A Most Excellent Estuary

I went to a different ecosystem. It is called an estuary (ess-tu-air-y). This is where the salty ocean meets rivers and streams. The Pacific Ocean is salty. Rain water is fresh water. Rain water runs down mountains and hills in streams. The streams turn into creeks and rivers. The rivers flow to the sea. This place is where the fresh water from San Diego Creek mixes with the salt water of the Pacific Ocean.

During the last 100 years, lots of estuaries got filled up with dirt by humans. Humans would fill and build on these wetlands. Estuaries were thought to be stinky, swampy waste land. Then humans started to realize how much wetlands are needed by us and other animals.

Estuary mud is like a layer of sponge. This mud has little creatures living in it. These creatures clean out the water that comes down stream. Then the water is clean when it gets to the ocean.

Worms, clams, and bacteria live in the mud. Plants live in the mud. Creatures that look like tiny shrimp live in the mud. Other animals live on top of the mud. Snails live on top of the mud and fish swim above the mud. All of these creatures work together to clean out the fresh water coming down from the mountains. Then this filtered water mixes with the salty water and flows out to the ocean.

The estuary at Upper Newport Bay is VERY IMPORTANT for our feathered friends, the birds. Have you ever gone on a long walk, or a long drive? Did you have to spend the night at a friend's house or a relative's house or a hotel? Did your friends or relatives make dinner for you or did you stop at a restaurant for food? Well, estuaries are the hotels and restaurants for birds. Whaaaaaaaat? Yup, it's true. Many kinds of birds do not stay in one place all year. They migrate, or go from place to place. Sometimes birds migrate to go to warmer places. Sometimes they migrate to follow their food. Sometimes they migrate to go back to the places where they were born.

Birds can fly for THOUSANDS of miles when they migrate. So they need a place to sleep. They need a place to eat. They need a place to make nests and have babies.
Estuaries provide food, shelter, and materials for nest making.

Let's take a look at some of the birds that I spotted at the estuary. The fat, round, black birds in the water are American Coots. They are feathered "garbage disposals," eating almost anything...algae, tadpoles, small fish, worms, snails, insects, and eggs. They have large feet that spread out. These feet support them so they don't sink into the mud. See the cinnamon colored birds resting on top of the mud? Those are American Wigeons. They like to eat plants. They have webbed feet so they can swim through the water. The white and black bird in the water is an American Avocet. It has long skinny legs for wading through the water. It has a long skinny beak. It swishes the beak through the water and mud, stirring up little insects and crustaceans (sort of like shrimp) to eat.

In the next picture, we have Mr. and Mrs. Mallard Duck. Mrs. Mallard is brown so that she can hide on her nest and not be seen in the dry plants. Look at Mr. Mallard's webbed, orange feet. These support him on the mud and help him swim in the water. Like the Coot, the Mallard will eat just about anything.

In the third picture, we see a Snowy Egret going for a stroll in search of food. This bird also has a long skinny beak and long legs like the Avocet. It wades through the plants and water, looking mostly for small fish. The white feathers were used on the hats of women. These birds were killed for their feathers. They almost became extinct. Then laws were passed to protect them.

There is an Avocet near two American Shovelers in the fourth picture. Their name gives away what they do. They walk through the water and mud, and shovel through it with their beak. They are looking for seeds from wetland plants and also tiny animals.

I have only talked about six species of birds today. But there are dozens of species of birds who rely on this estuary for their survival. About 40 years ago, humans were going to fill up the Upper Newport Bay. Then they were going to build on it. Thank goodness some people realized that this estuary is a very important place. Hundreds of animals need this estuary. And humans need this estuary. This estuary cleans and filters the fresh water that will join the Pacific Ocean.

Where do you rest in your house? Where do you eat?

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