Downriver, diamondback terrapin begin to stir. None of these will be obvious at first, but by May, the painted turtles will be sunning themselves on fallen trees, and the diamondbacks will be mating on the shores of saltmarsh coves. The open rivers and the main bay will still look barren in March, with gulls, sea ducks, cormorants, and loons still the only obvious inhabitants. By April, however, more birds will be in evidence. In the main Bay and the lower rivers, there is more going on than meets the eye.
Copepods begin to bloom for the same reasons they do in the rivers and creeks.
As they increase, smaller fish being to feed on them. Forage species like silversides and anchovies that have wintered in deep holes move into shallow to feed on the abundant plankton. Juvenile spot begin making their way into and up the Bay from their birthplaces on the continental shelf. Menhaden begin to do the same. The arrival of these forage fish is a boon to hungry predators.