
I suspect that this is a heron species of some sort. Picture was taken at the Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge/Veterans Park area during a warm day in March.
Location: Prince William County, VA, US
Set: Animal Life, Explore
Highest position on Explore (to date): 266 on Tuesday, August 14, 2007. Thanks, everyone!
Went paddling around the recesses of Occoquan Bay today and way in the back, almost further than I could get my canoe into, some beavers had constructed their pond. The amount of work and precision put into the dam was amazing, it was a nice clean circle and was holding the water a good foot above the baseline