Birds

The American black duck is a dusky brown dabbling duck that appears black from a distance. It lives year-round along the quiet, isolated tidal wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers.

The American coot is a dark, duck-like bird with a white bill. It visits the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers, creeks and wetlands from autumn through spring.

The American oystercatcher is a large, stocky shorebird with a distinctive long, blade-like, reddish-orange bill. It lives on beaches, mud flats and exposed oyster bars along the lower Chesapeake Bay.

The bald eagle is a large raptor with a yellow, hook-shaped bill and a white head and tail. It lives in forested, sparsely developed areas near rivers, wetlands and other waterways throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Baltimore orioles are orange and black songbirds, slightly smaller than a robin. They visit the Chesapeake Bay region during the summer months.

The barn owl is a medium-sized raptor with a large, heart-shaped face. It is found throughout the Chesapeake region. 

The barn swallow is a small, agile bird that visits open waters, wetlands and farm fields throughout the Chesapeake Bay region from spring through autumn.

Barred owls are large owls with round heads and a stout stature. They can be recognized by their "who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all" call. Barred owls and common barn owls are the only eastern owl species that have dark brown eyes.

The belted kingfisher is a stocky, powder blue bird that can be found in the Chesapeake region year-round.

The black-crowned night heron is a small, stocky wading bird that lives year-round in marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

This small dabbling duck is named for the powder-blue patches on its forewings. It can be found in the marshes and wetlands of the Chesapeake region in spring and fall.

The brown pelican is a large, dark-colored water bird that lives along the shores of the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay during summer.

The bufflehead is a small, chunky, energetic diving duck that visits the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers from autumn through spring.

The Canada goose is a large, plump bird with a brownish back and a long, black neck. It is a common visitor to the Chesapeake Bay region from autumn through spring. Many Canada geese also live in the Bay watershed year-round.

The canvasback is a large diving duck with a distinctive long, sloping facial profile. It visits the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers from autumn through spring.

The Carolina chickadee is a small, plump songbird that lives in wooded areas, including parks and backyards, throughout the southern half of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The common goldeneye is an active diving duck that can be identified by its golden yellow eyes and white, rounded face patches. It visits the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers from late autumn through spring.

The common loon is a duck-like sea bird with a thick, pointed bill and a distinctive black-and-white checkered pattern during breeding season. It visits the Chesapeake Bay in autumn and late winter to feed on open waters.

The common raven is an entirely black bird about the size of a hawk. It can be found in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as well as western Maryland and Virginia.

The Cooper's Hawk is a mid-sized hawk with broad, rounded wings and a long tail. It can be found year-round in wooded areas throughout most of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The double-crested cormorant is a large, black water bird with a long, hooked bill. It lives year-round on the Chesapeake Bay’s shallow and open waters.

The eastern black rail is a small, secretive marsh bird. It is approximately the size of a sparrow with black, white-spotted feathers and red eyes. 

This small, well-camouflaged owl can be found year-round throughout forested areas of the Bay watershed.

The glossy ibis is a heron-like wading bird with dark green and purple plumage. It visits Chesapeake Bay marshes and wetlands from spring through autumn.

The great blue heron is a tall, bluish-gray wading bird with a long, pointed bill and a graceful, S-shaped neck. It lives year-round in marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

The great egret is a large, white wading bird with long, lacy plumes on the back. It visits the Chesapeake Bay region’s marshes and wetlands from spring through autumn.

The greater scaup visits the east coast of the Chesapeake region during the winter. Females are brown with a white patch on their face, and males are white with a dark rump and head.

The greater yellowlegs is a slender shorebird with a long, upturned bill and distinctive yellow or orange legs.

The green heron is a small, crow-like wading bird with a chestnut neck and grayish-green back. It visits the Chesapeake Bay region’s marshes and wetlands from spring through autumn.

The green-winged teal is a small dabbling duck with iridescent green patches on its head and wings. It lives in tidal marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers from autumn through spring.

The hooded merganser is a diving duck with a distinctive fan-like hood on the back of the head. It lives on freshwater lakes, wooded wetlands and tidal shallows throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed from autumn through spring.

