Exploring where the sea touches the land

Jun 05 2004

Exploring where the sea touches the land

By JOE HUNT
At a barnacle-encrusted rock along Double Bluff, exposed only at low tide, Jeanie McElwain stopped to let everyone catch up.

"Get close. Place your ear up against the rock. And just listen," she said.

Her small entourage of 10 adults carefully stepped around the slippery seaweed and living anemones, and crouched down next to the big rock.

"That's what we call the snap, crackle, and pop," McElwain said of the barnacles, "We don't know what it is they're doing."

"It sounds like they're gasping for air," someone said.

McElwain was the leader for a low-tide beach walk Thursday sponsored by Beach Watchers . Low tides this week are the lowest in 18 years, she said, revealing portions of local beach es rarely seen.

Beach Watchers will be hosting another investigation of the low tidal regions today at Double Bluff, beginning at noon. Today's tide will reach minus 3.9 feet, McElwain said.

The annual tromp through the lowest reaches of the tidal flats is very popular with the locals, McElwain said. Thursday's group numbered in the 20s and then split up into children's and adult tours. The Saturday offering tends to be much, much busier, she said.

McElwain asked her class to grab walking sticks to help them keep their balance while walking among the slippery rocks. She first taught her crew the etiquette of walking the tidal regions where many living creatures are underfoot.

Double Bluff, she said, has changed a lot from last year's lowest tides. There is more sand, less cobble, more seaweed, and stronger barnacles.

"Last year the barnacles were very frail and broke if you walked on them," she said. "I was never able to determine whether they were dead or sick or what. This year, the barnacles are strong and firm. I didn't hear any crunching under my feet."

Walking the tide pools means learning to see. "There are creatures you do not see, in plain sight, that you could step on," McElwain said.

Every step is a choice. Putting a foot down in the wrong place will likely crush unseen animals, she said. The best choice is to step on sand or bare rocks, but watch out for camouflaged anemones. It's okay to step on barnacles, as long as they're healthy and strong.

It gets tricky when it comes to seaweed, she said. Seaweed is the natural protector of tidal creatures, as they crawl under it to stay moist and hide from the hot sun. If stuck in a sea of green, then step only on the weed-covered rocks. she said. That's where the walking sticks help, because the rocks are very slick and a slip could do damage to the hiker and tidal creatures.

The low tides reveal a treasure of animals. Small moon snails and their egg casings, which look like partially unearthed ancient pottery, are scattered about. Orange and purple sea stars cling to the underside of large rocks in bundles. Red rock crabs and young dungenous crabs scamper through the water to hide.

Several clammers, with buckets in hand, were taking advantage of the low tide at Double Bluff Thursday, giving McElwain the opportunity to promote another Beach Watchers class. The cobble area is full of clams, McElwain said, but it's also full of other animals. "Some people clam responsibly, others don't," she said.

Beach Watchers will be offering a hands-on clamming class, "Digging for Dinner," June 22 at 1:30 p.m. at Freeland Park and June 24 at 2 p.m. at North Penn Cove/Zylstra Road.

Reproduced with permission

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