Field Trip to Cypress Point Beach!!
Right off the bat we saw Marsh rabbits —it had a brown tail— (Sylvilagus palustris) munching on Sea oats (Uniola paniculata) early in the morning. We didn’t see the bunny burrow. You are not allowed to walk on the beach dunes to look around. Dune vegetation areas are protected habitats for creatures, and help to keep the beach from eroding.
Sea oats roots holding up the sand.
Whelk mollusk egg casing. Gotta do some research on this one. Not sure what kind of whelk!
Raccoon track. We remembered our measuring tool. Raccoons definitely live here!
Shore bird track.
Oyster shells.
Crab in Manatee grass. Marsh crab?
Horseshoe crab exoskeleton molt.
Periwinkle snails on driftwood. The kids really wanted to take home the driftwood but it didn’t pass the “100 things test”, so we left it. There weren’t 100 of them! Plus, it‘s a habitat!
Someone’s balloons.
Turtle grass.
Manatee grass. It rolls!
Beach sunflower (Helianthus debilis). Maybe Cucumberleaf subspecies.
Bonnethead shark. We are pretty sure!!
No experts here, but it sure is fun and we love it!