Chesapeake Almanac

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Chesapeake Almanac

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

48 episodes

1 month ago

Join retired Chesapeake Bay Foundation Senior Naturalist John Page Williams every Wednesday for inside accounts of our Bay’s creatures and seasonal events. Follow the Bay through the seasons. Williams' fascinating natural history will enable those who love the Chesapeake to tune in to life around the Bay. The fishing enthusiast will discover things that help him or her catch more bluefish or white perch; the bird watcher and the hiker will learn when to look for the appearance of the ospreys in the spring and the geese in the fall. The cruising sailor drinking morning coffee while anchored in a quiet cove will learn why a great blue heron stalks the shallows in summer; the canoeist will discover when to look for wild marsh flowers. ABOUT JOHN PAGE WILLIAMS Raised in Richmond, John Page Williams retired in 2019 from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation after a long career working as a naturalist and field educator on streams, creeks, rivers, and the open Bay throughout the Chesapeake watershed in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. As he has also done for many years, he continues to review powerboats and write on fishing and environmental issues for Boating Magazine, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, and Virginia Wildlife Magazine. 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. Content copyright © John Page Williams, Jr. All rights reserved. Find out more about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at www.cbf.org.

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Join retired Chesapeake Bay Foundation Senior Naturalist John Page Williams every Wednesday for inside accounts of our Bay’s creatures and seasonal events. Follow the Bay through the seasons. Williams' fascinating natural history will enable those who love the Chesapeake to tune in to life around the Bay. The fishing enthusiast will discover things that help him or her catch more bluefish or white perch; the bird watcher and the hiker will learn when to look for the appearance of the ospreys in the spring and the geese in the fall. The cruising sailor drinking morning coffee while anchored in a quiet cove will learn why a great blue heron stalks the shallows in summer; the canoeist will discover when to look for wild marsh flowers. ABOUT JOHN PAGE WILLIAMS Raised in Richmond, John Page Williams retired in 2019 from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation after a long career working as a naturalist and field educator on streams, creeks, rivers, and the open Bay throughout the Chesapeake watershed in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. As he has also done for many years, he continues to review powerboats and write on fishing and environmental issues for Boating Magazine, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, and Virginia Wildlife Magazine. 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. Content copyright © John Page Williams, Jr. All rights reserved. Find out more about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at www.cbf.org.

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Episodes (20/48)

Chesapeake Almanac

March: Early Spring Fish

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.

3 years ago

6 minutes 38 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

March: River Geography

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.

3 years ago

6 minutes 6 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

March: Barnacles and Springtime

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.

3 years ago

5 minutes 15 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

March: Copepods - Keystones of Spring

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.

3 years ago

7 minutes 52 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

February: Cold Water Brings a Quiet Season

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.

3 years ago

4 minutes 23 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

February: Sea Ducks Relish Winter on the Chesapeake

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.

3 years ago

6 minutes 21 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

February: Otters Are Busy Now

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.

3 years ago

7 minutes 51 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

February: Eagles Nesting

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 them, and tips for identifying them, even if they are immature or too far away to distinguish their telltale white head.

3 years ago

8 minutes 37 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

December: Miocene Fossils

Fossils put Bay time into perspective. Features of today's region were already recognizable when the Atlantic Ocean flooded the mouth of the Susquehanna River system 15,000 years ago. In this episode, John Page takes us back to the Bay during the Miocene Epoch and points out spots where fossils from that time can still be found.

3 years ago

6 minutes 29 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

December: Muskrats and Winter Marshes

In this episode, John Page introduces us to the Chesapeake's most abundant aquatic mammal and one of the few that are active in winter--muskrats. Curious how a warm-blooded mammal can live in an aquatic habitat in the dead of a Chesapeake winter? Learn that and more.

