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Episode
1401 |
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Tying The Fly |
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Veteran
Fly Fisherman Saul McCartney says the game is time tested. Tie
the fly. Find the spot. Hit the mark. Think like the fish. Walk
home happy, no matter what. |
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Mountain Rattle |
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What
kind of people purposely track, capture, pick up and study rattlesnakes
face-to-face? The DNR's Scott Smith and Ed Thompson, and snake
wrangler Marty Martin, that's who. The three men regularly climb
rocky western Maryland mountain outcrops in search of rattlers
to help gauge the species' population. They'll tell you the
Timber Rattler is one of the most misunderstood animals in nature,
and they're right. It's also one of the most feared, and pays
a heavy price as a species because of it. |
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The Shell Game |
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They
say that slow and steady wins the race. Does that apply to turtles,
too? The Maryland Department of Natural Resources wants to know
more about the numbers of a famous Maryland turtle-the Terrapin,
a species that lives in Eastern Shore creeks and marshes. Like
most types of turtle, the Terrapin is mysterious in its movements
and is difficult to track and study. Now, its fate is in question
as development consumes much of the animals' ancient nesting
spots. Experts are hoping a new research program will prove
it's not too late.
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Episode
1402 |
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Too Soon To Tell |
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Some
people say we've eaten all of the Blue Crabs the Chesapeake
Bay has to offer. Others believe the alarming decline in the
numbers of crabs is part of a natural cycle; they'll come back
strong, given time. Scientists, too, are interested in the drama
of the Chesapeake Blue Crab, its life cycle, and sudden decline.
In the face of mounting evidence that crab harvests may never
again rebound, researchers offer their predictions. |
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The Road Show |
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There's
the tiny Eastern Screech Owl that was found, injured, on a roadside. And the
Black Vulture that was rescued as a chick from a burning barn in Havre De
Grace. There're the Owls – Barn, Bard, Great Horned and Short-eared;
the Turkey Vulture with a missing toe; the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle, and
the osprey, hawks and falcons. They make up the bird portion of a company
of "performers" that's half of the Maryland Department of Natural
Resources' Scales 'n Tales program, a unique, traveling zoo that helps to
educate people about the state's different species of birds. The other half
that finds its way with the birds to schools, birthday parties, county fairs
and other venues, are a collection of snakes that round out the complement
of players. |
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A Walk With The Stokes |
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Birds
like 'em. Bird watchers love 'em. Don and Lillian Stokes, of
MPT's Stokes Birds at Home fame, take an opportunity
to bird-watch in a suburban Washington, D.C. sanctuary to take
in the sights offered up by a Maryland springtime.
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Episode
1403 |
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The Waterman's Minister
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He is a wandering minister,
plying the waters of the Chesapeake every week to bring his message to the
Bay's island folk. We accompany the Minister on his rounds, and see a hidden
side of the Bay that truly inspires. |
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Rock
Hall's Buffalo |
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Most watermen you hear about ply
the Chesapeake Bay's waters for blue crabs or oysters. But there's more out
there than just shellfish. Buffalo Strong, a Rock Hall waterman, knows where
the good catch is, and hunts the rivers and creeks of the upper Bay for catfish. |
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Return of the River Dance |
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River
otters are captivating, playful marine mammals once lost to
Maryland -- and successfully restored in limited but growing
numbers by the DNR. Working with Robert Colona, biologist with
the DNR, Professor Thomas Serfass with Frostburg University,
and graduate student Abbey Burk, we follow the arrival in late
winter of a fresh new batch of river otters from New York State,
and watch their release to the wild along the Youghiogheny River.
We also visit Mt. Nebo Wildlife Management Area in Garrett county,
where Abbey Burk is monitoring a wild, breeding population of
otters in this seldom seen, beautiful 2,000 acres of upland
woodlands, meadows and rare ancient red-spruce bog.
