Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge

United States National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia

Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Mackay Island Wildlife Refuge
Map of the United StatesShow map of VirginiaMackay Island National Wildlife Refuge (the United States)Show map of the United States
Location	Currituck County, North Carolina, Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Coordinates	36°31′20″N 75°57′00″W / 36.5222°N 75.95°W / 36.5222; -75.95
Area	8,231 acres (33.31 km)
Established	1960
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge

Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1960 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, primarily the greater snow goose. It is located almost entirely on Knotts Island in the Currituck Sound between Back Bay in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the open sound in North Carolina. Most of the refuge lies within North Carolina but some of it is in Virginia. The refuge is primarily made up of marsh habitat. This area has long been recognized for supporting significant migratory waterfowl populations and sport fishery resources, and is part of the Charles Kuralt Trail.

The refuge is strategically located along the Atlantic Flyway, making it an important wintering area for ducks, geese, and tundra swans. At times, flocks of over 12,000 snow geese may be observed on the refuge after their arrival in November. Many other wildlife species such as wading birds, shorebirds, raptors, neotropical migrants, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians use refuge habitats for food, cover, and nesting. A pair of bald eagles also nest on the refuge.

About 74 percent of the refuge is slightly brackish marsh habitat, dominated by cattails, black needlerush, and giant cordgrass. The remaining habitat includes farmland, marsh impoundments, brush and typical upland and lowland eastern pine-hardwood forest. Vegetation in these areas includes loblolly pine, sweet gum, black gum, cypress, red maple, hickory, and oak.

The refuge has a surface area of 8,231 acres (33.31 km). Of this, 7,357 acres (29.77 km) is in North Carolina and 874 acres (3.54 km) is in Virginia.

References

Refuge website

"Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
"Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge General Brochure" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
"Lands Report | National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021.

External links

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protected areas of North Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Great Smoky Mountains
National Historic Sites	Carl Sandburg Home Fort Raleigh
National Memorials	Wright Brothers
National Military Parks	Guilford Courthouse
National Battlefields	Moores Creek
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway Crabtree Falls Craggy Gardens Cumberland Knob Doughton Park E.B. Jeffress Park Julian Price Memorial Park Linville Falls Moses H. Cone Memorial Park Mount Pisgah Waterrock Knob
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
National Seashores	Cape Hatteras Cape Lookout
National Marine Sanctuary	Monitor
National Estuarine Research Reserve	Currituck Banks Rachel Carson Masonboro Island Zeke’s Island
National Forests	Cherokee Croatan Nantahala Pisgah Uwharrie
National Wildlife Refuges	Alligator River Cedar Island Currituck Great Dismal Swamp Mackay Island Mattamuskeet Mountain Bogs Pea Island Pee Dee Pocosin Lakes Roanoke River Swanquarter
Wilderness Areas	Birkhead Mountains Catfish Lake South Ellicott Rock Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Linville Gorge Middle Prong Pocosin Pond Pine Sheep Ridge Shining Rock Southern Nantahala Swanquarter
Wilderness Study Areas	Craggy Mountain Harper Creek Lost Cove Overflow Snowbird
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Chattooga River Horsepasture River Lumber River New River Wilson Creek

State

State Parks	Carolina Beach Carvers Creek Chimney Rock Cliffs of the Neuse Crowders Mountain Dismal Swamp Elk Knob Eno River Fort Macon Goose Creek Gorges Grandfather Mountain Hammocks Beach Hanging Rock Haw River Jockey's Ridge Jones Lake Lake James Lake Norman Lake Waccamaw Lumber River Mayo River Medoc Mountain Merchants Millpond Morrow Mountain Mount Mitchell New River Pettigrew Pilot Mountain Pisgah View Raven Rock Rendezvous Mountain Singletary Lake South Mountains Stone Mountain William B. Umstead
State Recreation Areas	Falls Lake Fort Fisher Jordan Lake Kerr Lake
State Natural Areas	Hemlock Bluffs Lea Island Masonboro Island Mount Jefferson Occoneechee Mountain Theodore Roosevelt Weymouth Woods
State Lakes	Bay Tree Lake Jones Lake Lake Phelps Salters Lake Singletary Lake Lake Waccamaw White Lake
State Trails	Dan River Deep River East Coast Greenway Equine Fonta Flora French Broad River Haw River Trail Hickory Nut Gorge Mountains-to-Sea Northern Peaks Overmountain Victory Roanoke River Saluda Grade Wilderness Gateway Yadkin River
State Rivers	Horsepasture River Linville River Lumber River New River
State Forests	Bladen Lakes DuPont Headwaters Rendezvous Mountain
Educational State Forests	Clemmons Holmes Jordan Lake Mountain Island Turnbull Creek Tuttle
State Historic Sites	Alamance Battleground Charles B. Aycock Birthplace Historic Bath Bennett Place Bentonville Battleground Brunswick Town / Fort Anderson C.S.S. Neuse and Governor Caswell Memorial Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial Duke Homestead Historic Edenton Fort Dobbs Fort Fisher Historic Halifax Horne Creek Living Historical Farm House in the Horseshoe North Carolina Transportation Museum President James K. Polk Historic Site Reed Gold Mine Somerset Place Stagville State Capitol Thomas Wolfe Memorial Town Creek Indian Mound Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace
State Coastal Reserves	Bald Head Woods Bird Island Buxton Woods Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Kitty Hawk Woods Permuda Island

