Presquile NWR & James River

May 19, 2013: Members of the Focus Group Camera Club took a river tour around the Presquile National Wildlife Refuge on a very overcast morning. The Presquile NWR is located in the James River approximately 20 miles south of Richmond. The island was originally a peninsula. In the 1930's the Army Corps of Engineers created the Turkey Island Cutoff, thus creating the island, in order to cut six miles off the distance for ships traveling up and down the James River. The 1329 acre island became a national wildlife refuge in 1953. The refuge was created primarily with migratory birds in mind but it is also the year-round home to many kinds of wildlife including bald eagles.