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Episode
1404 |
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Run
Spot, Run |
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A
growing number of dog owners are involving their dogs in various kinds of
fun and athletic dog events. One of the most exciting is called "fly
ball." This is a relay-team sport. The dogs run over a series of jumps,
hit a lever, catch an ball and run back to their "team" and tag
the next dog. Also, of course, there are the frisbee catching dogs and a national
Frisbee championship on the DC mall sometime in the summer. |
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The Valley Paradise |
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The
north branch of the Potomac River was some years ago the victim
of a vicious rumor: they said it was dead, gone, with no hope
of survival or revival, the victim of bitter, acidic poison
pumped up from the bowels of drowned, ancient coal mines. It
was close, after all, but the miraculous has happened, and the
north branch now is a living organism again and begs for an
occasional bass fisherman to test its mettle by casting toward
the weeds - which is exactly what we do once we're there. |
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King Neptune's Steed |
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Sea
horses are among the most unusual critters on land or in the sea. It is the
males who give birth to dozens of babies, and sea horse locomotion -- vertical
swimming -- is truly unique. Sea horses are fascinating to watch gliding through
the water or anchoring themselves with curled their tails on swaying sea grasses
-- witness the public hoopla attending this spring's upcoming opening of a
sea horse exhibit with dozens of species at the Baltimore Aquarium. A new
international team of scientists from Europe, Asia, Canada and the United
States have launched Project Sea Horse, a research and preservation effort
to determine the status of sea horse species world-wide -- at least 20 million
are taken from the world's ocean reefs for food and medicinal purposes every
year.
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Episode
1405 |
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Night
Songs |
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Take
a walk outside any balmy late summer evening and listen to Nature's
insect symphony -- a nightly orchestration by the 30-40 species
of crickets and katydids that call our forests and fields and
lawns home. Wil Hershberg is a cricket and katydid fanatic --
and connoisseur listener. Armed with microphones and headsets
and recorders, Wil takes to the night to record their songs,
and has compiled over 50 chorus and species samples on CD. The
CD is now being used as a resource to teach volunteers how to
identify different cricket and katydid species songs for a new
joint research effort by scientists to document Mid-Atlantic
cricket and katydid species. |
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Patuxent Sojourn |
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Lovers of the Patuxent River
canoe and kayak their way down river toward the Bernie Fowler wade-in. |
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Raising
The Sail |
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Kids
from the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis take to the Chesapeake
Bay on a Chesapeake Bay foundation skipjack in search of adventure
and learning. |
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Episode
1406 |
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Shades Of Winter |
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A
look at how Maryland's beauty inspires some local painters. |
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Shape Of The Sand |
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The
lowly Amaranth is an elegant metaphor…a symbol of the ever-changing world
of native-versus-invasive plant species that continues to sweep the Earth
as biological globalization becomes a reality. In the smaller, more manageable
context of its importance to Maryland, the Seabeach Amaranth offers scientists
a rare opportunity to resurrect a species once thought extinct. |
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Baptism In The Bay |
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200
schools across the state are participating in a program from 1st through 12th
grade that teaches them about the Bay, the importance of SAV's, and how to
grow them for transplantation and for use as crab habitat.
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Episode
1407 |
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Return to Paradise |
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They’re
places to chant, to pray, to take symbolic journeys, to grieve,
to rejoice, to meditate on forgiveness. They’re a garden
style that’s both new and old. They are “spiritual
gardens” – outdoor paradises that connect us not just
with the beauty of nature but with our deepest spiritual needs
-- from medieval labyrinths, Buddhist stupas and formal gardens,
to simple backyard spaces designed for meditation. |
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Related
Links:
Bon
Secours http://www.bonsecours.org/bssc/index.htm
Kunzang
Palyul Chöling http://www.tara.org/kpcmaryland.html
Washington
National Cathedral http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/
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Episode
1408 |
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Wings of Color |
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She
has an unusual passion for Lepidopteria -- that’s “Moths”
for the layperson. Marianne Blair raises one spectacular species
of moth in particular -- the stunning Cecropia, North America’s
largest moth. Wing colors -- chocolate brown, pink, orange,
purple -- are most vivid when these huge moths emerge from their
cocoons. |
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Sport of Kings |
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Peregrine
Falcons are trained to hunt game for their handlers, much like they have since
medieval times. These “wolves of the sky” hunt together, much like
wolfpacks stalk their prey. |
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The Ancient Bay |
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The
Chesapeake is more than crabs and oysters. Below the surface lays buried ancient
secrets to the earth’s past – an historical record offering tantalizing
clues to some of the world’s greatest cataclysmic events. To unearth
new evidence, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources sends its own research
vessel onto the Chesapeake.
