This past week’s strandline delivered a spectacular mix of open-ocean drifters, Man o’ Wars, blue buttons, by-the-wind sailors and — tucked among them — one of my favorite finds: the purple storm snail, Janthina janthina. These delicate snails are rarely seen unless strong onshore winds push the offshore world right up to our toes. Each one that washes ashore carries […]
Beachcombing Report
In the business of burrowing
Beachcombing reportIf you’ve ever wandered across a quiet Texas bay at low tide and noticed little spirals of mud dotting the surface, you’ve seen the cal ling card of one of our most important — yet least noticed — estuary residents: the lugworm. These unassuming marine worms spend their lives hidden beneath our feet, quietly engineering the sediment and keeping our […]
Worms riddle washed-up debris
Beachcombing reportDuring my weekly 40-mile beach survey on an electric bike, I noticed something unusual washing ashore — logs riddled with small, burrow-like holes. These weren’t just any beach relics; they were home to one of nature’s most persistent and fascinating marine creatures — the shipworm, also known as the naval shipworm. Despite the name, shipworms aren’t worms at all. They’re […]
Dolphin bones wash up on beach
Beachcombing reportWhile riding my bike on the beach, I came across a few smooth, rounded vertebrae partially buried in the sand. At first glance, they looked like pieces of driftwood worn by the tide, but a closer look revealed their distinctive shape — unmistakably from a dolphin. Over the years, I’ve found many dolphin bones along the shoreline, and once even […]
Hail-related bird losses updated
Beachcombing reportAnyone who lives in the Coastal Bend knows weather can surprise us, but the hail-storm that hammered the Corpus Christi area on Nov. 1 was unlike anything most of us have ever seen. Golf ball–sized hailstones rained down across neighborhoods, battering roofs, denting vehicles, and leaving a trail of property damage that residents are still tallying. But the most heartbreaking […]
Where did the ghost crabs go?
Beachcombing reportOn some stretches of the Texas coast, ghost crabs scurry by the hundreds, darting sideways across the sand like tiny beach watchmen. But on others, they’ve all but disappeared. During my 40-mile roundtrip Beachcombing survey, I couldn’t help but notice the difference — some areas were full of life, while others were strangely quiet. So where did the ghost crabs […]
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