Nature Connection: September On The Beach

Once the swimming and sailing lessons are over and the kids return to school, the beaches look far different than they did just a few weeks before. They look almost barren, bare of people for the first time in months.

They are far from empty, however. The September beach is a busy place, full of migrating shorebirds, birds of prey, and a variety of other wildlife, both land and marine types.

On a recent walk we found a number of first year gulls, both herring and greater black-backed. Young gulls are the same size as their parents, but their plumage is much darker. Watching them learn the difference between a live mollusk that means food and the empty shell that means no food can be somewhat entertaining, for us anyway.

Young ospreys are still around and so are the first year herons. You may see both herons and egrets in area salt marshes, sometimes in rather large numbers. Squabbles among young birds are not uncommon, but the wise ones move to an adjacent area to hunt and fish and end up well fed.

Crabs are still around, at least while the water temperature stays up. Some crabs are mating but others are molting and preparing for a winter spent in deeper water. This is the time of year when we can find hundreds of horseshoe crab molts on area beaches.

Horseshoe crabs molt their shells in total, which means legs, gills, everything, so the shells we find look like the whole crab. If in doubt, lift it. A molted shell will be light. A dead crab will be heavy. Pretty scientific, huh?

Many dune and beach plants are having a second bloom before retiring for the winter. Rosa rugosa, beach pea, dusty miller, all may be found in bloom again in protected sunny spots.

There aren’t a lot of beach plums this year, but the bayberry bushes are packed with berries. These waxy berries are favorite fall foods for swallows, which need to build fat reserves for their exceptionally long flight south. These elegant birds feast on flying insects when they can, and you will still see many feeding over marshes and fields, but they also fill up on the berries when they are available.

You may be seeing massive flocks of swallows in the dunes, on the beach, or gathered in low grassy areas. Tens of thousands can gather in one place before they head south sometime in early October. 

On the beach, the massive flocks of shorebirds are beginning to thin out, but you still have time to go out and play the hunt for the different sandpiper game. This game involves scoping every bird in a flock to find the one that’s different. A good birder will check out the terns and gulls, too. At this time of year anything can show up, but due to similarities, many of us miss the telltale signs that give the stranger away.

Voles and mice live at the beach. So do skunks and rabbits, foxes and coyotes. One of the beaches I frequent is also visited by deer which swim between the beach and a nearby island. Early morning walks are great for finding fresh prints, especially when the tide is receding. I always seem to be 10 minutes behind anything interesting, but I like knowing that one day I just might be there at the right time.

There are tons of bait fish around. Watch for birds gathering, especially gulls and terns. They’re usually quite loud so it’s hard to miss them. Watch, too, for fish jumping, and if you’re in the right spot at the right time, whales feeding at the surface. This has been an amazing summer for seeing dolphins, so keep your eyes out for them as well.

September is one of the best months for beach walking and beach combing. Get to know your local shellfish by identifying the shells you find. The more different beaches you walk at, the more different kinds of shells you may find. Marine wildlife will vary from the north side to the south side but also on the outer and inner beach. Some areas have sea stars and sea urchins while others have periwinkles and blue crabs. Some are so dynamic that finding a whole shell of any kind can be a challenge.

We live in a beautiful, magical place that is constantly changing. If you’ve lived here your whole life like I have you know how much some areas have changed and how many others are changing now. Sand is in motion, both in the water and out. Species once common are no longer found and species once considered rare are everywhere. Sea level rise, pollution, erosion, storms, poor land management and more have affected our beaches but also the livelihoods of many families that have lived here for generations.

Being mindful of each other and the environment is a good practice, I think. We all want our beaches to remain accessible, beautiful, and fruitful. This means we need to be good stewards. We need to clean up after ourselves, reconsider our use of balloons and single-serve plastics, and the ways we nurture and protect our lawns and gardens.