Bay Photos by Donna

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All of these birds are of the coastal variety, hanging around Eastern Neck NWR’s causeway at low tide.  The causeway flows between the Chesapeake Bay and the Chester River.

Shorelines aren’t the same without a few gulls.

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Ring-billed Gull

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Bonaparte’s Gull

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Laughing Gull

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The terns are returning from their southern winter grounds as this next one is announcing!

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Caspian Tern making an announcement

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You tell ’em!

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Forster’s Terns and Caspian Tern

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Forster’s Tern in flight

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Forster’s Tern in flight

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Caspian Tern in flight

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Caspian Tern in flight

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I found the single Greater Yellowlegs hanging here in past weeks was now joined with four more.  Only four cooperated to be in a single shot.

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Greater Yellowlegs

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That’s it for the birds in this post.  Newsy stuff next if you’re interested.

Have you heard about the 1,095-foot, fully-loaded cargo ship stuck in the Chesapeake Bay?  Ever Forward ran aground four weeks ago in 23 feet of water.  We can see if from the refuge.

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Ever Forward aground in the Chesapeake Bay

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A third attempt began yesterday to dislodge it by removing several hundred of the 5,000 cargo containers aboard to attempt buoyancy.  With the changing tides, there is serious danger involved trying to maintain the ship’s balance; it could take up to a week.

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Ever Forward stuck in the Chesapeake Bay

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Ever Forward belongs to Evergreen Marine Corp., the same company that owns the cargo ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021 for six days.  Remember that one causing havoc with boat traffic jams?

Fortunately, Ever Forward is not in Baltimore’s shipping channel.

However, the refloating situation of Ever Forward has gone so bad that Evergreen Marine notified this past week those with a container on board will need to share in the cost of freeing the ship under the law of general average, a principal of maritime law dating back to 1890.  😲

“Evergreen Line urges all cargo interests involved, and joint venture slot users to provide security bonds and necessary documents according to the adjusting rules that govern GA in order to take delivery of cargo after the vessel is freed and arrives at its future ports of discharge,” the company said in a statement released this past week.

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