If youโve ever watched birds along the coast, youโve probably noticed they behave a little differently from backyard birds. Sea and shore birds are full of fascinating adaptations that help them survive in windy, salty, ever-changing environments. Here are some amazing (and sometimes weird!) things to look for next time youโre near the water:
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach sea and shorebirds, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Sea and Shorebirds Unit (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Many seabirds, like terns, donโt build elaborate nests in trees. Instead, they create a simple โscrapeโโa shallow depression in sand or gravel. It might not look like much, but it helps keep eggs from rolling away and provides just enough shelter to blend into their surroundings.
Albatrosses have some of the largest wingspans of any bird on Earthโsome stretching to about 10 feet! These wings allow them to glide effortlessly on ocean winds, sometimes traveling miles without flapping much at all.
3. Skimmers Fish in a Totally Unique Way
Skimmers have one of the strangest feeding strategies in the bird world. They fly low over the water with their lower bill slicing through the surface. When they bump into a fish, SNAP!โthey quickly grab it. Their uneven bill (longer on the bottom than the top) makes this possible.
4. Cormorants Have to Dry Their Wings
Unlike ducks, cormorants donโt have fully waterproof feathers. After diving for fish, their feathers get soaked. Thatโs why youโll often see them perched with wings spread wideโair-drying in the sun and wind before their next dive.
5. Some Birds Can Drink Saltwater
Living by the ocean presents a salty challengeโbut many seabirds have a special solution. Birds like gulls have salt glands near their eyes that remove excess salt from their bodies. The salt is then expelled through their nostrilsโkind of like sneezing out seawater!
6. Shorebirds Are Long-Distance Migrants
Many shorebirds are incredible travelers. Some species migrate thousands of miles each year between breeding and feeding grounds. For example, the Arctic tern migrates between the Arctic and Antarctic!
Take a close look at different shorebirds, and youโll notice a wide variety of beak shapes. Thatโs because each one is adapted for a specific feeding style. Some probe deep into the sand for worms, while others pick tiny creatures off the surface. These specialized tools help reduce competition and allow many species to share the same habitat.
Sea and shore birds may live in harsh environments, but their unique adaptations make them perfectly suited for life along the water. Next time youโre at the beach or coastal wetland, take a moment to watch themโyou might just spot one of these amazing behaviors in action!
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Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lesson for teaching birds and animal adaptations โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying this subject.
Fish come in all shapes, sizes, and surprising formsโand some of them donโt look โfish-likeโ at all. Whether you’re exploring ocean habitats or animal adaptations, these wonderfully weird species deviate from the typical body form and appearance of other fish. Here are seven animals you might not realize are actually fish!
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach fish life cycles, ocean ecology, or vertebrate groups, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Fish Unit. It’s full of fun activities, printable handouts, worksheets, and more (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
With their long, ribbon-like bodies and reduced fins, eels can look more like snakes than fish. But eels are actually bony fish, members of the group Osteichthyes. That means an eel is more closely related to salmon, tuna, or even your pet goldfish than to any reptile!
Eels swim using wavelike movements along their bodies and use small pectoral fins to help them steer. Some species, like the electric eel, can even generate electric currents to stun preyโan adaptation very different from what we see in most fish.
Most fish swim horizontally, powered by the caudal (tail) fin. Seahorses and sea dragons break that rule completely. These unusual fish swim upright, using a small dorsal fin along their back for propulsion. Their long, flexible tails act like anchors, gripping seagrass or seaweed so they donโt drift away in the current.
These animals are wonderful examples of how the โbasic fish body planโ can be reshaped for a very different lifestyle.
When we picture fish, we imagine animals that must stay in the water to survive. Mudskippers challenge that idea! These remarkable fish live in tidal areas and regularly climb out onto mudflats.
Mudskippers can breathe air through their moist skinโsimilar to how amphibians like frogs breathe. And when theyโre on land, they โwalkโ using their powerful pectoral fins. In most fish, these fins are only strong enough for steering in water, but mudskippers can support their weight on land. This unique ability gives scientists clues about how ancient fish may have taken the first steps toward life on land millions of years ago.
Mudskippers. Photo by ะะฐะฝะฝะฐ ะะปะธะผะบัะปะพะฒะฐ on Pexels.com
Sharks
Many students are surprised to learn that sharks are fish! Modern fish fall into three main groups: jawless fish, cartilaginous fish, and bony fish. Sharks belong to the cartilaginous fish group, meaning their skeletons are made of flexible cartilage instead of bone. Rays and skates are part of this group, too.
Sharks come in an incredible range of shapes and sizesโfrom 40-foot whale sharks to tiny lanternsharks. Some have unusual adaptations, like the hammerheadโs wide head that gives it nearly 360ยฐ vision, or the goblin sharkโs extendable jaw. Diets vary widely as well: great whites hunt large prey, while whale sharks filter plankton from the water. Sharks live throughout the ocean, from deep-sea habitats to shallow coastlines.
