Day 77: March 17 – Surf fishing

Warm and sunny

     “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." 

                                                                                        Jacques Yves Cousteau

       This morning, I enjoyed a couple hours of surf fishing….not actually fishing myself, but watching the masters of the game.  The masters I refer to here are the birds which wade along the surf washing up onto the shore in search of worms, small fish, crustaceans, and any other tasty morsel that the advancing waves bring in with them.

       I concentrated my attention on three species, the Sanderling, the Willet, and the Snowy egret.  All three exemplify what good fishing is all about.  They have great insight into where they will find the quarry, they have infinite patience, and are skilled in effecting the catch.  All three of my subjects this morning appeared to have success on a regular basis.  None went away hungry.

     The Sanderlings were busy doing what sanderlings do. They secure their catch by chasing the waves and then plucking sand crabs out of the wash as the waves retreat and the crabs are most visible.

     The Snowy waited unwearyingly for the waves to carry in something or more appropriately anything edible.  This morning, it was a small jellyfish.  From a short distance, the egret spotted it and chased it down as it washed to and fro in the froth of the surf.

       Finally, the willet displayed his prowess  at finding small sand fleas by probing beneath the surface of the sand as the water receded.  I managed to get a series of the bird as it flew into the beach area right in front of me, then probed and dug a sand flea from the sand and then hauled it back onto the dry sand so as not to lose his prize back to the sea.

The Willet flies in....

Probes the sandy beach....

Finds a tasty sand crab....

and retreats to higher ground to enjoy his catch.

       Cousteau knew exactly what he was saying about the sea casting its net of wonder.  The edge of the sea, the shore, is just another part of the whole.  It held me in its spell for more than an hour as I studied the birds making use of this incredible resource, and I savored every minute of that time just as much as those birds savored the product of their labors.