Sunny Cove Beach and Sand Piggies, Divided by stinky runoff!

Oct 2- Today we went to Sunny Cove Beach, and ran into a phenomenon, hazard, a sight to behold, a stinky micro pond formed on the back end of the beach! We enter through the back end of the beach, and this pond blockaded us from the ocean waters edge. Water quality unsure, but brown murky ness certain, we did piggy backs taking the kids across to the other end, where we had a great time digging up sand crabs, also called mole lice (not head lice!) along the waters edge. 

Sand crabs, also called Sand Piggies by some of our students, are super fun to collect, as theyre easy to grab (just dig your hand in the sand!), tickly, and don't bite or pinch. Their tough exoskeleton can really take a beating from waves, and they get all their food from plankton washing over them by waves. This is why you'll only find these Sand piggies right along the waters edge. They move up and down the beach and follow the tide so they always are beneath waves. They have 5 sets of legs that allow them to move backwards and burrow very quickly into the sand. They live for about 2-3 years and females can lay 40,000 eggs! Mole crabs. sand piggies, also make great fishing bait and snacks for birds, and can also be fried and eaten

Plants: Wild Radish, Bull Kelp

Animals: Western Gull, Mole Crabs