“I grew up on the other side of the river,” says Bob Gilley, pointing across the Susquehanna River and letting his Canon camera and 800-mm lens dangle from his neck. “My dad used to bring me and my younger brother fishing here. He worked at the General Motors in Wilmington for 30 years and we lived in Elkton and that’s what we did on the weekends.”

The 68-year-old, recent retiree gestures across the river again. “Look at those great blue herons,” he says, with a nod toward a long row of the statuesque birds, which appear as absorbed by the same pair of brawling bald eagles (see above photo) that Gilley and a huge gaggle of photographers from this side of the river are focused on.

“Walleye, shad, catfish. Striped bass, you name it,” says Ferd Brundick, Gilley’s buddy, jumping in. “There’s great fishing here. That’s why bald eagles love this place, too. It’s almost cheating for them.”

The Susquehanna is the East Coast’s longest river and this section, just below the Conowingo Dam, is the best spot east of the Mississippi for seeing the national symbol in its natural habitat. Dozens of bald eagles make their permanent home in Susquehanna State Park and the surrounding environs, building nests that weigh more than 1,000 pounds and are large enough for a person to stand in.

From November through January, another 200 bald eagles typically migrate to the area from New York and Canada, when lakes and rivers up north freeze over and limit fishing access. Eagle-eyed birdwatchers arrive from farther-flung destinations, including Europe and Asia.

The turbines in the 1928-built dam stun and sometimes kill the fish swimming downriver, making hunting easy for bald eagles, who can spy fish from hundreds of yards away and speed-dive at 100 mph to pluck prey from the water. Toting the fish back to a tree branch for lunch is a different matter. Rival bald eagles often swoop in after the initial catch, attempting to strip the fish—not unlike a Baltimore Ravens defender trying to create a turnover—and steal it. Bald eagles bully other birds as well.

“It’s not unusual to see a fish change hands two, three, or four times at the dam,” says Dave Lychenheim, who founded the popular Facebook page Conowingo Bald Eagles, which has more than 27,000 followers. “They crash into each other and are so fast that when they knock a fish loose, they’re able to catch it in midair before it hits the water. I saw it happen five times once.”

Discovering the bald eagles at Conowingo, says Lychenheim, a longtime amateur photographer, changed his life. This winter, the former NASA aerospace engineer is leading a birding and photography trip to Peru.

America’s favorite bird took a beating in the U.S. for a long time, nearly becoming extinct. First their decline was due to hunting and a loss of habitat, and, after World War II, the pesticide DDT took a devastating toll. But with a ban on DDT in 1972—thank you, Rachel Carson—and natural-habitat protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act, the North American bald eagle has made a remarkable comeback in recent decades. (“Bald” actually derives from “piebald,” meaning composed of two colors: brown and, once they reach five years old, their distinctive white head, wing, and tail feathers.)

Not all the Founding Fathers appreciated the bald eagle, however. Ben Franklin, notably, did not think much of the big bird. He stated, in a well-known letter to his daughter, that he wished it had not been chosen as the representative of the fledging democracy, describing it as, “a bird of bad moral character.”

Wrote the author of Poor Richard’s Almanack: “He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.”

Despite growing up here in the ’50s and ’60s, Gilley never saw a bald eagle until about 20 years ago, when he spotted one perched on a muskrat mound during a trip to the Eastern Shore. Also a longtime photographer, he soon learned about Conowingo and became hooked on shooting the birds in flight and fight.

His visit on the Saturday after Thanksgiving was his fifth of the week. “My son has a B.A. in photography and one day a year he takes pictures of kids with Santa at the mall for a local charity,” he says. “I go, too, and he pays me to use my computer and printer. But I think this year will be my last. I don’t care if it’s raining or some wintry mix outside, I’d rather be here.”

CLIMATE CONCLUSIONS

On the heels of a landmark report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October, the federal government released its own study late last month, with implications for Maryland. The National Climate Assessment, which is conducted every four years, found that the state is already experiencing some of the adverse effects of rising global temperatures, such as increased coastal flooding, precipitation, and frequency of waterborne illnesses, as well as reduced air quality. Future predictions include more of the same, as well as rising waters, the continued loss of already vulnerable marshlands, and shorter winters, the latter of which admittedly sounds nice. However, “the Northeast region is characterized by four distinct seasons and a diverse landscape that is central to the region’s cultural identity, quality of life, and economic success,” the study writes. “The seasonal climate, natural systems, and accessibility of certain types of recreation are threatened by declining snow and ice, rising sea levels, and rising temperatures.”

