The Sandy Shore & Aviary
Investigate a world of mud flats and marshes rich with life, a place where long-legged birds ply the sands and flounders lie flat to keep from being found. Watch our birds forage for insects, just as they would in the wild, and gently touch the back of a bat ray as it skims along the bottom of our touch pool.
Exhibit News
Each year from March through September, tiny snowy plover chicks appear on beaches along California’s coast, looking like balls of fluff with two stick legs. “We call them cotton balls on Q-tips,” says Monterey Bay Aviculturist Donielle York. “They’re adorable.” These small shorebirds are also in trouble.
Did You Know?
- Abandoned snowy plovers are often brought to the Aquarium for treatment. We also incubate eggs, and newly hatched chicks are raised by exhibit birds.
- Our bat rays don't shock or sting, and you’re welcome to touch them gently. Or, get a "bat-ray's view" by looking through our underwater periscope.
- Mud is the ghost shrimp’s favorite meal. It eats a bucketful of earth every few weeks, and you can see them in action in our exhibit.
- A squishy sea hare can reach 10 pounds. They’re named "hares" for their ear-like appendages.
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