Chesapeake Waterbirds in August

     On the same afternoon one day in the middle of August about six years ago, I went to a community park in Northeast, Maryland and another one in Perryville, Maryland.  Both those towns perch on northern edges of the Chesapeake Bay, where the Northeast River and the Susquehanna Rivers enter that estuary.  I visited those parks to view the Chesapeake and note what kinds of waterbirds are visible around it at that time of year.  I saw the same kinds of birds from both parks, but in varying numbers between those public places.  Many of them I could not have seen at all without my 16 power binoculars.
     I saw two immature bald eagles circling gracefully, and seemingly effortlessly, maybe in the process of hunting fish, over the broad part of the Northeast River at Northeast that afternoon.  One of those eagles dropped to the Northeast River and caught a fish.    
     A little later I noticed four immature balds and three adult balds, either perched in tall trees or soaring over the bay near the park at Perryville.  The eagles in the sky may also have been searching for fish to catch in their talons.  One young eagle chased and bullied an osprey to try to get the smaller raptor to release the fish it was carrying in its claws so it could escape the harassment of the eagle.
     On that same afternoon in August, I noticed six ospreys at Northeast and, later, four at Perryville.  Two ospreys at Northeast River were perched on a channel marker buoy where they, or another pair of ospreys, raised young for several consecutive years.  The other ospreys were in the air a lot of the time and one of them dropped to the water feet first, plunged into the water with a splash, quickly emerged with a fish in its talons and flew with powerful wing beats to a nearby tall tree to consume its catch.
     Several double-crested cormorants, with their long necks and beaks, were perched on a dead tree in the broad waters of Northeast River, while others dove under water from the surface around that fallen tree to catch fish to eat.  At Perryville, I saw a few cormorants swimming and diving into the bay out from the park.  
     Three majestic great blue herons were perched in high trees, presumably to rest and digest fish, along Northeast River while I was there.  A fourth stately great blue carefully stalked fish in the shallows of the Northeast River, with success.
     And, amazingly, I saw a few dozen great blues from the park in Perryville.  Most of those magnificent herons were wading in the shallows of the Susquehanna Flats where the flowing Susquehanna River slows dramatically at the head of the bay and dumps its load of sediment.  That silt piles up because of a drastically slowed current and creates mud flats and inches-deep water where long-legged herons can wade to snare fish.
     A few Forster's terns were present at both parks along the upper Chesapeake.  At Northeast, a couple of terns caught small fish from Northeast River, while other terns rested on channel markers and that same dead tree in the water.  At Perryville, a few Forster's flew over a backwater of the estuary and occasionally dropped into the water beak-first, with a little spray, to catch fish.
     Post-breeding Forster's terns are fairly common along inland estuaries and rivers late in summer and into autumn.  There they catch small fish until the threat of winter in October chases them farther south for the winter.
     A few kinds of scavenging birds, two species of gulls and one type of crow, were also present at the parks in Northeast and Perryville when I was there in mid-August.  Scores of ring-billed gulls and two laughing gulls were on the Northeast River, but I saw only a few ring-bills on the bay at Perryville.  And there were about 20 fish crows alternately in the trees and the air along the river and calling nasally at Northeast, as there almost always are.
     Late in August of another, more recent year, I went to the park at Northeast to see what water birds were around the broad part of Northeast River.  Then I saw a few ospreys soaring and flapping as they watched for fish, two adult bald eagles, one of them chasing an osprey to get its fish, a couple of double-crested cormorants and several boisterous fish crows.  I noticed a few Forster's terns flapping quickly and abruptly diving into the river after small fish.  And I saw scores of ring-billed gulls and about 160 laughing gulls, half of them young birds of the year.  All of the gulls of both species were either flapping gracefully in the air, or resting on the river or a grassy lawn.  I don't think I ever saw so many laughing gulls so far inland as those on that late-August day.  I was thrilled!
     Knowing when to be where to see intriguing wildlife can bring much joy and inspiration to anyone.  Successfully finding wildlife in its many and varied habitats, any time of year, can lift one's spirits and help make life more worthwhile.