Welcome to our last episode of "Chesapeake Almanac." Cold weather is losing its grip on the Chesapeake, but though the water is still cold, the earliest born Norfolk spot are making their way north, just as much a benchmark of spring as the first crocuses on land. It's March madness, which for finfish means renewed traffic and spawning on the Bay and in rivers and creeks. On this episode, John Page Williams highlights the fish you'll find making an appearance in the Chesapeake in March. From Norfolk spot, winter flounder, Labrador herring, and river herring to yellow perch spawning in small creeks on balmy days, white suckers, largemouth bass, chain pickerel, and the first of the blueback herring. March is a busy time in our waters.

Thank you for joining us for this series. If you're new, check out our past episodes to find out what's in store around the Bay each month.

If you liked this episode, please give us a thumbs up and share your comments, it really helps us to spread these seasonal stories to new listeners.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

There is no other estuary in the world with a network of rivers like the one that feeds Chesapeake Bay. Every square inch in the drainage basins of those rivers is connected directly to the Bay. The Chesapeake itself is a river, after all. It is the drowned valley of the Susquehanna, a 200-mile-long tidal river mouth. In this episode, John Page Williams provides a geography lesson of the Chesapeake's life blood--its rivers.

If you liked this episode, please give us a thumbs up and share your comments, it really helps us to spread these seasonal stories to new listeners.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

In March, you can see the tiny, wedge-shaped larvae of barnacles catching early spring plankton. They scull about with their six legs, not yet ready to settle and grow into the barnacles we know. Most Bay lovers have at least one good barnacle story. Invariably these tales involved hands cut by sharp shells, or speed- and fuel-robbing crust on boat bottoms. But these crustaceans do more than create havoc for humans. They create little ecosystems on dock and pier pilings and fallen trees. In this episode, John Page opens up the world of yet another small Bay creature that has a story that surpasses its tiny size.

If you liked this episode, please give us a thumbs up and share your comments, it really helps us to spread these seasonal stories to new listeners.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

Copepods. They are among the most abundant multicellular animals on earth and generally regarded as the most numerous in the Chesapeake, with numbers routinely as high as 30,000 per cubic meter of water in some areas. They are a keystone food source for virtually every fish species in the Bay. But it takes a 3X hand lens to bring them clearly into view. In fact, they fly so far under the radar that their species don't even qualify for common names. Only the Latin Eurytemora affinis and Acartia tonsa are used to identify them.

In this episode, John Page Williams brings into focus one of the tiny--but important--mysteries of the Chesapeake.

If you liked this episode, please give us a thumbs up and share your comments, it really helps us to spread these seasonal stories to new listeners.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

While February is the shortest month of the year, to many anglers it can seem like the longest. What happens to the Bay's species when the cold water of winter sets in? In this episode, John Page takes us beneath the surface of February's Bay--who hibernates; who settles into deep, warmer waters; who heads out to sea.

If you liked this episode, please give us a thumbs up and share your comments, it really helps us to spread these seasonal stories to new listeners.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

Winter brings several diving ducks from Canada and Alaska that thrive on the open Chesapeake. In this episode, John Page introduces us to four sea duck species attracted to the Bay's historically rich bottom food stores found in oyster beds.

If you liked this episode, please give us a thumbs up and share your comments, it really helps us to spread these seasonal stories to new listeners.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

The Chesapeake has a healthy population of otters. In fact, every river system has at least one family. Otters are perhaps the wildest, most elusive mammals on the Chesapeake. They certainly see more of us than we do of them. However, if you are lucky enough to spot one, watching an otter play on the ice if February is sure to be one of the highlights of your year! In this episode, John Page introduces us to these playful Chesapeake residents and dives into what makes these semi-aquatic mammals so otterly unique.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.

Did you know it's likely that most members of every population of bald eagles on the East Coast visit the Chesapeake at some point in their lives? In this episode, John Page Williams shares information about bald eagles in the Bay, where you can find them, and tips for identifying them, even if they are immature or too far away to distinguish their telltale white head.

TRANSCRIPT

Subscribe to Chesapeake Almanac, find us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our podcast page at https://www.cbf.org/ChesapeakeAlmanac.

Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.