Rejuvenation: Close encounters in Pohick Bay

Minutes into paddling a rented red kayak through the Potomac waters of northern Virginia's Pohick Bay Regional Park, I hear a distinctive, unmistakable sound coming from the shorline. It's an almost prehistoric sqawk ... a throaty, primal blast that I know belongs to only one creature.

I look to my left and see a Great Blue Heron standing there, barely 50 feet away. Maybe less. I drift nearer, my breath taken by the thrill of floating toward him. These elusive birds have never let me get this close in all the places I've sought them out. This guy today is different. He lets me deeper into his world than I have ever been -- giving me several more precious seconds, moments I wish I could freeze in time.

Then the inevitable: He heaves himself above the tall green grasses he had been fishing beside, flapping his massive his massive wings so hard they pop like a flag in a brisk wind.

He's gone.

My windpipes return a moment later and I take it all in. Though I'm only 30 minutes outside of D.C., I am in a completely different world. It's a Sunday afternoon and I am for the first time in my life overcoming my fear of water. The fear left with the heron, I realize. I am comfortable now. Like I had been kayaking all my life.

Like I belong in the water, in the wild, with this bird.

And his friends.

A couple hundred strokes after saying farewell to the heron, I look up and see two bald eagles racing each other across the sky. They're flying straight at me and the friend who's giving me the tour, lowering their altitude and glancing down at us to make sure we're admiring them properly. They swoop so close that for a second I think they must see a snack next to our boats ... but they raise their flaps and head back toward the horizon. Rebecca and I giggle.

We head further out, feeling the perfect, 82-degree sunlight drenching our faces and the cool bay waters trickling onto our hands with each stroke. I am full of confidence and delight now; I want more of this.

I also decide to start a new hobby for the day -- retrieving the occasional Gatorade, Coke and beer bottles that have been swept into Pohick Bay. Some are wedged deep into pockets of seaweed but I'm determined. I fight through it, retrieve the trash, and lumber out.

Failing to hit the breaks on one pickup, though, I slide into the leafy green stalks of one of the marshes we're paddling around. A family of red-winged blackbirds is hanging out, looking me straight in the eyes from seven feet away. They are not the least bit concerned that I've crashed my kayak right into their living room.

Awesome.

I apologize, back up, and mosey toward the farthest bank of the bay. Rebecca teaches me more about ecology as we paddle. I learn about the negative impact various farming practices have on the bay. She points out the differences between egrets and ospreys sitting in distant tree branches and calls my attention to kingfishers as they dart past us. We see a tiny yellow bird that could fit in the palm of our hands but can't make out what it is.

We row past logs providing refuge to sunbathing turtles. A dragon fly bums a ride with me for a while. More eagles come and go. A baby green heron watches us ease by at beak level, not quite sure what to make of us.

I spot what looks like a weathered old volleyball drifting by.

"Wilson!," I scream.

I scoop up the weary traveler and decide he will be my new officemate; he is relieved.

Different schools of fish pass beneath my craft. Some do gymnastic leaps toward the water surface. The performances capture the attention of a pair of egrets who battle for a bite. The loser storms away mad when the victor chooses not to share.

After being out on the water for several hours, I'm hungry, too. Rebecca and I paddle to the takeout point in silence. I replay the day's highlight reel in my head. My adrenalin is still racing, my batteries recharged.

I can't believe I got all this for $7 an hour.

[Learn more: Visit the Pohick Bay Web site at http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/pohickbay/index.php.]

 

Comments

[LL]

Man, I wish I was there! Thanks for picking up the trash. We all need to do a better job of cleaning up after ourselves so we don't end up strangling the planet. I enjoyed this post and was able to feel a little of what you felt. You're much more enjoyable to read when you're not snarling about something.

[Paul]

you found it! Pohick Bay is one of the most wonderful hidden treasures of our area.

Within minutes of renting a boat or lauching your own, you are in the marsh with wildlife all around you. The water in this area is only a few feet deep in most places, so if you fall out of your boat, you can just stand up.

Thank you for letting the world know about this wonderful place. Just an hour or two paddling at Pohick Bay and you will be more centered and stress free.

[Paul]

I made a link to this post on my blog that is all about the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

See more about this and other wonderful Regional Parks at www.regionalparks.blogspot.com

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Mason Neck is a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River to the south of Washington, DC. It is surrounded also by Belmont Bay to the west, Gunston Cove to the east, and Pohick Bay to the northeast. The unincorporated community of Mason Neck forms the southernmost section of Fairfax County, in Northern Virginia, and comprises an area of approximately 9,000 acres (36 km2), two-thirds of which is preserved as parkland by regional, state, and national authorities.