The narrow ribbon of land, which borders countries whose lands are washed by the sea, is much more than a place to have fun over weekends. Seashores can be sandy, rocky, muddy or coral but whatever the type of shore, you can be very certain that it is teeming with life.
Fiddler Crab
Dhritiman Mukherjee / Sanctuary Photolibrary
The next time you visit a seashore take along a pair of binoculars and a strong magnifying glass and you will truly discover the strange and wonderful world of nature come alive. The easiest creatures to study are crabs, for they are virtually everywhere. Two of the commonest kinds are the 'fiddlers' and the 'hermits'. Once you observe a fiddler, identifiable by the extra large claw belonging to males, you will know exactly why it has been so named.
As for the hermit, nature never gifted it with a shell, so it uses those of other crustaceans! As the hermit grows bigger, it discards its old shell, for a larger, more comfortable one!
Search the shore till you identify the above two crabs and then study them through the magnifying glass and write down all you observe in your nature diary.
When you are tired of crawling around like a crab yourself, you can move on to yet another fascinating 'seashore occupation' - birdwatching. Most birds you see along the shore will be 'waders' which scamper up and down beaches in search of food deposited by the tides. Using your binoculars, study the shape and size of the beaks of the birds you see. Different species of birds will be able to use the same beach without competing with each other. If you have Salim Ali's Book of Indian Birds with you, it will be easy to identify the birds and learn about their habits as well.
Hermit Crab
Yet another activity for the beach is to check for pollution and litter! Marine creatures are very, very delicate and it is a great tragedy that most of our beaches are dirtied by oil, garbage and other man-caused problems. If there are enough of you, why don't you try to clean up a small part of the beach? It would be a great way to keep fit, and a great way of showing you love your country. Just imagine how clean our beaches would become if thousands of youngsters took it upon themselves to keep them clear of garbage. If you can involve grown-ups in your beach monitoring efforts, maybe they could help identify sources of pollution, such as factories throwing out untreated poisons. They could then help you register complaints with the collector of the area.
Remember, write down your experiences in your Nature Diary. Reading it years later will provide hours of pleasure.
BITTU SAHGAL is the Editor of Sanctuary Magazine
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Going Green
