2017 Eagle Festival

The 2017 Eagle Festival is scheduled for March 11. Join us for a day of family fun at the refuge, celebrating birds of prey and other wildlife!
Click here for tentative schedule
About the Complex
There are four refuges and 5 divisions in the complex.
Blackwater is managed as part of the Chesapeake Marshlands NWR Complex.
Learn more about the complex
About the NWRS
The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.
Learn more about the NWRS
Around the Refuge
All the latest announcements from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
Click here
The Wildlife Drive will be free-of-charge on Monday, February 20. Come out and enjoy winter wildlife viewing at the refuge!
Seasons of Wildlife
Check out the raptor cams at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Visitors can view the osprey nest and bald eagle nest either online or from the refuge visitor center. Learn more on the raptor cams page.
Raptor Cams Page
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is celebrating the life and history of Harriet Tubman, whose heroic actions helped many slaves escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
Learn more about Harriet Tubman.

The Delmarva peninsula fox squirrel (DFS) is a large tree squirrel that lives in mature hardwood and pine forests throughout the Delmarva peninsula. Recently removed from the endangered species list, this squirrel is still a rarity on the eastern shore, with Blackwater refuge hosting the largest natural population.
Learn more
Page Photo Credits All photos courtesy of USFWS unless otherwise noted., Sunset at the refuge - Ray Paterra/USFWS.
Last Updated: Feb 04, 2017