Hammerhead shark. Photo by Ben Phillips on Pexels.com
Skates & Rays
Skates and rays look nothing like the โtypical fishโ silhouette. Their flattened bodies are perfectly suited for life along the seafloor, where they glide by flapping their broad, wing-like pectoral fins.
Although they look similar, skates and rays are not the same. Stingrays have a venomous barb on their tailโskates do not. In addition, skates tend to have thicker tails with small fins along them. Both are cartilaginous fish and excellent examples of body shapes adapted to a specialized habitat.
Fish were among the earliest vertebrates to evolve, and some ancient fish lived long before jaws existed. Today, the descendants of those early jawless vertebrates survive as lampreys and hagfish.
Lampreys lack jaws entirely. Instead of biting, they use a round, suction-like mouth with rasping teeth. Some species, like the sea lamprey, are parasites that attach to other fish and feed on their blood and body fluids. Their unusual anatomy makes them an important group for studying early vertebrate evolution.
Lamprey mouths.
Hagfish
Like lampreys, hagfish belong to the jawless fish group. Theyโre among the least โfish-likeโ fish, with long, slender bodies, soft pinkish skin, and no true eyes. At first glance, you might mistake a hagfish for a wormโuntil you learn that they have gills and other features that firmly place them within the fish lineage.
Hagfish are famous for one wild adaptation: they produce enormous amounts of sticky slime when threatened. This slime can clog the gills of predators, giving hagfish a unique way to escape danger.
Illustration of a hagfish.
Study fish with Wild Earth Lab!
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lesson for teaching fish โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying fish in your classroom:
The beach is a wonderful place for bird watching, especially if youโre visiting from far away and used to a landlocked setting. A trip to the ocean opens up a world of unique bird species thriving in their natural habitat. Here, youโll encounter a fascinating array of seabirds and shorebirdsโeach adapted to life in a saltwater environment.
Despite the common habitat that they share, the birds of the ocean are very diverse – you’ll see a huge array of beaks, wing shapes, and foot types. Through adaptation, these species have each carved out their own place in the coastal ecosystem, making the ocean an exciting destination for any bird enthusiast.
For teachers and parents: If you are learning about seabirds and shorebirds with kids, whether you’re a parent or an educator, I highly recommend checking out my sea & shorebirds unit (coastal birds) and my waterbirds unit (freshwater birds). These printable sets include everything you need to learn about bird life cycles, adaptations, and bird ID. These two units are also found in my Bird Bundle. Plus, the materials feature my watercolor bird artwork, as seen in this post.
Seabirds and shorebirds are both seen at the beach, but there are some differences between them. Shorebirds, also called โwadersโ in some regions, are birds found along the coast. Shorebirds all fall within the biological order Charadriiformes. This order includes sandpipers and plovers, among others. Many shorebirds have long legs perfect for wading through shallow water, walking, or running. Many feed along the waterโs edge or by probing their bills in shallow water or sand. Unlike seabirds, not all shorebirds can swim particularly well.
On the other hand, โSeabirdโ is a blanket term for the many bird species that are adapted to living in a marine environment. Seabirds are excellent swimmers. They use their webbed feet to paddle while floating atop the water. Some even dive beneath the surface and swim to great depths to hunt food. While graceful in water, many seabirds move with considerably more difficulty while on land. Some spend months at a time in the open ocean and only come to land to nest along coasts, lay eggs, and raise their young, often in large groups called colonies.
Shorebirds in the surf. Photo by Blair Damson on Pexels.com
Types of Shorebirds
Here are some shorebirds you might spot at the beach or coast:
Sandpipers
These birds get their name for the unusual way they feed – probing their bills in the sand for buried goodies like crustaceans and insect larvae. Sandpipers are quite diverse. Within this group, there are many shapes and lengths of bills. This variety allows different species to probe for food at different depths.
For example, the long-billed curlew can extract food from deep in the mud, with its impressively long downward-curved bill! Other examples of sandpipers include yellowlegs, turnstones, and sanderlings. A widespread and diverse group, sandpipers are one bird family you’re likely to spot on your next trip to the beach!
A long-billed curlew probing in the sand
Plovers
If you see a small bird running along the water’s edge, there’s a good chance it’s a plover! Plovers are a diverse group of small shorebirds with long, thin legs. They are quick on their feet, which helps them scamper along the beach as they forage for food on the ground. Any time I see one of these tiny birds at the beach, I find myself worrying that the next wave might just sweep it away – but they always seem to run to safety just in time!
You can tell plovers apart from other shorebirds because they have relatively short necks and bills. Plumage varies between plover species. Examples of plovers include killdeer, golden plovers, and semipalmated plovers.
Semipalmated plover
Stilts and Avocets
You may see these leggy birds probing and scything for food in shallow waters of coastal wetlands with their long, thin bills. To tell the difference between a stilt and an avocet, just look at the bill. Stilts have straight bills while avocets’ bills curve upwards. Both have long necks and long, thin legs.
