LIFE"S A BEACH - SUMMERS ON AMELIA ISLAND Story and photos by Pat Foster-Turley, Ph. D.

Summer is a great time to explore the beach. And, when the heat gets too much for you, thereÕs nothing like a cool dip in the deep ocean. Here on Amelia Island there's a lot of life on the beach in the summer, and most of it is not crowded with humans. If you are observant and respectful of wildlife, it's there for the seeing.

From the large to the small, we have it all. Many visitors and residents spend much of their time on the beach searching for those tiny remnants of prehistoric sharks that reached massive sizes in the oceans of long ago. Unlike most animals, sharks of long ago, and today, continually lose and replace their teeth throughout their lives. These teeth settle to the ocean floor and fossilize. Eventually some turn up here. To turn them up yourself you've got to have the right mind set, a good search image and a winning technique.

Fossilized shark teeth come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
_______________________________________

Everyone has a different system for locating these tiny treasures. The walkers among us stroll for miles along the surf line, and farther up in the wrack zone looking for dark shiny bits in the sand. It pays to kick up any big clumps of dark material, too. Sometimes a giant tooth lands point down in the sand, with only the smooth root area visible. Find one of these and you have bragging rights that will last a lifetime. Another technique that works for the more sedentary types, is to sit down in the wet sand at the surf line, and continually sift the sand that changes around you. Or, if you are more ambitious you can dig holes - that sometimes works too. If you find any teeth, be sure to bring them downtown to Hunt Fossils and they can help you identify them.

Maybe it is seashells that interest you. If so you are in luck on Amelia Island. Some of the best shelling areas are on the beaches of Fort Clinch State Park and Little Talbot Island State Park to the south. Every day, depending on changing currents and tides, new and different shells and other marine life float onshore. If you pay close attention, you can find evidence of predation between different mollusk species. If you see a small perfectly round hole on a bivalve (clam) shell, you know that a shell-boring gastropod (snail) has sucked its life out. Usually this hole is perfectly situated for you to hang the shell on a chain and make your own sea jewelry. Add some bits of driftwood, or sea glass, and you're in business.

Natural holes drilled into clam shells by snails make
them an excellent choice for necklaces.
_____________________________

If it's live animals you are looking for, there's plenty of variety here, too. Birds are often a conspicuous element of any summertime beach visit. Even the most casual beach visitor cannot help but notice the pelicans flying overhead in formation, the willets and smaller sandpipers feeding in the surf, and the hordes of seagulls that appear whenever someone opens their lunch bag.

Some of the birds on Amelia Island beaches, like least terns, are protected species. Least terns lay their eggs and raise their chicks on the sandy beach in Fort Clinch State Park just south of the fishing pier, and another population frequents the southern beach areas near Amelia Island Plantation. Because these birds are a "species of special concern" their nesting areas are roped off with signage to protect them from harassment during this fragile time in their life cycle. Be sure to give them room when you watch them - binoculars are handy. When least terns are not tending their young, you can also see them diving into the ocean or salt marshes for fish to bring home.

Even those birds that are not protected species need protection when they are on the beach. Letting children or dogs chase birds does the birds no good, and shows disrespect for wildlife. Better to watch birds from a safe distance without sending them into flight so you can get a chance to observe their natural behavior.

Visitors can watch sea turtle nests being excavated.
_____________________________________

If you take your dog to the beach, keep it leashed to protect the birds and other natural features that make our beaches special. And, for your dog's sake, bring an umbrella for shade and bring plenty of drinking water and a bowl. Dogs overheat and dehydrate quickly in the sun, and a dip in salt water does not slake their thirst.

A baby turtle gets a helping hand from a turtle volunteer.
_________________________________________

One of the highlights of many residents and visitors' summer vacation on Amelia Island is the chance to observe sea turtles. Three species of sea turtle - green, loggerhead and leatherback - crawl onto our beaches on summer nights and lay their eggs. Early in the morning our beaches are patrolled by volunteers with Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch and Fort Clinch State Park. Volunteers look for and identify signs of turtle crawls on the beach, locate the nests and mark them for protection with stakes and flagging tape. All nests are tracked through the summer, until each one is due to hatch. When the due date passes, volunteers dig up the nests to count the number of hatched eggs and to release any weaker babies that did not make it up to the surface.

If you are lucky, you might see a turtle nesting, or a nest hatching, but these events happen only sporadically up and down our miles of beach. To be sure to see turtles during your visit, look online at www.ameliaislandseaturtlewatch.com to see when nests are being excavated. Sea turtle volunteers are pleased to share their passion for turtles with anyone who shows up.

Even if you are just interested in laying on a beach chair and soaking up the rays, you can still find wildlife to look at. Off beyond the surf, look for dolphins swimming alone or in groups, sometimes jumping out of the water, or slapping their tails, or chasing fish. Look also for those other animals with dorsal fins, the sharks. Most of our beaches have lifeguards trained to identify sharks and other hazards and to evacuate swimmers if the need arises.

To learn more about the wildlife and artifacts on our beaches, read Florida's Living Beaches by Blair and Dawn Witherington (Pineapple Press, 2007). Then, bring your cooler, your beach chair and your binoculars, hit the beach and get to work!

Dr. Pat Foster-Turley is a biologist and columnist for the News-Leader on Amelia Island. Contact her at patandbucko@yahoo.com to report your nature observations, and visit her website at www.wildwaystours.com to learn about her nature tours.