Chasing Migrations

The Chesapeake Bay Journal introduces listeners of its award-winning podcast, Chesapeake Uncharted, to its latest audio offering, the Chesapeake Bay Journal Newscast. Each month, Newscast listeners will get up to date with environmental news from Bay Journal reporters in a lively roundtable format. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Direct links below to our show on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Amazon iHeart Youtube Bay Journal Newscast website    

Shorebirds appear plentiful on any visit to the beach. But their habitat is under threat from climate change and the legacy of a Great Depression-era work program. This is the last in our series of episodes spotlighting the Bay Journal documentary film, "Chesapeake Rhythms."

Tundra swans are among the most magnificent birds in North America and the largest waterfowl, traveling thousands of miles from the high Arctic to their winter home on the Chesapeake Bay. So, why aren't there as many of them as there used to be in the region?

Monarch creatures may be small creatures, but they go on an epic adventure every year across much of the globe. Now, the federal government is stepping in. In December, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list monarch butterflies as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. But since then, the new Trump administration has begun discussing rescinding the definition of "harm" in the act. That could remove certain protections for all listed species and their habitats. 

All about eels. Along with great blue herons and humans, eels are probably the most widely distributed of all Chesapeake Bay species. The returning eels will spread throughout the Chesapeake and its 40 some rivers and thousands of streams, eating and being eaten. It's hard to think of a more vital part of the region's aquatic ecosystem. 

Take a sound journey with the makers of the Chesapeake Bay Journal's latest documentary film, "Chesapeake Rhythms." Dave Harp, Tom Horton and Sandy Cannon Brown share the behind the scenes story of how they captured footage of tundra swans, monarch butterflies, eels and shorebirds. 

Migrations shape life in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Follow along with Chesapeake Bay Journal filmmakers David Harp, Tom Horton and Sandy Cannon Brown as they track the journeys of monarch butterflies, eels, tundra swans and shorebirds in their latest documentary, Chesapeake Rhythms. Hear behind-the-scenes interviews with the filmmakers as well as original reporting by Jeremy Cox and Lauren Hines-Acosta. The new podcast season debuts May 21.

Connor Tupponce, a member of the Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy tribes, discusses his work promoting tribal consultation in environmental and land-use matters in Virginia. Indigenous voices are crucial in managing public lands, he says. That's especially true at Werowocomoco, the recently rediscovered site along the York River that was once the seat of the Powhatan Confederacy.

Ron Lopez is a researcher in wetlands ecology at Virginia Commonwealth University who is part of a team breaking ground on our understanding of potentially toxic algae blooms in the Shenandoah River. His efforts toward developing remote-sensing methods to map those slilmy blooms are the basis of his ongoing doctoral thesis. So, yes, we will be talking about drones. Lopez also discusses his atypical path into academia. 

Symone Barkley, a Baltimore native, is a recipient of the North American Association for Environmental Education's "30 Under 30 Award," which recognizes young leaders in the field worldwide. And she's a fellow traveler in the podcast world, hosting a podcast series for her employer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That would be "Planet NOAA." Here, she discusses the state of environmental education in America and what can be done to get kids more interested in nature studies. Barkley also talks about the kits she has developed providing kids with hands-on, STEM-based activities. More info about the kits is available here.