City Nature Challenge at Occoquan (Rating: D)

You must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.

(YOU DON'T NEED TO ATTEND THIS HIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CITY NATURE CHALLENGE. PLEASE READ ON!)

Come hike with us for up to 6ish flat miles on dirt trails along Belmont and Occoquan bays to survey birds, beasts, and blooms for the global City Nature Challenge. Even if you can't attend April 24, you can join this friendly nature competition and either survey on your own anywhere in DC, MD, and/or VA between April 24 to April 27 and/or help us (and other ordinary folks turned citizen-scientists) to identify our observations online from 4/28-5/10. You can find other in-person and/or virtual events here: https://citynaturechallengedc.org/events/

Our pace will range greatly, from dawdling to 3 mph with a plethora of stops. We’ll likely find nesting bald eagles, ospreys, and sunflower-yellow prothonotary warblers; uncommon spotted turtles; wildflowers, fungi; slinky snakes; and much more.

The hike leader is a Virginia Master Naturalist but more a jack-of-all-trades than a specialist in birding or botany. So birders, botanists, herpetologists, biologists, and others with specialized knowledge are especially welcome. But EQUALLY WELCOME ARE COMPLETE NOVICES who are excited to learn about (and protect) the goodies in our figurative and literal backyards.

IT'S EASY-PEASY TO JOIN US:

1. RSVP here.

2. Before you come, download the iNaturalist app and practice with it in your own neighborhood or in a local park. Basically you just photograph an animal, a bird, a plant, or fungi, and just upload the pic to the app or website on your computer. (No pets or cultivated plants, please.)
https://www.inaturalist.org

3. OPTIONAL: Join the "City Nature Challenge 2026: Washington DC Metro Area" project on the app and join OBNWR’s own project on the app. (Not required but helpful to learn about relevant projects.)

iNat offers lots of tips, including videos, if you need help. But if you prefer some more personalized help, just post here or send the hike leader a private Meetup message.

MEET: 8 a.m. at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 14050 Dawson Beach Rd., Woodbridge, VA. Copy these GPS coordinates into Google Maps ( 38.644642, -77.244276 ) or click here for directions: https://goo.gl/maps/S1eA3aHXRCUDX5S88
https://goo.gl/maps/S1eA3aHXRCUDX5S88

City Nature Challenge 2026 Washington DC Metro Area
iNat Project to join:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-washington-dc-metro-area

OBNWR iNat project to join:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=57206

CASH: Please bring $1 cash (no change) to cover our $20 federal permit.

RESTROOMS: Near start, near middle, at end, and biobreaks in between.

OBNWR HOTSPOT ON eBIRD:
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L718641

OBNWR BROCHURE & MAP:
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/occoquan-bay
https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/FINAL_OccoquanGenBrochure2018_0.pdf

IMPORTANT NOTES: Adults only. No pets are even allowed in cars at this special refuge. We'll likely finish well before 1 p.m., but that's for planning purposes since we don't know what we'll discover on our hike.

BRING: Sense of humor, sense of awe, water, snack/lunch, fully charged cell phone with iNaturalist app, optional camera and/or binoculars, sunblock, hand wipes, bug spray, and dress for the weather.

WEATHER: We'll hike in light rain.

CITY NATURE CHALLENGE WASHINGTON DC METRO:
https://citynaturechallengedc.org

INATURALIST:
Nonprofit group's crowd-sourced scientific database.
https://www.inaturalist.org

VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS (VMN):
http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org

ARLINGTON REGIONAL CHAPTER (ARMN) OF VMNs:
https://armn.org