Secrets of the Beach
Secrets of the Beach
Discover what you may have missed on your beach vacation exploration
– by Clarissa G.
When you think of the beach, it’s easy to think only of the moments spent lounging in the sun, the warm sand sticking to your skin and the cool waves breaking around your ankles. It’s easy to think only of the beach as just an attraction, something you attend and enjoy. But there are secrets of the beach that you may not have noticed. Many people forget that the beach is not only something beautiful and fun that we visit, but an entire ecosystem, bustling with life just below the surface. Just beyond the breakers, schools of fish pass by unnoticed. Dolphins are often seen traveling along the coast in a pod chasing these fish and frolicking in the waves. There are many parts of the ecosystem you have probably already seen, but never recognized as an animal who makes their home on the beach. For example: Have you ever noticed the small holes in the sand, just at the edge of the tide? Those are most likely mole crabs or “sand fleas.” Fear not Fido, these guys are small crustaceans, about the size of a grape tomato and make their home just below the surface of the sand. They poke small filter antennae up through the sand into the water and catch plankton in the receding tide. They’re easy and fun for kids to catch – just watch for bubbling as the water recedes and the tiny holes left behind. Then scoop up a clump of sand where the hole is, and toss the sand down. Once it breaks up a little, dig through for the crab. You’ll probably find more than one!
Clams are another favorite. Bogue Sound is perfect for clamming. You’ll want to stop by Ace Hardware and grab a clam rake and a bucket to keep your catch in. Make sure to wear good shoes, as the sound also has crabs and shells in the marsh bed that could be sharp. Wade out into knee deep water and give the rake a few passes through the mud. Listen for the “ping” indicating that you’ve hit a shell, then dig down further to lift up the clam. Crabs are synonymous with the shore, but not often seen in a typical during a day at the beach. Ghost crabs are especially fun to find. These little guys make their home further up in the dunes, in tunnels. You’ll often see large holes in the sand further from the water, but nothing coming out of them. Come back at nightfall with a flashlight, and you’ll see these little guys dancing across the beach.
Clams are another favorite. Bogue Sound is perfect for clamming. You’ll want to stop by Ace Hardware and grab a clam rake and a bucket to keep your catch in. Make sure to wear good shoes, as the sound also has crabs and shells in the marsh bed that could be sharp. Wade out into knee deep water and give the rake a few passes through the mud. Listen for the “ping” indicating that you’ve hit a shell, then dig down further to lift up the clam.
Crabs are synonymous with the shore, but not often seen in a typical during a day at the beach. Ghost crabs are especially fun to find. These little guys make their home further up in the dunes, in tunnels. You’ll often see large holes in the sand further from the water, but nothing coming out of them. Come back at nightfall with a flashlight, and you’ll see these little guys dancing across the beach.
What about tire tracks in the sand? Have you ever noticed what appears to be a set of tracks, running from the water to the dunes? If you have, you may have seen the tracks of a mother loggerhead sea turtle coming onto the beach at night to lay her eggs. Being large animals, from 200-400 pounds, they leave behind easily visible tracks in the sand with their flippers. Volunteers with the town walk the beach daily to look for tracks and identify and register nests. This allows them to have an estimation of when to expect the nest to hatch so that they can prepare the trench leading the babies safely to the ocean. Summer is nesting and hatching season, running through September.
Isn’t it amazing how the beach isn’t just a beautiful landscape scene? It makes it so much more beautiful to know that it’s an entire ecosystem, brimming with new life and creatures that we can “meet” and learn about. I hope that while you’re here, you get to enjoy these little moments with Mother Nature!