RECORD RAINS

It’s official: 2018 is Baltimore’s wettest year on record. As of early December, the total precipitation recorded at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport totaled 65.67 inches, surpassing 62.66 inches in 2003, the previous wettest year on record. With more than 20 inches of rain from September through November, including the effects of Hurricanes Florence and Michael, this was also Baltimore’s wettest fall on record, while the summer—with more than 25 inches from June to August—was the city’s second wettest. “Congratulations, Baltimore,” tweeted the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang in mid-November. “Wettest year on record—with still six weeks to go!”

OPEN WATERS

After a year of headlines surrounding the flood of debris flowing through the Conowingo Dam following months of historic rainfall, the gates are once again open in Darlington, and this time, until further notice. Earlier this year after heavy spring rains, the dam created controversy as the opening of its gates carried trees, car tires, and other miscellaneous litter freely from the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay, even inundating the Annapolis Harbor. “The water right now really looks like chocolate milk,” University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science professor Cindy Palinkas told The Sun in August, as satellite images also showed a plume of sediment in the Upper Bay. Now, after a historically wet November, up to 12 of the dam’s flood gates are open under “spill conditions,” and boaters are advised to once again use extreme caution due to potential detritus afloat in local waters.

DRILL DISPUTE

In late November, the Trump administration approved the use of seismic surveillance to find oil and gas formations under the Atlantic Ocean, including locations off the Maryland coast. The move comes after the announcement of a five-year offshore drilling plan, which would open as much as 90 percent of U.S. waters to energy exploration. At the time, Governor Larry Hogan joined other states to request that Maryland waters be excluded from potential drilling sites, while the General Assembly in Annapolis voted to impose strict liability standards for companies regarding any future spills. Critics claim the seismic practice can disturb, injure, and kill marine wildlife, including whales, sea turtles, and dolphins who frequent nearby waters on their migratory paths. According to National Geographic, “large marine mammals like whales and dolphin use sound for communicating, feeding, and mating, meaning the blasts could impact all three of those essential activities,” while studies have also shown that the blasts impact creatures as small as zooplankton, a critical part of the aquatic food chain, at upwards of 4,000 feet away. Meanwhile, officials have stated that survey vessels will be required to abide by certain precautions, such as including onboard lookouts and acoustic monitoring to detect marine life, and that operations will be shut down when a protected species have been sighted. Permits have been authorized for five companies from Delaware to Florida.

OVERHARVESTED OYSTERS

Last winter, Maryland oysters were overharvested in more than half of the state’s public fishery, according to the first-ever stock assessment by the Department of Natural Resources and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Released in late November, the report warns that such harvests, if continued, could eventually eliminate the bivalve populations in those regions. It also estimates that the state’s total oyster population has declined by about half since 1999, down to about 300 million from 600 million over the last 18 years. Experts expect these findings to stir debate over the management plan of the fishery.

PARK REPAIRS

In the coming months, a public city park will get new life as the National Recreation and Park Association announced the revitalization of ABC Park, formerly known as Catherine Street Park, located just northeast of the sprawling Carroll Park in Carrollton Ridge. Slated for completion in summer 2019, the renovations to this volunteer-run greenspace will include an upgraded and expanded playground, as well as the addition of new amenities such as an outdoor basketball court, an interactive splash pad, and an 800-square-foot indoor-outdoor field house. The park is frequented by local youth and used for community sports games and neighborhood festivals.

FOWL PLAY

More than two years ago, 13 bald eagles were found dead on an Eastern Shore farm, leaving investigators puzzled as to the cause. According to a recent federal lab report, at least six birds had ingested carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide that is lethal to birds and banned from the U.S. market.

