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The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans 64,000 square miles throughout New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washinton, D.C. To put that into perspective, that’s more than 14 times the size of the Chesapeake Bay itself. This expansive, diverse land is home to more than 18 million people and over 3,000 plant and animal species. There’s a wide range of landscapes and even more life to explore throughout the watershed, so we’re glad you’re here.
BIRD SPECIES
FISH SPECIES
INSECT SPECIES
MAMMAL SPECIES
REPTILE SPECIES
AMPHIBIAN SPECIES
ALGAE SPECIES
INVERTEBRATES
“Animals Upstream” is an engaging four-part video series that unveils the often-overlooked wonders within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. When one thinks of the Chesapeake Bay, images of rockfish, oysters, and blue crabs likely come to mind. While these are iconic to the region, the watershed extends across 64,000 square miles and provides a home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals.
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With a delicious meal on the table and the opportunity to enjoy it with friends and family, recounting memories from a successful day on the Eastern Shore, it’s difficult to ignore all of the work that made it possible.
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It’s winter time in the Chesapeake and I’ve got ducks on the brain. Not just ducks but geese and swans, too; all of the waterfowl that travel south to the Bay during fall and winter in search of abundant food, warmer weather and longer days.
Spring in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a season of renewal and rejuvenation, marked by the harmonious interplay between native trees and bird species.
On the bottom of streams across the Chesapeake Bay watershed live hundreds of unique species of macroinvertebrates. From maylfies to stoneflies and caddisflies, to name a few, macroinvertebrates come in all shapes and sizes.
Due to the abundance of fish and insects that a waterway provides, you can find a wide variety of birds while kayaking streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including the belted kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon.
Have you ever heard the flutey call of the wood thrush? These interior forest specialists are commonly found in our eastern forests, but they are vulnerable to habitat changes, like fragmentation, invasive plant infiltration, and herbivory in the forest understory.
Hunters, in general, are often some of our greatest conservationists. Their passion for spending time in the outdoors puts them in close proximity to the remarkable beauty of our Chesapeake forest ecosystems, helping to create a conservation ethic.
What’s swimming right now? Fairy shrimp! These small crustaceans live in vernal pools and lakes and are an important food source for both fish and birds.
How do amphibians survive winter? These cold-blooded critters have unique methods for staying alive during the frigid winter months.
Beneath a creek’s waters lives an entirely different ecosystem of critters that would not look out of place from the movie franchise, Alien, clinging to rocks and crawling on the submerged substrate. Despite their less than loveable features, a stream’s aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates are great indicators of stream health.
