Marvels in the Muck

Along the coasts, where ocean tides mix salt water with fresh water, nature has created salt marshes—soggy places full of natural wonders. For years, salt marshes were maligned, drained, or filled in. Now salt marshes are valued as the homes of fascinating wildlife, especially the star performers of these wetlands, more than 20 different kinds of birds.

Bald eagles soar. Great egrets slowly wade, spearing their prey. Ospreys fly, then hover, and finally dive for fish. Reddish egrets sprint, stop, flap their wings, and turn in a comical dance as they feed. These birds and many others drop into salt marshes every year for a bounty of food. Fish, crabs, turtles, shrimp, and many other creatures become food for birds. This riot of living things depends on just a few species of plants that can grow in salt water—deadly poison to many other plants.

The practical value of a salt marsh to humans has long been underestimated. Now we know that these wetlands feed the sea creatures that we consider delicacies, and they can even buffer the impact of a hurricane. Salt marshes have gained new respect.

Ornithologist and photographer Doug Wechsler takes the reader on a down-and-muddy tour of the year-round activity in wet wonderlands. Spectacular wildlife photographs and a text that reveals the secrets of salt-marsh survival make a fascinating read. Young readers will marvel at the strange and skillful birds, beautifully adapted to live and feed in salt marshes. These unusual habitats will draw kids into the science of nature, from the roseate spoonbill’s remarkable feeding method to the tricks that smooth cord grass uses to thrive in salt water. Kids will appreciate what has taken so long for us to learn: Salt marshes are delicate wetlands, well worth defending.