American avocet
Oystercatchers
These unique shorebirds are most easily recognized by their large, bright-red bills. Their bills are special tools for opening shells to get to the food inside. They also have long, pinkish legs and black and white plumage.
American oystercatcher
Types of Seabirds
Here are some seabirds you might spot at the beach, coast, or in boats on the open ocean.
Gulls & Terns
Gulls and terns are likely some of the most common birds you’ll see at the beach. They come in a variety of sizes and colors, and are opportunistic feeders. They can catch (or find) food in a variety of different ways. Unfortunately, these adaptable birds often end up feeding on human garbage, which can make them (and other wildlife) ill. For this reason, it’s important to always pick up your trash while visiting the shore!
Terns look quite similar to gulls, but usually are smaller with a more streamlined body. Terns are fast fliers, and some make incredible migrations, such as the Arctic tern, which journeys from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back each year. Talk about a long flight!
Herring gull
Skimmers
These distinctive birds are related to gulls and terns, but are of special interest because of the unusual way they catch their food. Skimmers feed by “skimming” the water’s surface with their distinctive bills. They fly low to the water with an open beak, letting the lower beak drag through the water. When the beak touches a fish, it snaps shut like a mousetrap. Pretty cool!
A black skimmer skimming the surface of the water for food
Pelicans
Pelicans are another common bird at the beach. They are most easily identified by their large size and a pouch for holding prey spanning from the lower part of the bill to the throat. If you are lucky, you can watch pelicans hunt while you sit on the beach. They put on a spectacular show, diving from the air into the water to catch fish.
Brown pelican
Cormorants
Cormorants are some of the strangest-looking seabirds, in my opinion. With a long hooked bill, long neck, and fully webbed feet, a cormorant is well-equipped to swim underwater hunting fish like some sort of bizarre sea creature.
While graceful in water, these oddities appear awkward on land, standing with a nearly upright posture since their flippered feet are attached near the rear of their body. Furthermore, cormorants often stand around gawkily holding their wings partially open to dry in the sun since they do not make water-resistant oils for their feathers. If you are lucky enough to spot one of these majestic misfits, feel free to stare!
Double-crested cormorant
Puffins & Auks
If you visit a coast in far-northern regions at the right time of year, you may see puffins! Puffins, and their relatives like murres and guillemots, are sometimes collectively called “auks”. While they may remind us of penguins with their round bodies and black and white plumage, auks are actually more closely related to seagulls. Similar to penguins, auks are excellent divers that pursue fish by using their wings to “fly” underwater. However, auks like puffins can also fly in the air too!
Atlantic puffin
Gannets & Boobies
These birds are absolute diving machines! They are amazingly adapted for one thing – plummeting headfirst from the air into the water! Gannets and boobies have sturdy, pointed bills and streamlined bodies that help them hit the water at high speeds without hurting themselves. They use the momentum of the dive to swim underwater and catch a meal. This special form of hunting is known as “plunge diving”. If you wish to see gannets and boobies hunting, you may want to get on a boat, as these seabirds thrive in an open-ocean environment.
A northern gannet plunge diving for fish
Albatrosses & Tubenoses
Albatrosses and their relatives (petrels, shearwaters, and storm-petrels) make up the bird order known as Procellariiformes, also sometimes called “tube-nosed seabirds” or “tubenoses”. Your best bet at seeing one of these stunning seabirds might be on a boat, as they spend significant portions of the year hunting in the open ocean.
Albatrosses’ claim to fame is their impressive wingspan. Albatrosses have what is known as active soaring wings – which are extra-long and slender wings that act like a glider plane. These wings help them harness sea breezes to fly and migrate without using up too much energy flapping. The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird – nearly 12 feet!
Black-footed albatross
Penguins
While you are unlikely to see one at the beach (unless you live in Antarctica or other select locations in the Southern Hemisphere), penguins are technically a type of seabird. Like other seabirds, they spend significant time living and hunting in the open ocean. Many penguins are uniquely adapted for life in extremely cold and icy places.
Chinstrap penguin
Other Waterbirds at the Beach
Ducks, swans, and egrets are all waterbirds. Photo by Robert So on Pexels.com
Sea and shorebirds are not the only birds that live in water. โWaterbirdโ is a general term for any bird that spends significant time swimming or wading in water. This can be in saltwater or freshwater. All seabirds and shorebirds are also waterbirds, but not all waterbirds are sea or shorebirds. Other waterbirds include geese, ducks, herons, coots, grebes, and many more.
Furthermore, sea and shorebirds are not the only birds found at the seaside. Waterbirds like herons and loons live in freshwater and saltwater habitats, but are not specifically considered seabirds or shorebirds.
Study Seabirds and Shorebirds with Wild Earth Lab:
Are you an educator or parent? If you enjoyed this post, I know you and your students will love using my Seabirds & Shorebirds science materials in your classroom or with your kids!