3 years ago

6 minutes 20 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

December: Swan Time

When the cold fronts push into the Chesapeake region you can expect to see (and hear) large flocks of tundra swans sweeping in after them. These are creatures of habit, or some may say tradition, flying more than 1,000 miles to the same wintering grounds each year. In this episode, John Page shares some of the reasons these birds select the Chesapeake, as well as what changing conditions in the Bay may mean for their future.

3 years ago

9 minutes 32 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

December: The "Other" Mollusks

We all know the iconic Chesapeake oyster. But studying less well known members of the Bay community is often a good window into understanding it better. Softshell clams, hard clams, brackish-water clams, hooked mussels, ribbed mussels, and the stout razor clam each have their own niche and specialty. In this episode, John Page shares the stories of the "other" Chesapeake mollusks--including one that can dig faster than you can!

3 years ago

9 minutes 9 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

November: Oysters

Sometimes it can be easy to forget that oysters share the basic processes of life with us--like eating. In this episode of "Chesapeake Almanac," John Page Williams explains the intricate system of how oysters eat and what makes them so plump in November and December (prime time for oyster stuffing and oyster stew!).

3 years ago

6 minutes 55 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

November: Diatoms - Cold-Water Jewel Boxes

In this episode of Chesapeake Almanac, John Page Williams introduces us to a group of microscopic plants that live in the Bay thrive over the fall and winter. Diatoms--microscopic algae--are stunningly abundant this time of year. In Edwardian England, those interested in natural history made a hobby of collecting diatoms, looking at them under a microscope and marveling at their complex shapes, which have been referred to as "intricately carved glass jewel boxes." But those intricate designs are more than stunning to look at. They play an important role in the organism's survival. Listen now and learn more with John Page.

3 years ago

6 minutes 47 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

November: Loons - Fall's Finest Fishermen?

Loons are as well loved in summer by people on North Country lakes as ospreys are by us here. But at this time of year, they descend on the Chesapeake Bay in the thousands. In this episode, John Page shares his personal introduction to the Chesapeake's fall loons and their extraordinary "banquets" of menhaden.

4 years ago

6 minutes 20 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

November: Menhaden Migrations

Where do the menhaden go as they get older? And how do we know? Tagging fish that are caught by the tens of thousands requires an ingenious system. What about winter migrations? In this episode, John Page shares observations of scientists and watermen about the most important fish in the sea. [To find out why menhaden are considered "the most important fish in the sea," go to our video at https://www.cbf.org/news-media/multimedia/video/why-are-menhaden-the-most-important-fish-in-the-sea.html]

4 years ago

7 minutes 20 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

October: River Meanders

Vienna is an old town built on the outside of a sweeping curve, called a meander, in the Nanticoke River. In this episode, John Page explains how meanders shape the landscape, why so many early settlements were established on the outsides of these curves, and why wildlife habitat flourishes on the insides.

4 years ago

8 minutes

Chesapeake Almanac

October: Oyster Toadfish: A Success at Parenting

From an angler's point of view, the oyster toadfish might not be good for much. But their parenting technique varies greatly from most of the fish that end up on the dinner table. In this episode, John Page reflects on how his father shared the story of a why a fish with a face only a parent could love deserves some parenting respect.

4 years ago

6 minutes 48 seconds

Chesapeake Almanac

October: Harvesttime

As fall sets in, it's harvesttime around the Chesapeake. Finfish have fattened up on summer's bounty and the marshes provide a bumper crop of nutritious seed. Those who will enjoy this harvest are a remarkably varied lot. In this episode, John Page paints an autumn picture of the cornucopia of the Bay and the varied and ever-moving species partaking of its harvest feast.

4 years ago

9 minutes 1 second

Chesapeake Almanac

October Travelers: Ospreys and Canada Geese

Two of the Bay's best-loved birds are traveling this month. Ospreys are migrating to South America, following their pattern of seeking endless summer. Canada geese are arriving for a more moderate wintering from the Ungava Peninsula in Quebec. In this episode, John Page provides some interesting insights into the October lives of these fall travelers.

4 years ago

5 minutes 18 seconds