Homely Scientist

The beach is an awesome place. I’m lucky, I live on a small island off the British Columbia coast, so the beach is always close by. Of course besides fun and sun what’s great about the beach? Creatures! The sea star on the left (technically “star fish” are supposed to be called “sea stars”) is really purple and that little copper thing … is a penny (Canadian, but it’s the same size as its American counterpart). Yep, that’s one big star fish! When you’re at the beach, especially one with good tide pools, look at the difference between things close to the water and things closer to (or above) the high tide line (usually it’s pretty obvious where the high tide line is … look for a line of seaweed or debris). Notice the “softer” creatures are going to be closer and closer to the water and the “tougher” ones (barnacles, especially) farther away. As for the creatures themselves, looking under rocks for crabs is fun (both my kids are great at this) and most small crabs are safe to handle, but there are less pleasant creatures out there and there are others you shouldn’t touch because you might hurt them. Don’t touch jelly fish, even “dead” ones on the beach. Most of them carry stingers in their tentacles. Some stings aren’t bad, others can be very nasty. Be careful of some round worms, out here in BC, there are pile worms that have a nasty set of pinchers. Don’t be scared of the creatures of the sea, but hey if you’re not sure, take a picture! Then buy a beachcombing book and the next time you’ll know what you’re dealing with! Most of all, have fun exploring the tide pools. They are truly wonderous things. In just the past weekend I’ve seen fish, shrimp, two different kinds of sea anemone, and spionges in the most cool colours! Stop, look closely, wait, there are some amazing things to see.

Tags: tide pools, beachcombing

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