Hi. I'm Rachel. Welcome to my latest issue of the Shorebreeze Kids Club. This is the first Kids Club newsletter for 2004. Beginning in June, I will be doing a newsletter about every two weeks. Visit here to find out about fun places to go and things to do at the Jersey Shore!

I like to discover things about animals and sea creatures, so if you like to learn, you can read about my discoveries and fun facts about crabs, turtles, starfish, clams and fish at the shore.

If you have something to share about things you like at the Jersey shore, send your e-mail to Rachel@shorebreeze.com, and I'll try to put something about it in the next Kids Club issue!

Amusement Parks at the Shore!

When I'm at the shore, after eating ice cream, one of my favorite things to do is to go to amusement parks!  When I'm in Ocean City, I make it a point to visit Wonderland.  Last weekend, my daddy and I bought tickets and had a great time on the Ferris wheel, avalanche, roller coaster, and a lot more.  

Wonderland is located around 7th street and the boardwalk.  

I also like to go to Castaway Cove.  They are located on the boardwalk around 11th street.  You can't miss their entrance, it has a big pirate ship over the front.  After Wonderland, my daddy was a bit tired and sick to his stomach, so he let me ride on the rides by myself.  I watched him to make sure he did not wander off, and that he did not eat too much ice cream!  

Fun Facts About Shore Animals:
Horseshoe Crabs

Every May and June, female horseshoe crabs wait for high tide and climb onto the beach to lay their eggs.  Horseshoe crabs are not really crabs, but are from the spider family!  Their eggs are a source of food for many types of sea birds.  So if there are not a lot of horseshoe crabs laying eggs, its a problem.

Somehow, the horseshoe crabs know when it is a full moon.  They like to lay their eggs at high tide during a full moon because the tide is higher and their eggs will survive better.  

My daddy found out that the Nature Conservancy was having their annual horseshoe crab survey in May and June, so I asked him if I could do it.  On June 22 around sundown, we met Mr. Nate Thomas from the Nature Conservancy, on Reeds Beach.  Another family came too.  Reeds Beach is on the Delaware Bay and its a place where horseshoe crabs lay their eggs.  At first, we saw no crabs.  But soon, we spotted some in the water.  I waded into the bay to get a closer look with my new friends, Katie and Ross.  Before long, I was all wet!  Suddenly, we saw a mating pair.  Mr. Thomas told us that the horseshoe crabs mated just before the mommy crabs climbed up onto the beach.  Here are some pictures from our adventure! 

My daddy and my new friend's dad walked down the beach with square plastic rings that you can see in the picture, and dropped them at specific locations.  Then, they counted horseshoe crabs that were in the squares.  By the time it got dark, they only counted four!  we saw lots more but they were not in the rings.  We also saw a huge bunch of washed-out eggs.  Mr. Thomas said that they would not hatch because they washed out of the nests.  

We found lots of dead crabs but many live ones.  We learned that males are smaller and they have different claws than the females.  We learned that they are harmless except if you get your fingers caught in their shells when they curl up to protect themselves.  The long pointy things are their tails, and they are very important - the crabs use them to turn themselves over if they flip.  If their tails are missing or broken, they would die.  My friends and I turned over some that had broken tails, and put them back in the water.

If you see a horseshoe crab, remember that they have an important part to play in the shore habitat.  Besides producing eggs that become part of the diet of birds, they are used in important medicines for people.

Here is a great link to the National Aquarium with more information on horse shoe crabs!

Thanks for coming to Shorebreeze.com's Kids Club.  I want to hear from you!  Remember, just e-mail me at Rachel@shorebreeze.com!