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in North Carolina

Protected areas of Virginia

Federal

National Parks	Shenandoah
National Historical Parks, Historic Sites & Monuments	Appomattox Court House NHP Arlington House Booker T. Washington NM Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP Claude Moore Colonial Farm Colonial NHP Cumberland Gap NHP Fort Monroe NM George Washington Birthplace NM Harpers Ferry NHP Maggie L. Walker NHS
National Military Parks, Battlefields & Battlefield Parks	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP Manassas NBP Petersburg NB Richmond NBP
National Cemeteries	Alexandria Arlington Balls Bluff City Point Cold Harbor Culpeper Danville Fort Harrison Fredericksburg Glendale Hampton Hampton VAMC Poplar Grove Quantico Richmond Seven Pines Staunton Winchester Yorktown
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge Music Center Mabry Mill Peaks of Otter Rocky Knob Recreation Area) George Washington Memorial Parkway
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT Overmountain Victory NHT Potomac Heritage Trail Star-Spangled Banner NHT
National Wildlife Refuges	Back Bay Chincoteague Eastern Shore of Virginia Mason Neck Featherstone Fisherman Island Glenn Martin Great Dismal Swamp James River Nansemond Occoquan Bay Plum Tree Island Presquile Rappahannock River Valley Wallops Island
National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Other NPS Areas	Assateague Island National Seashore Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Prince William Forest Park Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts
Wilderness Areas	Barbours Creek James River Face Mountain Lake Priest Ramsey's Draft Rich Hole Rough Mountain Saint Mary's Three Ridges
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Chesapeake Bay

State

State parks	Bear Creek Lake Belle Isle Breaks Interstate Caledon Chippokes Claytor Lake Clinch River Culpeper Battlefields Douthat Fairy Stone False Cape First Landing Grayson Highlands High Bridge Trail Holliday Lake Hungry Mother James River Kiptopeke Lake Anna Leesylvania Machicomoco Mason Neck Mayo River Middle Peninsula Natural Bridge Natural Tunnel New River Trail Occoneechee Pocahontas Powhatan Sailor's Creek Battlefield Seven Bends Shot Tower Shenandoah River Sky Meadows Smith Mountain Lake Southwest Virginia Museum Staunton River Staunton River Battlefield Sweet Run Tabb Monument Twin Lakes Westmoreland Widewater Wilderness Road York River
State forests	Appomattox-Buckingham Big Woods Bourassa Browne Channels Charlotte Chesterfield Chilton Woods Conway Robinson Crawfords Cumberland Devil's Backbone Dragon Run First Mountain Hawks Lesesne Matthews Moore's Creek Niday Place Old Flat Paul Prince Edward-Gallion Sandy Point South Quay Whitney Zoar
Natural Area Preserves	Antioch Pines Bald Knob Bethel Beach Big Spring Bog Blackwater Buffalo Mountain Bull Run Mountains Bush Mill Stream Camp Branch Wetlands Cape Charles Coastal Habitat Cave Hill The Cedars The Channels Cherry Orchard Bog Chestnut Creek Wetlands Chestnut Ridge Chotank Creek Chub Sandhill Cleveland Barrens Clover Hollow Cowbane Prairie Crawford's Knob Crow's Nest Cumberland Marsh Dameron Marsh Deep Run Ponds Dendron Swamp Difficult Creek Elklick Woodlands False Cape Folly Mills Creek Fen Goshen Pass Grafton Ponds Grassy Hill Grayson Glades Hickory Hollow Hughlett Point Johnsons Creek Lyndhurst Ponds Magothy Bay Mark's and Jack's Island Mount Joy Pond Mutton Hunk Fen Naked Mountain New Point Comfort North Landing River Northwest River Ogdens Cave Parkers Marsh Parramore Island Pedlar Hills Glades Piney Grove Flatwoods Pinnacle Poor Mountain Redrock Mountain Savage Neck Dunes Unthanks Cave William B. Trower Bayshore Wreck Island
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Big Survey Big Woods Briery Creek Chester F. Phelps Cavalier Chickahominy Clinch Mountain Crooked Creek Dick Cross Doe Creek Fairystone Farms Featherfin G. Richard Thompson Game Farm Marsh Goshen and Little North Mountain Hardware River Havens Hidden Valley Highland Hog Island Horsepen Lake James River Land's End Mattaponi Mattaponi Bluffs Merrimac Farm Mockhorn Island Oakley Forest Pettigrew Powhatan Princess Anne Ragged Island Rapidan Robert W. Duncan Saxis Short Hills Smith Mountain Cooperative Stewarts Creek T. M. Gathright Turkeycock Ware Creek Weston White Oak Mountain

