What can I find at the beach?

[Biollantefan54]

I am going to Carolina beach on Friday and leaving Sunday. I am wondering what are some cool animals I can find up and down the beach. Are there any spider or arachnids that specifically like the beach?

 

[Galapoheros]

I can't think of much of what you're looking for that "specifically" likes the beach environment. But if you're at least kind of interested in plants, you might like looking for "sea beans". It's a generic name for plant seeds that wash up on the beach(google it to check it out) Many of them travel 1000s of miles coming from rivers in tropical areas that dump into the ocean. Many of the seeds are still alive by the time they get to the beach, a lot of them are no good also though. I sprouted monkey vine last year but it died. I still have two small trees grown from seeds I found on the beach last year.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Eh, plants aren't really my thing. It doesn't have to be specifically something that *only* likes the ocean. Is there anything I might find up there? Anything that just lives in that region?

 

[Galapoheros]

Yeah lol, plants tend to be things "older" people get into more, like me, and I've imagined that you're on the younger side. Maybe you can go to google earth and find some places to hike around in the area where you will be in. I tend to find cool stuff when I'm not looking for anything in particular but looking around for anything that might be interesting to me. There are some cool salamanders(imo) in the east there.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Yeah I am on the younger side, haha. I am 15, I am pretty knowledgeable when it comes to most invertebrates though. I tried a few plants but I just like inverts more. I would be going outside right now to see what I can find but my headlamp just went dead. I will probably just go exploring, flipping rocks and logs over haha.

 

[dementedlullaby]

I'm 28 and have loved plants since I was young but I guess it helps growing up in a green family lol!

I'd check the tide pools and such. You could also find some crabs. Crabs are always cool. When I used to go to Maine as a kid I'd smash a muscle, tie it on a rope and catch like 20 crabs in short periods of time. Last time I went a couple years ago it was late in the year but I managed to find me a crab lol! I don't know about spiders so much around beach areas.. But I always love poking around the ocean.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Yeah, I hope to find some tide pools to search in. So all you do is crush a muscle, tie it to a rope and toss it out? That sounds interesting, do you put a hook or something. I hope to find some crabs there haha, I wont keep them but it will be interesting nonetheless.

 

[dementedlullaby]

I used to just tie it with a piece of rope if memory serves me correct. The crabs are so busy eating you just yank 'em up lol! In Maine there was a little bridge with a small river flowing into the ocean next to the beach. Depending on tide there would be tons and tons of crabs. Awesome times. It was quite rocky, the crabs loved it there. Rocks seem to be a crabs best friend .

Have fun! I haven't been to the ocean in few years.

 

[The Snark]

Though not quite your neck of the woods, 'Between Pacific Tides' by Ed 'Doc' Ricketts is always a good read. Also worth reading is Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday by Steinbeck where the slightly fictionalized 'Doc' and his life looms large in the very enjoyable books.

 

[Smokehound714]

A variety of species like beaches.

Tiger beetles, lycosidae, carabidae and in my region, tenebrionidae and mygalomorphae. But your region is different.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I didn't find *any* bugs. All I found was a shark tooth and a crab molt. It was pretty fun. I got back a few weeks ago, I forgot about this thread.