Otter Point Creek - Chesapeake Bay, MD

Flora (plant life)

The vegetation in Otter Point Creek is quite diverse. The shallow water in front of the marsh proper consists of rooted aquatics, such as water milfoil and wild celery, while broad leafed vegetation, such as arrow-arum, spatterdock, and pickerel weed, predominate in the regularly flooded portions of the marsh. The upper regions of the marsh consist mainly of cattail with large stands of sweet flag. Other species grow throughout the marsh, such as wild rice, golden club, jewelweed, river bulrush and smartweed.

Fauna (animal life)

Mammals that frequent the site include muskrats, raccoons, river otters, beavers and an occasional white-tailed deer. A variety of birds also rely upon the marsh in some respect. Species most commonly found include herons, great white and snowy egrets, mallard and black ducks, Virginia rails, red-winged blackbird, marsh wren and spotted sandpiper. Other important birds seen in the area include the American bittern and the upland sandpiper.

The Otter Point Creek component includes valuable spawning area for several species of anadromous and semi-anadromous fish. Other species include banded killfish, mummichog, tidewater silverside, bay anchovy, tesselated darter and spottail shiner. The catadromous American eel may also be found in the area. Snapping turtles and painted turtles inhabit the marsh with blue crabs and various other invertebrates, including radiferous, protozoans and the larval forms of larger organisms.