SPRING ON THE UPPER CHESAPEAKE

      I visited the Upper Chesapeake Bay at the Community Park of Northeast, Maryland one afternoon about the middle of March a few years ago, as I had several times in different seasons before that day.  This time, I went there to spot migrating water birds of various kinds.  

     Because of their high numbers, gulls and ducks were the dominant birds on the ice, and strips of open water among the slabs of ice because of the warming weather in March.  Most of the handsome ring-billed, herring and great black-backed gulls stood picturesquely on slabs of ice.  

     The attractive, adult ring-billed and herring gulls are mostly gray on top, white below, and look much alike, except the herrings are larger and have a red mark on their beaks, whereas each ring-bill has a black "ring" around its bill.  Largest of these gulls, the stately, mature black-backs have black backs and upper wings and are white below, making a striking, attractive plumage pattern.  

     All three of those gull species had been along the upper Chesapeake all winter.  There they caught and ate small fish, and scavenged anything they could, anywhere around the estuary.

     Groups of several kinds of migrant ducks joined flocks of wintering Canada geese and mallard ducks on the ice and leads of water.  Some of those ducks, of various kinds, took flight occasionally, but came back to their starting points, creating inspiring entertainment when flying swiftly in groups.

     The fish-eating family of ducks, including common mergansers, red-breasted mergansers and hooded mergansers, all of which have beautiful drakes, each kind in its own way, were well represented that day on the upper bay.  The common mergansers were the most abundant mergansers there.  Most individuals of all species stayed on the water and dove underwater from the surface to catch small fish.

     Most species of bay ducks were there that afternoon, including groups of lesser scaups and greater scaups mostly, and a few each of red-heads and canvasbacks, mixed in the scaup flocks.  Most ducks of all these species stayed on the water and some dove under to ingest aquatic plants and invertebrates, adding more entertainment to my watching nature that afternoon.

     Several wigeon ducks and a few shoveler ducks sat on the ice with the geese and mallards.  The wigeons join the Canadas and mallards in harvested corn fields to shovel up corn  kernels and in rye fields to pluck green shoots of rye.  Flocks of those birds are interesting to see flying over farmland to feeding fields, then back to water to rest.

     There were other intriguing birds on the Upper Chesapeake that day, including groups of elegant tundra swans and individual, majestic bald eagles resting on the ice, American coots in the leads of water, stately great blue herons wading in shallows after fish and noisy fish crows in treetops in the park along the shore of the bay.  All those species helped make the day along the bay more memorable.

     Swans mostly feed in rye and harvested corn fields.  Coots dive under water to consume water plants like some species of ducks.  But coots also feed on turf grass like geese and wigeons.  Coots even look like they are crosses between ducks and chickens.  But coots swim and dive under water quite well. 

     Most of these birds, including most of the gulls and geese, all the swans, the duck species, except the mallards, some of the eagles, and all the coots soon migrated farther north or west to their nesting territories.  But they were inspiring to experience when they were along the Chesapeake.      

     I saw a nice diversity of water birds along the Upper Chesapeake that afternoon.  During every field trip I see at least a few kinds of intriguing plants and animals.  Nature is diverse, even in the midst of human activities.  There is always something inspiring to experience, everywhere, all the time.  Try to get out to experience nature, but discretely, so as to be unobtrusive.