10x08 - Seashore Surprises

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Hi.

There's something so magical
about the seashore.

Everywhere you look,
the land meets the sea.

And when these two worlds
overlap,

They create
an extraordinary environment.

When you soar above it
like a bird,

The seashore is magnificent.

We're on this island

Off the southwest coast
of florida,

And because there's water
all around us,

There's seashore everywhere.

It may look empty
and deserted,

But the seashore is full
of life.

Millions of creatures
call this home.

Plants and animals grow here
that can't live anywhere else.

The seashore is a great place
for exploring.

I bring a reference book

With information
I might need.

Today, I brought along
seashore surprises

By rose wyler.

Let's see what it says.

Ha.

"Lots of shells and seaweed
lie along the line

Marking the tide's
highest point."

You can clearly see

That this was brought
by the tide.

"That's a good place
to start exploring."

Let's try.

Wow.

There are all sorts
of treasures here.

Take a look
at this coral.

Wouldn't you think
it was a broken branch?

The real story is
that it's an apartment house

Built by sea animals
as a home.

One of the coolest things
about the seashore

Is the waves.

They ride up
and down the beach.

Waves are like
a 24-hour delivery service

Bringing things to
and from the shore--

Like these beautiful shells
that wash up on the beach.

Shells are so pretty,

You'd think that they were
created by artists,

But they were really made
by sea animals.

Animals grew the shells
for protection

And lived
their whole lives inside.

These shells are empty.
The animals are long gone.

But if you're lucky,
you can find a live one.

Hang on.
I think I see something.

Wow.
Now, look at this.

This shell still has
the animal inside.

It's called a banded tulip.

That dark purple musselly
kind of thing is him,

And he's got a trap door here.

If ever he feels threatened
by anything,

He'll close that little door
and seal himself up tight.

Shells are fascinating
to look at

Whether there's
an animal inside or not.

Here's one beachcombers
like to find--an olive shell.

Look at its smooth,
shiny pattern,

Its delicate shape,

And the way it glistens
so it always looks wet,

Even when it's dry.

Hmm.

I think these are
jingle shells.

"One of the prettiest shells
is the thin jingle shell.

Some jingles are golden.
Some are silvery."

Ah, jingle shell.

It's like jingling coins.

This wild-looking guy
is called a spiny oyster.

Ooh. Who would want
to bite him?

The spines are his protection

From enemies like skates,
crabs, and birds.

Anybody in there?

Nope. No one home.

Now, this pen shell
has a secret.

See how plain it is
on the outside?

Well, inside is shiny
and iridescent.

The sea animal coats its shell
with a liquid

That hardens into colors.

It's called
mother-of-pearl.

Why do you think these shells
are called kitten's paws?

Because they look
like a kitten's footprints

In the sand.

When a bird takes off
down the beach,

You can bet he sees lunch
being served.

Yes, sirree.
It's time to chow down.

Want to see
what's on the menu?

These guys--coquinas.

And coquinas don't want
to be lunch,

So they stick out a foot

And scurry into the sand
to hide.

Bye-bye, coquinas.
Bye-bye.

These beautiful, exotic shells
are called lightning whelks.

As whelks grow up,

They get bigger and bigger
and bigger.

When they start out,
they're real, real small.

They develop
in an egg case.

It looks like a necklace.

But the mother
makes the case

And protects her eggs
with it.

It says here,
"open a few cases,

And hundreds of perfect,
tiny shells will spill out."

Well, let's give it a try.

Wow.

Each of these
is a baby lightning whelk.

And it's true,
they're perfectly formed.

It's incredible that
in six years,

These babies could grow
to be giants like this.

Every minute of every day,

The waves break
on the beach.

Waves do more
than bring things to shore.

They can change the face
of the shoreline.

The seashore is
constantly changing.

You see how wide
the beach is?

There's plenty
of sand, o.k.?

But check this out.

Further down the beach,
the sand has almost disappeared.

The water comes right up
to the trees.

The beach is
practically gone here

Because of the pounding
of the surf.

The waves are
much stronger here.

They hit the shore
and drag the sand back to sea.

The trees are left hanging,
their roots exposed.

They get yanked right out
when the sand washes away.

Branches, trunks, and roots
get tangled.

The sun dries out the wood
and bleaches it.

Eventually, pieces break off
and become driftwood,

Ready to sail out to sea
on a wave.

What's left on the shore

Becomes weathered, polished,
sculpted

By the powerful forces
of nature--

The wind, the sun,
and the sea.

If you've never been
on an island,

You might think

The seashore looks the same
all the way around.

You won't believe
how different it is

On the other side.

You see how calm it is?

Hey, lisa.

Hi, levar.
Why don't
you come down?

Here I come.

Hi, levar.

This is lisa satchell.

She's a naturalist

Who knows this seashore
inside and out.

This side is
another world

From the beach side.

Why?

Here we have
less wind.

We have no waves.

There's fresh
and salt water.

The beach doesn't
have these trees.

Are these
mangrove trees?

Yep.

Can we go inside?

Yeah.

Right inside
through here?

Just through here.

Oh, boy.

Wow.

This is very cool
in here.

Yeah.

So these are
the mangroves, huh?

These are red mangroves.

Those roots look
like a mess,

But those
prop roots are
propping the tree up.

What is that smell?

It smells
like rotten eggs?

Yeah.

That's the decaying
leaves.

It's falling
down to the bottom.

It smells bad,

But to little critters,
that means food.

There's life
underneath our feet?

Lots of life.

Why is it so hard
to walk?

That's layers
and layers

Of decaying leaf matter.

Look at that.

