The
salt marsh is without a doubt a highlight of the field station. It has many
different animals in it; some of the most notable are the crabs that live
there. There is the fiddler crab that is small and makes holes in the sand for
it to live in. The male fiddler crab has a small claw and a big claw while the
female has two small claws. In the water you can find many decorator crabs also
known as spider crabs. These crabs are masters of camouflage and decorate
themselves with rocks and seaweed hence the name. The marsh is home to the blue
crabs that can grow extremely big and have powerful claws. Being pinched by one
of these would really hurt. The salt marsh has many different birds such as
cormorants and egrets. There are two different egrets in the salt marsh. The
great and snowy egrets are the egrets that make their homes here. The great
egret has a yellow beak with black legs and is larger than the snowy, which has
a black beak and yellow legs. The plant life in the salt marsh is also very
interesting. One of the plants is pickle weed, which has a salty taste to it.
The grass in the marsh was once used to feed cattle. This would be different to
the cattle because of its salty taste. As you can see the salt marsh is very
important in the life of animals and even people.
Nicholas M.
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