Carbofuran was said to have been the primary cause of eagle death in the late 1980s, leading to their designation as an endangered species and causing the EPA to ban its granular form in the mid-1990s, followed by its liquid form in 2009. In the past, farmers have received fines for using the substance to kill nuisance animals in an effort to their livestock as they inadvertently killed eagles and other birds of prey that fed on the carcasses. Some within the illegal marijuana industry have also used the substance as a rodenticide. In the case of the Maryland deaths, the source of the carbofuran is still unknown, though most of the birds had recently ingested raccoon, which itself might have been poisoned. As federally protected wildlife, killing one bald eagle is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 in the United States.

Once almost extinct, bald eagles are considered one of the greatest conservation success stories, having made a major comeback since the 1980s. The Chesapeake Bay region is home to the largest concentration of bald eagles in the lower 48 states.

BAY COMEBACK
For the first time in 33 years, the Chesapeake Bay’s health has shown signs of improvement in every region. In mid-June, officials from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., announced that the estuary is headed towards a full recovery despite its overall grade remains a C, due to particularly troubled areas like the Patuxent, Patapsco, and York rivers. Seven out of 15 regions have shown significantly improved health, while none declined. Officials and scientists have awarded credit to the 15-year, $19-billion restoration plan mandated by the Obama administration in 2010 and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, in which watershed states—also including Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York—have agreed to decrease farm runoff and improve wastewater treatment facilities, among other efforts, by 2025. The Trump administration has cut the plan’s funding by 90 percent in 2019, but state support for the initiative remains strong.

CRAB CRISIS CONTINUES
This spring, U.S. immigrant worker visas were awarded by lottery for the first time, compared to a previous first-come, first-served system, leaving Maryland’s seafood industry with a drought of seasonal workers who primarily hail from Mexico. In early June, following an outcry from local seafood businesses and a request from Gov. Hogan, U.S. immigration officials approved additional visas for one of Maryland’s multiple crab picking houses, which are said to be missing an estimated 35 percent of their summer workforce. Industry experts say this new strategy and its subsequent visa shortage puts the fate of Maryland crab houses in a dangerous position. As previously reported, it could also lead to an increased price for picked meat, due to a decreased supply, doubled with a decreased price for steamed crabs, due to a surplus of hard shells that would have otherwise been picked.

CONTESTED CLEANUP
In May, Maryland environmental regulators required the owner of the Conowingo Dam to increase its efforts to reduce pollution that flows from the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay. In response, the company, Exelon Corporation, filed two lawsuits against the state in June, stating that it shouldn’t be held responsible for abating all of the trash and excess nutrients (including nitrogen and phosphorus, which reduce clarity, cause algae blooms, and decrease oxygen levels in local waters) that build up at the end of the 464-mile river. The Susquehanna is considered the primary source of nutrient pollution in the main portion of the Chesapeake Bay, and this spring, above-average rains carried more than 85 million pounds of nitrogen from its waterway into the bay. With the dam at full capacity, local environmentalists fear that this refusal threatens the progress of the estuary’s multi-state restoration strategy.

ALL THAT TRASH

Maryland residents are throwing too much trash into their recycling containers, with as much as one third of those materials now ending up in a landfill or incinerator. According to a recent Sun report, this “aspirational recycling” or “wishcycling” practice—aka throwing unrecyclable goods in with your recyclable cardboard, plastic, and glass—is causing the worth of Baltimore recycling to decrease, as a ton of local recycling was sold for $112 in 2011 compared to $33 today, while also costing the city money to process and get rid it. Recycling education resources are available for city and county residents.

AIR APPARENT
Baltimore is considered one of the 10 worst U.S. cities for air quality, according to a new study issued by the Environment Maryland Research & Policy Center. In 2016, about 2.8 million people in the Baltimore region experience 114 days in which at least half of air quality monitoring stations measured “moderate” or worse for elevated ozone and/or particulate levels, which can increase the risk of negative health impacts, from coughing, wheezing, and asthma to congestive heart failure. Despite its notoriously bad traffic, the Washington, D.C., Arlington, and Alexandria area had fewer days of elevated air pollution than Baltimore, Columbia, and Towson.

Clean Air Partners, a new public-private partnership in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., has recently launched a summer-long “Breathe Easy” campaign to increase awareness about the effect of air quality on public health. Their recommendations include using public transit or carpooling, turning off electronics when not in use, cleaning HVA filters each month, and using a gas or electric grill in place of charcoal. They also offer a Clean Air Partners app to track daily air quality levels in and around Baltimore.