At the beach

Who’s sharing the beach with you?

There is all kinds of wildlife at the beach. Here is a list of some of the most endangered animals you may encounter on your seaside trip.

Sea turtles, including the leatherback, Kemp’s Ridley, loggerhead, and green sea turtles, mate, nest, and hatch along the southern east coast of the US and in Baja California. As each of these species is endangered it is vital that their nesting grounds and their reproductive activities are not disturbed. Females nesting turtles are very sensitive to disturbance, and they may abandon their attempt to nest on the beach, and even abort their eggs at sea.

Sea and shore birds. It’s not a trip to the beach without them. Pelicans, cormorants, loons, grebes, gulls, herons, the list goes on. There can be 100 species of shore and sea birds on your beach.

Piping plover, snowy plover and least tern are just a few of the endangered birds that use the beaches to nest and feed.

Healthy beach mouse populations equals healthy dunes. And healthy dunes protect the coast from storms and floods. They are also an important food source for other dune and coastal dwellers. Unfortunately this adorable little seed planter is nearly extinct. Please help protect their habitat by preserving dunes.

Isopods, known by their popular name roly polies, are tiny nocturnal crustaceans that spend their days burrowed deep in the sand. They come out at night to feed on kelp. They are an extremely important food source for shorebirds. Do to sand grooming, development, habitat loss, and other sand disturbances these once abundant critters are disappearing at alarming rates.