Observation Platform

About this site

Thank you for visiting Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and for participating in our Chronolog Citizen Science Project. The Observation Platform is located near the confluence of the Little Blackwater River and the Blackwater River, tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. This location provides excellent views of tidal marshes, forests, and shallow open water, where you may see bald eagles flying overhead or perched in the trees along the edge of the marsh. Secretive marsh birds like the American bittern and king rail are sometimes heard or seen here. As sea levels rise across the globe, the impacts are evident here. Relative sea level rise can drown tidal marshes and change them to open water. The same process slowly floods adjacent forests, killing the trees and creating new tidal marshes. These changes are not easily noticed during just one visit to Blackwater NWR, but photographs over time tell the story. Your photographs taken at this location will help document the slow but steady impact of sea level rise on the habitats of Blackwater NWR. This Chronolog site is sponsored by the Friends of Blackwater.