WASHINGTON 鈥� From the top of Baltimore鈥檚 Transamerica Tower to a wooded area by the Chesapeake Bay, baby birds are breaking out of their shells. And the ready to capture it all.
“We had an extraordinary day,” said Joel Dunn, president and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy, a nonprofit that encourages protecting and conserving resources of the bay.
On Thursday afternoon, two chicks chipped their way out of their eggs in a heron rookery on the Eastern Shore. Moments later, chick hatched on the roof of the Transamerica Tower in Baltimore, where its mother had deposited her eggs.
Dunn explained that peregrine falcons don鈥檛 build nests; they simply lay their eggs on cliffs 鈥� or, in this case, on the top of the 40-floor Transamerica building.
Marveling over the timing of the hatching of the different species, Dunn said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing the magic of wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay literally coming to life live on our webcams!鈥�
Wildlife cameras have given humans a bird鈥檚-eye view of the start of life for some of the most striking and emblematic animals of the Chesapeake Bay. Viewers can watch a great blue heron feed the chicks and take extra care settling into the nests 鈥� the big birds聽have wing spans of 6 feet and stand up to 4.5 feet tall.
鈥淭hey look like pterodactyls. They鈥檙e beautiful, they鈥檙e loud, and they all nest together,鈥� Dunn said, and added that the birds form a sort of colony, with multiple nests close to each other.
Once the heron chicks are able to fly, Dunn said they鈥檒l leave the nest but continue to trail after their parents for meals until they learn to hunt on their own. Herons have a varied diet: fish, frogs, even small mammals and other smaller birds. And mastering the stalk-and-spear technique their parents employ can take some time.
Dunn said herons aren鈥檛 endangered; they鈥檙e categorized as “low concern,” but habitat loss could be a problem, since their nesting preferences require trees that can accommodate multiple nests that can grow to 4 feet across.
The peregrine falcons have quite a comeback story, though, Dunn said.
After the species was very nearly eradicated due to widespread use of the pesticide DDT, a peregrine falcon was released near East Baltimore in 1977. Ever since that first falcon made a home on a ledge off the 33rd floor of the Transamerica building, the peregrines have returned again and again.
That鈥檚 just one of the reasons Dunn is optimistic about the future health of the Chesapeake Bay.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen grasses come back, pollution loads decrease, and great commitment to our land conservation and restoration programs.鈥�
But, he added, 鈥淲e have to be vigilant; we have to keep our foot on the pedal and stay committed to the conservation and restoration of the Chesapeake.鈥�
