Bird Cams of the Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay

Jane Jewell • May 23, 2023


The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a birder’s mecca, with 10 state parks as well as many local parks, farm fields, wooded areas, marshes, and waterfront paths where you can glimpse one or more of the 425 reported bird species — almost all of the 459 species in Maryland.

 

Yet as beautiful and bountiful as the Shore is, for most of us — even if we live nearby — there doesn’t seem to be enough time to get out to one of our parks. Or it rains the day we planned to go!

 

But we can go there virtually via bird cams. Bird cams — short for cameras — show birds in their natural habitats. Some cams focus on feeders or baths, but most focus on nests. All live stream the birds to your computer. We can see the parents as they protect the nest and hatch the eggs, and then watch the babies grow up.

 

It’s best to watch the cams during the day because activity may be hard to see at night. Some cameras have hours and seasons when they are turned on and others are on 24 hours a day for 365 days. During night hours, some cam sites will run recorded and edited highlights from the daytime live streams. If there are no birds in sight when you visit a cam, look for previously recorded “best of” videos. They’re usually on the same page.

 

In Maryland, the Chesapeake Conservancy hosts three bird cams. Two are on the Eastern Shore and the third monitors a peregrine falcon nest on a ledge of the 33rd floor at 100 Light Street in downtown Baltimore.

 

The peregrine falcon is the largest falcon in North America. The Baltimore birds are named “Barb” and “Boh,” with Barb for Maryland’s now-retired U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Boh — of course — for Baltimore’s home-town beer, National Bohemian. While falcons from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland often fly more than 15,000 miles to and from South America during their annual winter migration, Barb and Boh are year-round residents due to Baltimore’s mild weather.

 

The Great Blue Heron cam on Kent Island was installed in 2017 with the help of several non-profits and a crowd-funding campaign. The cameras follow life in a rookery with 10-12 nests, all perched high in loblolly pines. Each nest holds up to four chicks and there may be 50 or more herons, young and old, in the area.

 

Though other nests can be seen at a distance, this camera is focused on three. An upgraded camera went live just last February, and operates 24/7 through the mating and chick-raising seasons. After the eggs hatch, the chicks are fed and cared for by the parents for roughly two months until they can survive on their own.

 

But first, the chicks must survive in the nest itself. The 2020 Recap section of the web site reports: “Two eggs hatched in the afternoon of April 15. The final two eggs hatched April 18 and April 19. Unfortunately, two of the older chicks attacked and killed the two younger chicks over the weekend of May 2. While sad, this is not unusual behavior and may have occurred due to food competition.”

 

In 2021, a contest was held to name the four chicks in the featured nests. The winning names were Blue, Cobalt, Lapis, and Charlize Heron. All four survived and you can see videos of them on the web site.

 

The Conservancy’s osprey cam is located on Kent Island on the property of a family who call themselves the “Crazy Osprey Family.” They first put up a live stream camera 16 years ago as part of an educational program for their daughter’s school. For the past nine years, an osprey couple called “Tom” and “Audrey” have raised their chicks there. You can read about Tom and Audrey’s adventures, their tragedies and successes, in the yearly recaps posted on the web page with the live stream.

 

Another osprey cam is sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. It provides a fabulous view of a nesting platform that overlooks the Chesapeake Bay from the foundation’s headquarters in Annapolis. The Chesapeake Bay has been called the “osprey garden of the world” as more ospreys live in the Bay area than anywhere else in the world. The website has historical migration maps and migration lesson plans for all grade levels. 

 

There is also a warning on the bird cam page that says some of the videos may disturb the faint-hearted: “Please remember that this is no Disney film! Nature can be a cruel place, but it is our policy not to interfere with anything that goes on in the nest. We also will use our discretion to turn off the cameras at any time should we choose. “

 

There are several shorter videos of highlights pulled from the live footage of other nests. Sometimes, after the first bird family has finished raising the year’s babies, a different species will move in and use the same nests or platforms. The first mating pair may migrate to far away climes, frequently to South America or Canada. Others may stay year-round if there is sufficient food.

 

There is one short video from April 28, 2022, titled “Goslings Jump from Nest.” A pair of Canada geese took over the platform after the ospreys departed. This video was edited from 8 minutes to 1 minute and 21 seconds. It takes the goslings quite some time to get up the nerve to jump! When the goslings finally jump, they don’t so much fly as flutter/plummet to the ground. Fortunately, they’re not harmed because their bones are soft and their feathers help slow the descent. Once on solid ground, they walk to the Bay for their first swimming lesson with mom and dad.

 

There’s a 58-second version of the same “first jump” from April 2020 where you can see the parents return to the nest to encourage the reluctant goslings.

 

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, with more than 28,000 acres of fertile tidal marsh and mixed hardwood and pine forest, was established in 1933 as a sanctuary for migratory birds on the Atlantic Flyway. It is one of the main wintering areas for Canada geese. Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Blackwater is one of the 560 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. About 12 miles south of Cambridge in Dorchester County, the refuge covers a beautiful and varied landscape. It has four bird cams sponsored by the volunteer Friends of Blackwater organization. There are two osprey cams, a waterfowl cam, and an eagle cam. Unfortunately, the eagle cam doesn’t have an active nest with eggs this year, but if you’re lucky, you may catch a sight of one of the birds, including eagles, that visit the site. The waterfowl camera is very busy when the geese, swans, and ducks winter there. 

 

If you plan to take the kids to the Baltimore Zoo, you can watch some pre- or post-trip live cams of the penguins. The zoo has the largest colony of African penguins in North America. There are also live cams for other inhabitants of the zoo including giraffes, elephants, and lions.

 

Another interesting site is Cornell University Bird Lab’s migration dashboard for Maryland. This site tracks the number of birds flying over Maryland every day, along with information and statistics in many categories. According to the site, over two million birds were in flight over Maryland on the night of May 22-23. That’s a lot of birds!

 

If you’d like to go birding in person or find more bird cams, check out the links below. Especially good is the Birders Guide to Maryland and D.C. It has a clickable map of the Eastern Shore counties listing good bird-watching spots in each one.

 

Hdontap.com is a professional video company that specializes in live cams. They have helped design, install, and maintain live-cams — over 1,800 of them — across America and the globe. Their website is a useful resource. Many of their sites show “best of” recordings from previous years; others are live-streamed.

 

Here are two more sites for finding live cams across America and all around the world, featuring all kinds of animals, not just birds: 

MangoLink.com  

Explore.org

 

Happy Virtual Birding to All!

 

 

Jane Jewell is a writer, editor, photographer, and teacher. She has worked in news, publishing, and as the director of a national writer's group. She lives in Chestertown with her husband Peter Heck, a ginger cat named Riley, and a lot of books.

 

Common Sense for the Eastern Shore

It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Department of Justice

By John Christie • December 16, 2025
When I practiced law, much of my litigation involved issues arising under federal antitrust laws. The Department of Justice (DOJ) was my frequent adversary in court. In some cases, DOJ challenged a client’s conduct as anticompetitive. In others, they claimed an intended client merger would create a monopoly. Some of these DOJ court battles were won, others were not. Overall, I had great respect for DOJ lawyers. They were professional, well prepared, and dedicated to their mission of seeing justice done. They were courteous, honest, and forthright with the courts before which we argued our cases. In those days, without resorting to social media or press conferences, the DOJ spoke entirely through its court filings. Although as an advocate I took issue with various DOJ investigatory decisions as well as decisions to initiate litigation, I never thought politics was involved. Post-Watergate internal rules strictly limited communication with any figures at the White House. Not so, it seems, anymore. Beginning last January 20, all of this changed rapidly and spectacularly . On March 14, Trump triumphantly arrived at the main DOJ building in D.C. to be welcomed by a group of carefully selected VIPs. He was greeted by Pam Bondi, his chosen new attorney general, who exclaimed, “We are so proud to work at the directive (sic) of Donald Trump.” Bondi’s boast that the DOJ now worked at the president’s behest was something never said before and, in effect, surrendered the department’s long and proud independence. And Bondi’s comment was not an empty gesture. As chronicled by reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis in their new book, Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department , within hours of being sworn in, Trump and his lieutenants began punishing those at the Justice Department who had investigated him or those he considered his political enemies. Career attorneys with years of experience under many administrations were fired or reassigned to lesser work, or they resigned. As Leonnig and Davis report, what followed was “the wholesale overthrow of the Justice Department as Trump insert[ed] his dutiful former defense attorneys and 2020 election deniers atop the department.” [Source: Injustice , p. xix.] In the place of years of experience, the new team appears credentialed simply by loyalty to the president’s causes. The DOJ’s conduct in court has since caused damage to judicial and public faith in the integrity and competence of the department. Just Security is an independent, non-partisan, daily digital law and policy journal housed in the Reiss Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. Since January 20, it has documented federal judicial concerns about DOJ conduct. In 26 cases, judges raised questions about DOJ non-compliance with judicial orders and in more than 60 cases, judges expressed distrust of government-provided information and representations. This count was taken the day after a federal court dismissed the DOJ cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. [Source: Just Security , “The ‘Presumption of Regularity’ in Trump Administration Litigation,” Nov. 20, 2025.] As summarized by the Georgetown Law Center’s Steve Vladeck, “It’s one thing for the Department of Justice to so transparently pursue a politically motivated prosecution. But this one has been beset from the get-go with errors that remotely competent law students wouldn’t make. Indeed, it seems a virtual certainty that the Keystone Kops-like behavior of the relevant government lawyers can be traced directly to the political pressure to bring this case; there’s a reason why no prosecutors with more experience, competence, or integrity were willing to take it on.” [Source: One First , Nov. 24, 2025.] Rather than accept criticism and instead of trying to do better, Bondi’s DOJ and the Trump administration lash out in a fashion apparently aimed at demeaning the federal judiciary. At a recent Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s former defense attorneys, attributed the Trump administration’s myriad losses in the lower federal courts to “rogue activist judges.” He added, “There’s a group of judges that are repeat players, and that’s obviously not by happenstance, that’s intentional, and it’s a war, man.” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller decries each adverse ruling against the Trump administration as just part of a broader “judicial insurrection.” Not to be left behind, Trump himself regularly complains of “radical left lunatic” judges. In addition to the harm these comments inflict on the federal courts, their premise is simply not true. According to a survey by Vladeck, as of Nov. 14, there were 204 cases in which federal district courts have ruled on requests for preliminary relief against the Trump administration. In 154 of them, district judges granted either a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or both. Those 154 rulings came from 121 district judges appointed by seven presidents (including President Trump) in 29 district courts. In the 154 cases with rulings adverse to the Trump administration, 41 were presided over by 30 Republican-appointed judges, fully half of whom were appointed by President Trump. No, it is no longer your grandfather’s Department of Justice. John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.

Salisbury City Council Appoints Melissa Holland to Fill District 2 Seat

By CSES Staff • December 16, 2025
The Salisbury City Council has appointed longtime public servant Melissa D. Holland to fill the vacancy in District 2. Holland was selected on Dec. 1 after the council reviewed several applicants. A 27-year resident of Salisbury, Holland brings more than 20 years of experience in government, education, and administration. As executive assistant to the president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, she currently oversees operations, budgeting, communications, and planning. Before joining UMCES, Holland worked for nearly 11 years with the Wicomico County Council, gaining extensive experience in legislative procedure, constituent services, research, and budget preparation. Her background includes positions with the Wicomico County Board of Education, the State of Maryland’s Holly Center, and multiple early-learning programs. Approved by a 3-1 council vote, Holland was selected based on her administrative expertise and long-standing community involvement. (Salisbury’s City Council is now comprised of only women.) She has a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from Post University and an associate degree from Wor-Wic Community College. She has also served as PTA president at East Salisbury Elementary and Wicomico Middle School. In her application, Holland emphasized her commitment to maintaining transparency in city government and ensuring that District 2 residents remain informed and represented. “I plan to be well-informed on the issues that matter to the citizens of Salisbury and to listen to their concerns carefully,” she wrote. “I want to make a positive and lasting impact on our city.” Holland’s appointment restores the City Council to full membership as it faces debates over budgeting, infrastructure planning, and local governance initiatives. She is expected to begin constituent outreach immediately and participate fully in the selection of the next council president.