Other

Registered Historic Places in Virginia	Virginia Landmarks Register National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia Bridges National Historic Landmarks

v t e National Wildlife Refuges of the United States
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming American Samoa Guam Puerto Rico U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Virgin Islands

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

v t e Outer Banks of North Carolina and Virginia
Landforms	Bodie Island Knotts Island Monkey Island Mary Island Colington Island Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula Roanoke Island Pea Island Hatteras Island No Ache Island Cape Hatteras Shelly Island Ocracoke Island Beacon Island Portsmouth Island Core Banks Cape Lookout
Places	City of Virginia Beach Sandbridge Currituck County Knotts Island Carova Beach Corolla Dare County Duck Southern Shores Kitty Hawk Kill Devil Hills Colington Nags Head Whalebone Junction Manteo Wanchese Rodanthe Waves Salvo Avon Buxton Frisco Hatteras Hyde County Ocracoke Carteret County Portsmouth Cape Lookout Village
Waterways	Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Bays Onslow Bay Raleigh Bay Back Bay Knotts Island Bay Sounds Currituck Sound Albemarle Sound Croatan Sound Roanoke Sound Pamlico Sound Core Sound Back Sound Inlets Oregon Inlet New Inlet Isabel Inlet Hatteras Inlet Ocracoke Inlet Drum Inlet Barden Inlet
Lighthouses	Currituck Beach Light Bodie Island Light Cape Hatteras Light Ocracoke Light Cape Lookout Light
Protected areas and wildlife	National seashores Cape Hatteras National Seashore Cape Lookout National Seashore Wildlife refuges Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge Currituck National Wildlife Refuge Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge State parks False Cape State Park Jockey's Ridge State Park State coastal reserves Kitty Hawk Woods Buxton Woods Game lands Currituck Banks Game Land Roanoke Island Marshes Game Land Buxton Woods Game Land Preserves Nags Head Woods Preserve Roanoke Island Marshes Preserve Museums, zoos, and institutes North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum University of North Carolina - Coastal Studies Institute Other Mountains-to-Sea Trail Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Wright Brothers National Memorial Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve Run Hill State Natural Area Wildlife Banker horse Red wolf
Transportation	Routes Historic Albemarle Tour North Carolina Ferry System Bridges Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge Marc Basnight Bridge Herbert C. Bonner Bridge Wright Memorial Bridge William B. Umstead Bridge Washington Baum Bridge Melvin R. Daniels Bridge Rodanthe Bridge Mid-Currituck Bridge Captain Richard Etheridge Bridge Airports Dare County Regional Airport First Flight Airport Billy Mitchell Airport Ocracoke Island Airport
History	Events and places Pea Island Life-Saving Station Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Roanoke Colony Graveyard of the Atlantic Torpedo Alley Battle of the Atlantic Hatteras Weather Bureau Station Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island People Roanoke people Croatan Wanchese Manteo John White Richard Grenville Blackbeard Raleigh Virginia Dare Marc Basnight
Weather	1936 Outer Banks hurricane 1945 Outer Banks hurricane Hurricane Fran Hurricane Irene Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Dorian Hazard mitigation

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