Field Guide

Explore the Field Guide to learn about more than 350 species of birds, fish, insects, algae, invertebrates, mammals, plants, reptiles and amphibians that live in the Chesapeake Bay region.

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Showing: 10 of 13

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

The bald eagle is a large raptor with a yellow, hook-shaped bill and a white head and tail. It lives in forested, sparsely developed areas near rivers, wetlands and other waterways throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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A bald eagle flies through a blue sky with its brown wings open wide and its white head and tail clearly visible.
Birds

Barn Owl

Tyto alba

The barn owl is a medium-sized raptor with a large, heart-shaped face. It is found throughout the Chesapeake region. 

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A captive barn owl with brown leather straps around its legs perches on a stand, its gold, tan and white feathers standing out against a black background.
Birds

Barred owl

Strix varia

Barred owls are large owls with round heads and a stout stature. They can be recognized by their "who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all" call. Barred owls and common barn owls are the only eastern owl species that have dark brown eyes.

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A barred owl perches on the flaking bark of a decaying tree branch, its large brown eyes looking directly at the camera.
Birds

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

The black vulture is a large raptor that scavenges and eats dead animals. 

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A black vulture with a bare, gray head stands in a brown field.
Birds

Cooper's Hawk

Accipiter cooperii

The Cooper's hawk is a mid-sized hawk with broad, rounded wings and a long tail. It can be found year-round in wooded areas throughout most of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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A Cooper's hawk in flight, its right wing held out from its body, its left wing pointed down toward the ground and its characteristic dark tail bands visible from below.
Birds

Eastern screech-owl

Megascops asio

This small, well-camouflaged owl can be found year-round throughout forested areas of the Bay watershed.

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Two captive eastern screech-owls perch next to each other, displaying the species' distinct color morphs. One bird is gray, and one is reddish-brown, but both are patterned with bands and spots and have tufts of feathers on either side of their heads.
Birds

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

The great horned owl is a large, tufted owl that inhabits almost all of North America.

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A great horned owl perches on a gloved hand. It is crouching down such that its body looks shorter and it has large yellow eyes and a dark gray beak.
Birds

Northern Harrier

Circus cyaneus

Also known as the hen harrier or marsh hawk, the northern harrier can be found in Chesapeake Bay marshes during winter, flying low to hunt for prey.

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A northern harrier in flight, legs stretched behind it and wings outstretched. The underside is mottled white and brown. Its eyes are yellow.
Birds

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

The elusive saw-whet owl stands at only eight inches tall and hides in Chesapeake forests. 

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An adult northern saw-whet owl, sitting on a branch with lichen growing on it.
Birds

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

Also known as the fish hawk, the osprey is a large raptor with distinctive brown and white patterning. It visits the Chesapeake Bay's tidal waters, including its shorelines, rivers and marshes, from spring through late summer.

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Female osprey feeds young on top of a man-made osprey platform while the male looks out onto the water.
Birds