Nisqually Reach Estuary

On the 2nd of November, we went on a field trip to the Nisqually Reach Estuary.

When we arrived, we explored the Nature Center.

So many interesting things in the tanks!

Pondering crabs and sea stars.

So many shells!

There was SO MUCH to see at the Nature Center!

All of the cases held something amazing.

 



































































Our guide happened to be the director of the Nature Center.  He gave a great, interactive talk about Nisqually Reach and what is special about it.  We learned a lot about the life that lives in an estuary, and how important it is to keep organisms and pieces of the environment within the same estuary zone.

The speech was riveting!

Splash zone, high tide, mid tide, low tide, sub zone.  All of these small regions hold different kinds of organisms that are specialized to that region.  We also learned about how estuaries are created where fresh water flows into a larger body of salt water.

Our guide brings a critter from one of the tanks...what is it?

It's a Dungeness crab!

Touch with one finger on the carapace and you won't be pinched!

Same with our friend the sea star.  You can't see it in the picture, but it is snacking on an oyster.

After the talk, we headed to the beach to do a short organism survey.  

We found quite a few small crabs.

Some were very tiny.

We found seaweed, barnacles, tiny snails, and some small mussels.

We regrouped to see what had been found.

Our guide told us all about the different organisms we found.

So much seaweed!  (Jen got hungry!)

The largest crab we found was no longer alive, but still had working mouth parts.  Neat!

We had a great time, and I hope to go back some time in the Spring to see how the estuary changes with the seasons!