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Episode
1409 |
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Colonel Lee’s Birdhouse |
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Driving
north across the Francis Scott Key Bridge, looking south, it’s
the hexagonal chunk of brown granite poking its head above the
surface of the Patapsco River -- a landmark that many-a-time
has inspired the question, “What is that?” That’s
Fort Carroll, the army outpost built in the 1840’s to stop
an invasion of Baltimore harbor. U.S. Army Brevet Colonel Robert
E. Lee (yes, that Robert E. Lee) had high hopes for the fort
when he oversaw much of its construction. But Fort Carroll never
saw action and was never even completed, thanks to several twists
of fate. Now, the Fort seems to have found a noble, albeit unusual,
occupation: it’s become home to a world-class colonial
nesting bird rookery, the most diverse colony of species within
100 miles. There is a problem, though: the trees that make up
the rookery’s nesting cradles may be threatening Fort Carroll’s
structural integrity. But, the offending trees can’t be
cut, because state and federal laws protect the rookery. The
quandary: save the fort, or keep the birds?
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Episode
1410 |
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Chesapeake Futures |
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We hear that pollution, overfishing and population growth are affecting the health of our bay. But just how much? Find out in this special that looks at the long-awaited "Chesapeake Futures" report, which estimates the the Chesapeake Bay's chances to survive over the next 50 years. |
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This
online fieldtrip offers a unique way to explore the bay's past,
present, and future. Come for a virtual sail and discover the
wonders of the Chesapeake. See why the watershed is a vital
resource for the people, plants, and animals who live in and
around it. Learn how your actions affect the bay ecosystem and
investigate ways you and your family can promote its health.. |
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Earth
Day |
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Return
of the River Dance |
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River
otters are captivating, playful marine mammals once lost to
Maryland -- and successfully restored in limited but growing
numbers by the DNR. Working with Robert Colona, biologist with
the DNR, Professor Thomas Serfass with Frostburg University,
and graduate student Abbey Burk, we follow the arrival in late
winter of a fresh new batch of river otters from New York State,
and watch their release to the wild along the Youghiogheny River.
We also visit Mt. Nebo Wildlife Management Area in Garrett county,
where Abbey Burk is monitoring a wild, breeding population of
otters in this seldom seen, beautiful 2,000 acres of upland
woodlands, meadows and rare ancient red-spruce bog. |
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Bat
Talk |
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Bats
in Pennsylvania have been found to holler echolocation screeches
that seem to sound different than, say, Western Maryland bats,
even though they're "saying" the same thing. One scientist's
conclusion: It's not quite Baltimorese, but bats may speak in
distinct dialects. Also: the state of bats and research to learn
how different Maryland species are faring. |
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The
Valley Paradise |
|
The
north branch of the Potomac River was some years ago the victim
of a vicious rumor: they said it was dead, gone, with no hope
of survival or revival, the victim of bitter, acidic poison
pumped up from the bowels of drowned, ancient coal mines. It
was close, after all, but the miraculous has happened, and the
north branch now is a living organism again and begs for an
occasional bass fisherman to test its mettle by casting toward
the weeds - which is exactly what we do once we're there. |
........
|
Best
of Outdoor Maryland |
|
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Sport
of Kings |
| |
Peregrine
Falcons are trained to hunt game for their handlers, much like
they have since medieval times. These “wolves of the sky”
hunt together, much like wolfpacks stalk their prey. |
| |
Run
Spot, Run |
| |
A
growing number of dog owners are involving their dogs in various
kinds of fun and athletic dog events. One of the most exciting
is called "fly ball." This is a relay-team sport.
The dogs run over a series of jumps, hit a lever, catch an ball
and run back to their "team" and tag the next dog.
Also, of course, there are the frisbee catching dogs and a national
Frisbee championship on the DC mall sometime in the summer. |
  
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Shades
Of Winter |
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A
look at how Maryland's beauty inspires some local painters.
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