Trip Report

Boardwalk Birding /  by Todd Henson

Morning call of a red-winged blackbird

One of the many joys of photography for me is pulling out the big lens and going birding. Granted, I often photograph more than birds on these trips, but birds are what I most expect to find and photograph. There’s just something about them I love. Perhaps it’s because they are the most accessible wildlife for most of us so they provide a plentiful range of subjects.

A red-winged blackbird calling from a bush

Red-winged blackbird and the field of green

A glimpse of a yellow warbler before it flew away

On this particular day I walked the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk with my father. This is a somewhat new boardwalk built across the wide wetlands expanse of Neabsco Creek in Woodbridge, Virginia. They did a great job designing it, weaving the boardwalk along different portions of the wetlands, giving views of beaver lodges, the creek, marshy areas, and sections of raised land and trees where you can sometimes see deer. The boardwalk goes up and down in elevation, as well, allowing different views. In the sections that are down low you can photograph treefrogs and insects on the various plants. In the slightly raised sections you can look out in the distance or down at the water below.

An eastern phoebe perched above the wetlands

An eastern phoebe viewed through the mimosa. Look closely to see an insect in its mouth, which it will bring back to its nest under the boardwalk.

Portrait of an eastern phoebe

I love the variety wetlands provide. Some days you might see many, many species, others less so, but there’s always something to see. In this post are photographs I created of red-winged blackbirds, yellow warblers, eastern phoebes and mourning doves. Not a huge number of species, but I’m very happy with those I saw and photographed. It was a beautiful morning, watching the sun rise over the trees, illuminating sections of the wetlands, sometimes giving that nice glow, other times less so when the sun went behind clouds. But regardless of where the sun was the light was great.

I hope you enjoy this small selection of birds found one morning on the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk.

Early morning mourning dove with a single trumpet vine flower in the lower left

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Morning Walk Along Pyrite Mine Road /  by Todd Henson

One April morning we walked down Pyrite Mine Road

Some of the trails we hike are actually old roads that when the land was transitioned to the National Park Service became trails for hiking. One of those is Pyrite Mine Road, and as the name implies, it was once the road that led to an active pyrite mine. Of course, that mine is no more, with the shafts closed off and only the remains of some old structures still standing, along with Park Service signs with information about the old mine and how the land was reclaimed, cleaned up and redeveloped into part of Prince William Forest Park.

Interestingly, this photo was created almost exactly 2 hours after the one above. This time we’re headed back out, but stop to view the blooming redbud and dogwood along the side of the road.

This particular morning was in early April with signs of spring showing, those beautiful lighter greens beginning to grow on the trees, some flowers blooming, and on this day a soft filtered light from a completely overcast morning. I loved how the soft light illuminating those soft greens gave the entire world along the road a soft look to it, far softer than it will look once all the leaves have grown back in and filled in all the gaps between the trees (how many times can I use soft in one sentence? 😁).

Having passed the redbud I turn around and look back down the road. You can see how it goes downhill from here.

The only lens I’d brought for this hike was a 105mm macro lens, figuring we might find some nice flowers or interesting mushrooms along the forest floor. But as my father and I hiked I realized I also wanted to capture the beautiful soft look of the trees around the trail, something the wide maximum aperture of this lens (f/2.8) actually helped with (though this wasn’t planned when we set out that morning). Instead of trying to keep everything in sharp focus I opted to open the aperture, making portions of the scene blurry, contributing to the soft feel of the scene and perhaps guiding the eye into the image.

Here we’ve just about reached the end, or more appropriately, the beginning of Pyrite Mine Road. The road sign can just barely be seen in the distance, as can a couple blooming dogwood closeup and further off.

So as we hiked I looked for little stretches of the trail that had some interest to me, perhaps a bend in the road, maybe a bit of color from blooms in the trees, maybe just a bit more of that soft light I was enjoying. Through these photos I wanted to take you along with us on our walk, sharing some of the moments we enjoyed that morning walking through the woods in early spring.

And one final view looking back down Pyrite Mine Road before we head back to the parking lot.

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Fort Hunt Park, Virginia /  by Todd Henson

Entering Fort Hunt Park, part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia

Fort Hunt Park is located near Mount Vernon, along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, on land once owned by George Washington as part of his River Farm plantation. It is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which is a national park. Though primarily a recreational park, with sports fields, playgrounds and areas for picnics or cookouts, it is also of historic significance.

Pavilion A at Fort Hunt Park, located at the main parking area, surrounded by open fields

Fort Hunt was completed in 1897, just in time for the Spanish-American War. It was built as part of the Endicott Coastal Defense System, proposed by Secretary of War William C. Endicott, to upgrade the country’s coastal defenses. Being located on the Potomac River, Fort Hunt, along with Fort Washington, across the river in Maryland, were tasked with protecting Washington, D.C. from naval assault.

