Tidepool

Common Eiders Swimmming
click on video to watch eiders and hear the ocean

While we were birding at Acadia National Park, Maine, and watching the Common Eiders swimming, we also took time to explore a tidepool.

The edge of the tidepool was rimmed with slippery brown rockweed. Little sacs in the rockweed help it float when the tide comes in and covers it.

Peering into the water, we saw these pretty snails, which feed on the algae in the tidepool.

There were also sharp barnacles at the edge. They look like little closed volcanos when they're exposed to the air. When they're coverd by the sea, they open and wave feathery like feet to bring food into their mouths.

All the creatures that live in the tidepool stay there, and have to contend with the rise and fall of the tides, and the alternation of wet and dry. The moblie eiders, on the other hand, just swim where they want and dive down deeply to eat mussels, sea urchins and other crustaceans.

Photos © Lillian Stokes, 2007