the Blackwater River (see map, fig. 3), and 
smaller secondary areas are in the vicinity 
of Savannah Lake and along the upper portions 
of Ireland Creek. A large contiguous area of 
brackish estuarine bay marsh is drained by 
tidal streams that empty into the upper por- 
tions of Fishing Bay and the estuarine bay of 
the Nanticoke River and includes the drainage 
systems along the lower portions of the Black- 
water and Transquaking Rivers and Ireland 
Creek plus the entire watersheds of Irish 
Creek, Jacks Creek, and Cow Creek. There 
are two separate areas of brackish estuarine 
river marsh in this section. The larger is along 
the Nanticoke River (see map, fig. 3), extend- 
ing upstream from Long Point on the Dor- 
chester County side and Collier Creek on the 
Wicomico County side to the village of River- 
ton. The smaller area of brackish estuarine 
river marsh is along the upper portion of the 
Transquaking River and its tributary, the 
Chicamacomico River. Brackish estuarine 
bays include the upper part of Fishing Bay 
and the upper part of the estuarine bay of the 
Nanticoke River. Both of these areas differ 
from other brackish estuarine bays in the 
Upper Chesapeake region in that they usually 
are quite turbid from organic stain and silt 
draining into them from numerous swamps 
and marshes. Submerged plant growth is 
greatly inhibited by the turbidity, although 
various invertebrates are quite common. 
Waterfowl 
The Blackwater-Nanticoke section is an 
important waterfowl area. January inventory 
data during the years 1955-58 show that the 
wintering population ranged from a low of 
22,400 in 1958 to a high of 234,500 in 1956, 
and averaged 126,500, Wintering populations 
vary greatly from year to year. Populations 
usually are high during mild open winters and 
much lower during severe cold winters with 
extensive ice formation. The population peak 
usually comes in late fall, as it did in the 
1958-59 season. 
Proportions of the various species at dif- 
ferent seasons are shown in table 30. Canada 
Geese, Mallards, Black Ducks, American 
Widgeons, and Canvasbacks are most impor- 
tant. Other waterfowl that are abundant locally 
during certain seasons include Pintails, Green- 
winged Teal, Redheads, and Lesser Scaup. 
Large numbers of transient Blue-winged Teal 
often stop in the area during early fall and 
late spring. During the hunting season, many 
species are undoubtedly benefited by the sanc- 
tuary provided by the Blackwater National 
Wildlife Refuge. 
The ecological distribution of waterfowl in 
this section varies considerably from one 
species to another. Most Canada Geese con- 
centrate in the fresh estuarine bay marshes 
and range out to forage in nearby agricultural 
29 
fields. They frequently feed and roostin shoal- 
water areas of the brackish estuarine bays. 
Mallards prefer the fresh estuarine bay marsh 
and the fresher portions of the brackish es- 
tuarine river marsh. Black Ducks are well 
distributed over all three types of estuarine 
marsh, although most of them are inthe brack- 
ish estuarine bay marsh. Fairly largenumbers 
of Black Ducks also breed in the brackish 
estuarine bay marsh. American Widgeons, 
Gadwalls, and Shovelers occur regularly in 
both fresh and brackish estuarine bay marshes, 
but are comparatively scarce elsewhere. Pin- 
tails, Green-winged Teal, and Blue-winged 
Teal are fairly evenly distributed over all 
three estuarine marsh types. Local breeding 
populations of Blue-winged Teal are almost 
entirely restricted to the brackish estuarine 
bay marsh. Wood Ducks are common in the 
fresher portions of the estuarine river marsh, 
and occasionally there are a few in the fresh 
estuarine bay marsh. Most diving ducks (in- 
cluding the predominant Canvasbacks, Lesser 
Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, and Common Goldeneyes) 
generally are restricted to the brackish es- 
tuarine bays. Large flocks frequently travel 
back and forth between Fishing Bay and the 
Nanticoke River. Ring-necked Ducks and Com- 
mon Mergansers seem to prefer the fresh 
estuarine bay marsh and fresher portions of 
the brackish estuarine river marsh. Hooded 
Mergansers are most numerous in the brackish 
estuarine bay marsh. 
LOWER EASTERN SHORE SECTION 
Habitats 
Salt estuarine bays and salt estuarine bay 
marshes are the principal habitats of the 
Lower Eastern Shore section. The bays con- 
tain luxuriant beds of aquatic plants of typical 
salt-water species. Salinity gradually in- 
creases from north to south. As a result, sago 
pondweed, which is one of the principal plants 
in the Tar Bay and Honga River areas, be- 
comes progressively scarcer toward the south. 
The broad marshes along the estuarine bay 
shores and on the offshore islands are the 
only large areas of salt estuarine bay marsh 
in the entire Upper Chesapeake region. There 
are two fairly large areas of brackish estua- 
rine bay marsh: the Broad Creek marsh, 
draining into Ellis Bay in Wicomico County, 
Maryland; and the Marumsco Creek marsh, 
draining into Pocomoke Sound in Somerset 
County, Maryland. Numerous brackish estua- 
rine river marshes border tidal streams that 
extend into the interior. The largest are along 
the Wicomico and Pocomoke Rivers. A fairly 
extensive stretch of fresh estuarine river 
marsh borders the Wicomico River between 
Pirates Wharf and Shad Point; another much 
smaller one extends along the upper portions 
of Pitts Creek near the Maryland~-Virginia 
boundary. 