A view of Battery Mount Vernon at Fort Hunt Park along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia.

Though completed before the start of the Spanish-American War, Fort Hunt never actually saw any action during that war. As technology advanced, the coastal defense system provided by installations like Fort Hunt were no longer needed, so its guns were dismantled and sent off to support World War I operations. But the fort continued to be used by the military until the 1930s, when it was converted into a Civilian Conservation Corp camp.

In 1933, Fort Hunt became Fort Hunt Park, part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a national park. However, with the onset of World War II, Fort Hunt was temporarily turned back over to the military and used for top secret military intelligence operations. This lasted four years, after which it returned to its status as national park land.

Today you can visit and walk along some of the remains of the military fortifications of Fort Hunt. There are four batteries still located in the park, as well as the Battery Commander’s Station.

Battery Sater

Battery Sater, Fort Hunt Park, Virginia

Battery Sater was completed in 1904 and supported three 3-inch rapid-fire guns with a range of 4.5 miles. It was the last of the four gun batteries completed, and also served as a command center for mines placed in the Potomac River between Fort Hunt and Fort Washington.

One section of Battery Sater from the ground level.

Looking out at Battery Sater from the top level.

A leaf filled walkway of Battery Sater.

A look inside one of the closed off rooms of Battery Sater.

I enjoyed photographing Battery Sater. It was one of the two batteries, along with Battery Mount Vernon, that supported three guns, making it second largest of the structures. There were lots of interesting little nooks and crannies to see while walking its walls. I even tried using the high ISO features of my camera to see into the dark of some of it’s closed off rooms.

Battery Porter

Looking up at Battery Porter, Fort Hunt Park, Virginia

Battery Porter was completed in 1902 and supported one 5-inch rapid-fire gun with a range of 7 miles. This gun was intended to draw enemy ships into range of the larger and more powerful guns of Battery Mount Vernon.

Battery Porter is fairly small, as it supported a single gun, so I didn’t create many photographs of this location.

Battery Robinson

Battery Robinson, just outside the main entrance to Fort Hunt Park, Virginia

Battery Robinson was completed in 1902 and, similar to Battery Porter, supported one 5-inch rapid-fire gun, whose purpose was also to draw enemy ships into range of the larger guns.

Battery Robinson is located just outside the fenced entrance to the park. I photographed it on a different day than the majority of the photos in this post. With the leaves off the trees I noticed you can see the Potomac River from this location.

Battery Mount Vernon

Battery Mount Vernon, Fort Hunt Park, Virginia

Battery Mount Vernon was the first and the largest of the batteries at Fort Hunt. It was completed in 1898 and supported three 8-inch breech loading disappearing guns with a range of 8 miles. They were called disappearing guns because their recoil energy was used to lower them down below the protective walls. When they were reloaded they would be raised back above the walls to fire.

Looking down the length of Battery Mount Vernon, one of the batteries to the left.

Looking out at a battery of Battery Mount Vernon.

Turning away from the battery, towards the rest of the fort.

Looking out of Battery Mount Vernon to the rest of Fort Hunt Park.

Gated off rooms at the lower level of Battery Mount Vernon. Nothing can escape graffiti these days.

Battery Mount Vernon was the most interesting to photograph, as it was the largest and most complex of the structures. You can’t go inside any of these structures (they were closed off to protect the public from the asbestos and other chemicals in use at the time), but it has a lot of interesting elements along the outside. I created a few more artistic photographs of Battery Mount Vernon, including An Eye to the Battery, Facing Down the Tower, and Stepping From the Dark.

Battery Commander’s Station

The Battery Commander’s Station is the tower to the right. Battery Mount Vernon is on the left.

The Battery Commander’s Station was a tower used to observe the Potomac River and direct fire at oncoming ships. It could also be used to signal Fort Washington across the river in Maryland.

I’ve visited Fort Hunt Park a couple times now. It is a small park and easy to see in a short span of time. Of course, with the photographic opportunities of the batteries it would also be easy to spend many hours here. I hope to return during different seasons to see how the scenery around the batteries change. Perhaps I’ll update this page in the future with any new photographs I create.

I wouldn’t necessarily plan a long trip just to visit Fort Hunt Park. But if you’re in the area, or interested in history, it’s well worth the visit if time permits. It is easy to get to, right off the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. If you visit leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of the park and its old fortifications.

Originally posted May 7, 2019. Updated March 2, 2020.

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