. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Horseshoe Crab Sand Dollar many parents take an interest in the marine life at the waterline and will join their kids there, bucket in tow, to hunt mole crabs and coquina clams, he says. In their ever-shifting burrows, these creatures are also easy prey to the beak of the gray-and-white sand- erling. This supercharged bird, only 2 or 3 ounces, skitters behind the waves to eat creatures exposed by the backwash. Unlike many shorebirds that feed in the marsh at low tide and the beach at high tide, the sanderl
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Horseshoe Crab Sand Dollar many parents take an interest in the marine life at the waterline and will join their kids there, bucket in tow, to hunt mole crabs and coquina clams, he says. In their ever-shifting burrows, these creatures are also easy prey to the beak of the gray-and-white sand- erling. This supercharged bird, only 2 or 3 ounces, skitters behind the waves to eat creatures exposed by the backwash. Unlike many shorebirds that feed in the marsh at low tide and the beach at high tide, the sanderling is primarily a beach feeder. It can be seen fraternizing and eating with the ruddy turnstone, an- other common shorebird. The name turnstone comes from the bird's feeding habits — it turns over shells, stones and seaweed with its beak in search of beach fleas, fly larvae and other animals that are found in the drift line. Its distinctive black bill is short and slightly upturned. It ap- pears to be wearing a black vest, with a black-and-white face mask and or- ange legs. A third bird that patrols the shoreline is the willet, which is most easily identified in flight. Only then does it flash its unusual chevron pat- tern — a wide V — of white and black stripes across its wings. It stands a foot tall, considerably larger than the sanderling, and wanders the waterline probing with a long bill for mole crabs and other small animals. These birds entertain center- stage on nearly all North Carolina coastlines. But perhaps the best- known shorebirds are gulls and terns. Because they are similar in appear- ance — white with black or gray markings — they are frequently mis- taken as the same bird. "Most people don't know much about shorebirds," says JoAnne Powell, curator of education at the Maritime Museum. "They see terns diving, and because they're at the beach they think these are sea gulls. To them, terns are ; But differences do set the
Size: 1679px × 1487px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