Laughing gulls are medium-sized gulls with white underparts and a gray back. They visit the Chesapeake Bay in the summer to breed.

The least bittern, the smallest heron found in the Americas, lives in marshes among thick vegetation. This bird visits the Chesapeake region in warmer months to breed and raise young.

In the spring and summer, the least tern can be identified by its black crown and nape, which contrast with its white forehead.

Once known as the oldsquaw, the long-tailed duck is a medium-sized diving duck with a short bill and heavy body, whose shape and structure are well-suited to diving deep into the water for food. Males possess two long and slender tail feathers, which give the species its common name.

The mallard is an extremely common dabbling duck that is easily identified by its iridescent green head and white neck ring. It lives year-round on shallow waters such as lakes, rivers and marshes throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The mute swan is a large, white bird that lives on shallow waters throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. It is an invasive species.

The northern bobwhite is a small, rounded bird that lives in patchworks areas of fields, forests and cropland.

The northern cardinal is a small, red songbird that lives in gardens, backyards and wooded areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Also known as the hen harrier or marsh hawk, the northern harrier can be found in Chesapeake Bay marshes during winter, flying low to hunt for prey.

The northern pintail is a dabbling duck with long, pointed tail feathers. It visits fresh and brackish tidalmarshes and rivers throughout the Chesapeake Bay region from autumn through spring.

Also known as the spoonbill, the northern shoveler is a medium-sized dabbling duck with a distinctive shovel- or spoon-shaped bill, which it uses to separate particles of food from the water. 

Also known as the fish hawk, the osprey is a large raptor with distinctive brown and white patterning. It visits the Chesapeake Bay's tidal waters, including its shorelines, rivers and marshes, from spring through late summer.

The peregrine falcon is a blue-gray raptor about the size of a crow. It has a black head and narrow black bars along its back and underside.

The red-breasted merganser is a diving duck with a long, serrated bill and a shaggy crest on the back of the head. It lives along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal creeks and rivers from autumn through spring.

The red-winged blackbird is a black songbird with distinctive red and yellow shoulder patches. It lives in wetlands, marshes and open farm fields throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

The redhead is a medium sized diving duck that visits the Chesapeake Bay during its winter migration to Texas and Mexico.

The royal tern is a large seabird with a thick orange bill that can be found along Chesapeake coastal beaches during its breeding season.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is a tiny, iridescent green bird that visits forests, swamps and gardens throughout the Chesapeake Bay region from spring through autumn.

The ruddy duck is a small, chubby diving duck that visits the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers, marshes and freshwater lakes from autumn through spring.

The sanderling is a small, pale sandpiper with black legs and a straight black bill. It visits the Chesapeake Bay’s beaches and tidal flats from autumn through spring.

The snow goose is a plump, white bird that visits the Chesapeake Bay region in winter.

The snowy egret is a medium-sized white heron with a slender black bill and distinctive yellow feet. It visits the Chesapeake Bay’s marshes, wetlands and shallow waters from spring through autumn.

Also known as the Arctic owl or great white owl, the snowy owl has white feathers with black and brown markings. It weighs between 40 and 70 ounces, making it the largest North American owl species by weight.

The spotted sandpiper is a medium-sized shorebird that can be found throughout the Chesapeake region during the summer.

The tundra swan is a large, white bird that visits the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers and wetlands from autumn through spring.

The Virginia rail is a small bird with a pig-like grunting call that can be found in the fresh and brackish marshes of the Chesapeake region year-round.

The wild turkey is a large, dark, ground-dwelling bird with a long neck and a fan-shaped tail. It lives in open, wooded areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The willet is a large, grayish-brown sandpiper with a distinctive black and white wing pattern. It lives in the Chesapeake Bay’s salt marshes and on tidal flats from spring through autumn.

The wood duck is a beautifully colored dabbling duck with an iridescent green head, red eyes and white stripes on the head and body. It lives in the Chesapeake Bay region’s freshwater wetlands and streams from spring through autumn.