Adding to the ecological woes of the Chesapeake Bay, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attempt to rebuild oyster beds in the Great Wicomico River has been derailed by a creature called a cownose ray which went on a feeding frenzy, the Post reports.

“The rays show up every year at the same time, in the same place. They go through the shellfish beds, and they love oysters,” said Rich Pelz, president of the Circle C Oyster Ranch in Ridge, St. Mary’s County.

DCist thought this sad news would be a perfect opportunity to remind everyone of Old Ebbitt Grill‘s oyster happy hour from 3-6 p.m. Old Ebbitt, its latest reincarnation on 15th Street across from the Treasury Department, has been around since 1856, serving political quarters over many generations.

Oysters are a D.C. tradition. If DCist remembers correctly, during the Civil War, Gen. George McClellan was scolded for the Army of the Potomac’s reluctance to leave the safety of the capital and engage Confederate forces in Virginia. “The champagne and oysters on the Potomac” must stop, McClellan was told.