Owl Moon Under the Stars!

  

 SEPTEMBER 18, 7:00PM * (rain date oct.2^nd)

 MASON NECK STATE PARK - 7301 HIGH POINT ROAD, LORTON VA

New for 2021:    FAMILY & scouts DISCOUNT!   

  

Imagine sitting under the stars as the evening skies grow dim.  The sounds of the night erupt as the park’s wildlife begins its nocturnal prowl.  Listen for  the call of a coyote or the hoot of a majestic owl.

Join us for a very special program – “A Year in the Life of an Owl”, featuring Barred, Great Horned, Barn and Eastern Screech owls. Presented by the raptor rehabilitators and educators of Secret Garden Birds and Bees, this is a ‘must see’ presentation.

Here’s your chance to come face to face with these magnificent raptors. Who wouldn’t want a selfie with an owl?  You’re sure to enjoy this interesting and educational program.

Learn what these owls are doing from January through December. Follow them through courtship, nesting, raising young, fledging and finally sending the young off to their own territories.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Everyone’s invited!  Owl Moon is open to the public and is great for all ages.

Entrance to the park is free (no parking fee) after 6:30 pm. 

 

$10 – INDIVIDUAL     $20 – FAMILY     $30 – scout troops

   

bring a blanket or a chair and find a spot on the lawn!

Register now here.

_____________

Order a Mason Neck State Park Wall Calendar Now!

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park are offering threes unique wall calendar for 2022 showcasing the wildlife of Mason Neck State Park. You can choose a calendar with photos of bald eagles; a calendar of singing songbirds; or a calendar of butterflies.  All of the photos were taken in or near Mason Neck State Park and feature animals that live in the park.  

         

The calendar will feature the photographs of the Friends' own Randy Streufert. Randy has written and provided the photos for the "Critters of the Month" articles in the Friends' newsletters of the last several months. He recently won the Grand Prize in the National Wildlife Federation's "Garden for Wildlife" photo contest and his photos have been featured in "Virginia Wildlife" magazine and other publications. 

You can order your calendars here.

_____________________ 

Come to

Park After Dark

6:30 – 8:30 PM, October 16, 2021

 

Have you ever experienced Mason Neck State Park after dark?  You’re invited to join the Park Staff and the Friends of Mason Neck State Park for a unique after-hours event.  Children will enjoy an “Enchanted Forest” walk – an opportunity to meet the Park’s wildlife inhabitants and learn about their lives in the Park. Teens and adults can take a “Lights Out in the Park” hike – an opportunity to experience the woods, perhaps hear owls calling and find how well our eyes and other senses adapt to the darkness.  There will be hot cocoa, coffee, s’mores and maybe even a storyteller as people gather around the campfire.

There’s no charge and no registration for this event. Entrance to the Park will be free after 6 PM.     

_________________

    

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park

Joined in Promoting Recreational Opportunities

on Mason Neck

The Friends joined with other local organizations in supporting the creation of a brochure promoting recreational opportunities on Mason Neck.  The brochure, part of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Virginia is for Lovers" campaign, will be distributed at hotels and other locations that are visited by tourists and visitors throughout northern Virginia.  You can view the brochure here: Escape to Mason Neck .pdf  

Join the Fight Against Disposable Plastic

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park are doing their part to slow the production and disposal of plastics.  Plastic bottles take as long as 450 years to decompose in the environment.  Before they do, they break down into "micro-plastic" bits that are eaten by animals and can end up in our own bodies.  On land, plastic adversely affects soil fertility, and can choke our streams and rivers.

The Friends of Mason Neck State Park have stopped offering disposable water bottles to Park volunteers and at Friends events.  Instead, they are offering free multi-use bottles that recipients can take home with them.  Hopefully, people will use these bottles instead of buying more disposable ones.  

Mason Neck State Park also is committed to reducing the use of disposable plastic bottles and has installed water bottle filling stations at the Visitor Center and the picnic area.  

         

Do your part too:  find ways to limit your use of disposable plastics, including those grocery store bags that have a typical useful life of 15 minutes -- the time to get from store to home -- and take 1000 years to decompose in a landfill.