Democrats Ambushed in Hurlock Election

By CSES Staff • November 4, 2025
Voters in Hurlock have delivered sweeping changes in this year’s municipal election, as Republican and GOP-aligned candidates won key races there. The results mark a setback for Democrats and a significant political shift in a community that has historically leaned Democratic in state and federal contests. The outcome underscores how local organizing and turnout strategies can have an outsized impact in small-town elections. Analysts also suggest that long-term party engagement in municipal contests could shape voter alignment in future county and state races. Political analysts warn that ignoring municipal elections and ceding them to the GOP could hurt the Maryland Democratic Party in statewide politics. Turnout increased by approximately 17% compared with the 2021 municipal election, reflecting heightened local interest in the mayoral and council races. Incumbent Mayor Charles Cephas, a Democrat, was soundly defeated by At-Large Councilmember Earl Murphy, who won with roughly 230 votes to Cephas’s 144. In the At-Large Council race, Jeff Smith, an independent candidate backed by local Republicans, secured a 15-point win over Cheyenne Chase. In District 2, Councilmember Bonnie Franz, a Republican, was re-elected by 40 percentage points over challenger Zia Ashraf, who previously served on the Dorchester Democratic Central Committee. The only Democrat to retain a seat on the council was David Higgins, who was unopposed. The Maryland Republican Party invested resources and campaign attention in the Hurlock race, highlighting it on statewide social media and dispatching party officials, including Maryland GOP Chair Nicole Beus Harris, to campaign. Local Democrats emphasized support for Mayor Cephas through the Dorchester County Democratic Central Committee, but the Maryland Democratic Party did not appear to participate directly.

Giordano Sides with Ehrlich Over Hogan, Underscoring GOP Rift as Moore Widens Lead

By CSES Staff • November 4, 2025
In what political observers are calling a clear break from Maryland’s moderate Republican establishment, Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano chose former Gov. Bob Ehrlich — not former Gov. Larry Hogan — as the guest of honor at her re-election fundraiser in late October. Billed as Giordano’s annual Harvest Party, her event drew conservative activists from across the lower Eastern Shore and featured Ehrlich as keynote speaker. This was immediately read by insiders as a signal that Giordano will embrace the party’s right-wing base ahead of 2026, distancing herself from Hogan’s more centrist, bipartisan image. “Bringing in Bob Ehrlich instead of Larry Hogan wasn’t accidental,” one longtime Republican strategist said. “It shows Giordano wants to plant her flag with the MAGA-aligned wing of the party, the same voters who now dominate Maryland’s Republican primary base.” Hogan, who has hinted at another run for governor, was notably absent from this year’s Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Somerset County, a high-profile gathering long considered essential for statewide contenders. Coupled with Giordano’s public alignment with Ehrlich, Hogan’s absence has fueled speculation that his influence within Maryland’s GOP is slipping. Those doubts were amplified by new polling data. A statewide survey commissioned by the Baltimore Banner found Gov. Wes Moore (D) leading Hogan 45% to 37% in a hypothetical 2026 matchup, with 14% undecided. The poll, conducted by phone and web from Oct. 7–10 among more than 900 registered voters, carries a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. The results suggest that while Hogan remains popular among moderates and independents, Moore continues to hold a firm advantage statewide, particularly among Democrats and younger voters. Giordano’s decision to align herself with Ehrlich rather than Hogan further illustrates the ideological divide defining Maryland Republicans heading into 2026. As the party drifts further to the right, analysts say Hogan’s brand of pragmatic centrism may no longer have a natural home in today’s GOP. For now, Ehrlich’s appearance in Salisbury is being seen as a symbolic moment, one that cements Giordano’s status as a leading figure in the state’s Trump-aligned movement and underscores how quickly the political winds have shifted. For Hogan, once seen as the Republican best positioned to reclaim the governor’s office, that shift may mark the end of an era.

New Congressional Map for Maryland and District 1?

By Jan Plotczyk • November 4, 2025
Can Maryland create a new congressional map that will flip the state’s sole Republican district to the Democrats? Gov. Wes Moore has created a Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission to consider mid-cycle redistricting and Maryland has jumped into the redistricting fray. The commission will conduct public hearings, solicit public feedback, and present recommendations to the governor and Maryland General Assembly. “My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps,” said Moore. “And we also need to make sure that, if the president of the United States is putting his finger on the scale to try to manipulate elections because he knows that his policies cannot win in a ballot box, then it behooves each and every one of us to be able to keep all options on the table to ensure that the voters’ voices can actually be heard .” Moore’s commission is one of those options — a response to Trump’s call to Republican-led states to create more GOP House districts before the 2026 midterm elections. Three GOP states — Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina — have completed a Trump gerrymander for a gain of seven seats and three more states — Indiana, Utah, and Ohio — could create new maps with a total of four additional Republican seats. That would make 11, should they withstand challenges. Democratic-led states made a lot of noise at first about countering these GOP efforts, but only California and Virginia have campaigns for new maps underway. California wants to flip five seats and Virginia hopes for up to four. Optimistically, that could add up to as many as nine. Maryland’s goal would be to add one Democratic seat. Other states on both sides could soon follow, in some cases taking advantage of existing redistricting deadlines or ongoing litigation. Maryland State Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Balto City) is not in favor of mid-cycle redistricting, calling it too dicey. “Simply put, it is too risky and jeopardizes Maryland’s ability to fight against the radical Trump administration. At a time where every seat in Congress matters, the potential for ceding yet another one to Republicans here in Maryland is simply too great,” Ferguson wrote in a letter to Senate Democrats. Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R-MD01), whose district would be targeted by redistricting, called the effort "the most partisan thing you could do." He whined, “It just wouldn’t be fair.” Harris warned that any redistricting could backfire on the Democrats. “We will take this to court, it will go as high as necessary, and in the end, a judge could draw a map that actually has two or three Republican congressmen,” Harris said. “I’d caution the Democrats, be careful what you wish for.” Harris and his wife, Maryland GOP Chair Nicole Beus Harris, have perhaps already worked out a strategy. The Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission, last constituted by Gov. Martin O’Malley in 2011, will begin its work this month. The five-member commission includes: Chair: Senator Angela Alsobrooks Senate President Bill Ferguson or designee Speaker Adrienne A. Jones or designee Former Attorney General Brian Frosh Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss “We have a president that treats our democracy with utter contempt. We have a Republican party that is trying to rig the rules in response to their terrible polling,” said Sen. Alsobrooks. “Let me be clear: Maryland deserves a fair map that represents the will of the people. That’s why I’m proud to chair this commission. Our democracy depends on all of us standing up in this moment.” Will Maryland’s First District finally be competitive? Can we at long last replace “AWOL Andy” Harris? Stay tuned…. Jan Plotczyk spent 25 years as a survey and education statistician with the federal government, at the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. She retired to Rock Hall.

Residents Turn Out for Offshore Wind Information Session

By CSES Staff • November 4, 2025
In strong numbers, local residents turned out last month for a community information session on offshore wind hosted by the Alliance for Offshore Wind at the Ocean Pines library. The forum heard from industry experts, environmental advocates, and labor leaders to discuss how offshore wind projects can support jobs, clean energy, and coastal resilience along Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Featured were Sam Saluto of Oceantic, Jim Strong of the United Steelworkers, Ron Larsen of Sea Ink Solutions, and Jim Brown of the Audubon Society, all of whom emphasized the long-term environmental and economic benefits of wind development off Maryland’s coast. Speakers outlined how the project, once completed, is expected to create hundreds of high-paying jobs, generate clean power for tens of thousands of homes, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels that cause pollution and coastal erosion. “The potential here is extraordinary,” said Saluto, highlighting Oceantic’s ongoing work to ensure safety and sustainability standards remain at the highest level. “We’re not just talking about wind turbines. We’re talking about revitalizing local economies and protecting the Shore’s way of life.” Union representative Jim Strong echoed that sentiment, noting that Maryland’s labor community sees offshore wind as a chance to rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity while giving workers access to strong wages and long-term stability. Environmental voices, including Jim Brown of the Audubon Society, focused on how properly sited wind projects can reduce carbon emissions while coexisting with marine wildlife and migratory bird patterns. While most of the evening centered on data and community questions, the event briefly turned tense when Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, who is leading a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s offshore wind plans, attempted to question the panel. The mayor appeared to lose his train of thought mid-sentence and later cast doubt on the reality of climate change, drawing visible concern from several attendees. Meehan, a New Yorker who moved to Ocean City in 1971 and has held public office since 1985, has become one of the region’s most vocal opponents of offshore wind. His critics argue the lawsuit represents an effort to stall progress rather than engage with the facts presented by energy, labor, and environmental experts. Despite the brief exchange, the overall tone of the evening was forward-looking. Residents lingered after the formal discussion to review informational materials, speak with industry representatives, and learn about opportunities for community involvement. For many, the message was clear: Maryland’s transition to clean energy is not only feasible, it’s already underway, and the Eastern Shore stands to benefit.
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