So there's a lot
of life here, huh?

These mangrove
roots create
a whole new habitat.

These are
little barnacles.

Are these alive?

Yes, but they close
to avoid drying out.

These live
under the water
during high tide.

It's low tide now.

Some animals,
like oysters,

Need as much water
as air.

This is an oyster?

It's a clump
of oysters.

Oysters that are
closed up

Are very alive.

This looks like a rock.

There's lots
of life in there.

What is this?

That's a sea squirt.

Did you see that?

That's why
they're sea squirts.

It's squirting water
collected when
it was underwater.

Look.

What's that?

A mangrove crab.

A mangrove crab.
Look at that.

Wow.

Now, they live--

In the prop roots.

They eat the bottom
layer of these leaves.

They eat the underside
of the leaves?

Mm-hmm. Just
the bottom layer.

Lisa,
thank you so much.

I really
appreciate it.

I had fun.

On this side of the island,
not far from the mangroves,

There's a hidden part
of the seashore--

The underwater grass beds.

You'd be surprised
at how many sea creatures

You can find here.

Hi, levar.

Hey. How you doing?

All right.

The water is
shallow enough

To walk out here.

This is
kristie seaman,

A marine scientist
studying grass beds.

That's what
they're called, right?

Right. They surround
the island.

It's where the little
creatures hide.

So what are we doing
here today--seining?

Right.
This is a seine net.

We'll pass it
through the water.

Anything bigger than
the holes, we'll catch.

So the water
will pass through.

O.k.

Let's seine.

You take one
of the poles.

We'll unroll it
a little.

The end with
the lead weights goes

Into the grass bed.

The weights
tickle the animals.

Like this?

Jump up into our net.

We create a pocket.

Why do we do this?
What's the value?

I can keep an eye

On the health
of the water.

Lots of different
creatures

Means good water.

If I find
one species,

I need to do something.

You'll know
something's wrong?

That's right.

We're going to try
to catch these.

This takes timing.

On three,
lift this pole

So it's parallel
to the water.

That'll keep the things
inside the net.



What did we get?

Look at those
fishes jumping.

Well, this guy
we want to set loose.

This is
a spiny burr fish.

Aha.

Wow. Look at that.

See his stripes--

How they look
like eelgrass blades?

That's
his camouflage.

He does a good job.

He's puffed up
to look mean.

That's
another protection?

That's right.

We'll set him loose.

There he goes.

Bye, little guy.

All right.

Let's see what
goes in our pan.

What's that there?

This is a scallop.

There's still
an animal in here?

Yeah.

You might have found
a dead one on the beach.

He's opening up.

Wow.

Is he going
to slam shut?

That's amazing.
That really is wild.

These are sea stars.

Mm-hmm.

The line
of bright orange

Is its tube feet.

Those are all feet?

Right.

They look
like little
medicine droppers.

Do they have
suction cups?

Right.

This is the darling
of the grass beds.

Sea horse?

Yeah. Can you
see him?

Is it a fish?

Yeah. You'll see
it has a curly tail

That wraps around
the blades of grass.

In our pan,

He doesn't have
anything to hold
but the sea star.

I thought
this was grass,

But this is a fish.

Look at that.
That's a pipefish.

It camouflages itself

By looking
like a blade of grass.

Look at its face.

It looks
like the sea horse.

Are they cousins?

They are cousins.

It's almost a sea horse
straightened out.

What's this little guy?

It's called
a sea urchin.

Sea urchin.

Right.

Wow.
That is amazing.

What are his spines for--
protection?

Right.

Wow.

Is that his mouth
there?

Right. And you can see
five teeth.

Aha.

That really is wild.

Wow.

This has been
really cool.

Thank you
for sharing this.

It's obvious you care

About these animals
anonment.

If this stays healthy,
humans stay healthy.

We are all a part
of this same environment.

We should
return these
to their home.

They're awfully
cooperative.

Yeah.

Thanks for letting us
borrow you.

Wow.

There you go,
little guy.

At the seashore,
there are millions of stories,

And books can help you
find them.

Here are some
that you can take exploring.

Don't take my word for it.

Have you ever wanted
to visit a place

You could see
in your imagination?

The boy in this book

Wanted to see
the seashore.

He closed his eyes

And imagined
how it could be.

This is called
the seashore book.

The boy in the story

Lives in the mountains.

He's never seen
the seashore.

His mom takes him

On an imaginary trip
to the seashore.

They see sea gulls
flying overhead.

They watch sand crabs
squaggling at their toes.

Finally, the sun sets.

I like to imagine

That I could fly
like a bird.

If I could,

I would want to be
a sea gull.

I'm charzetta nixon,

And I think you'll
love this book.

What has two feelers,
two eyes,

And crawls
on one slimy foot?

It could be an alien

Or a creature
from this book--

What's inside? Shells.

A snail is the creature
we're talking about--

A small creature
living inside its own shell.

You can see animals
from the outside and inside.

Here's an oyster.

Look, a pearl.
Now, that's cool.

I'm freddy.

There are
excellent creatures

At your nearest beach.

Go to your
nearest bookstore

And get
this book today.

Hi. I'm shoaib.

Here's the story
of a crab without a home--

Is this a house
for hermit crab?

The crab's shell
is too small.

His shell is his home
and his protection.

But it's not so easy
finding a new home.

He tries a rock,
but it's too heavy.

He slips under a tin can,
but it's so noisy.

There's a bucket,
but it's too deep.

Finally, a big,
hungry fish comes

And chases the hermit crab
into his new home.

The hermit crab is safe.

I didn't know
what a hermit crab was

Before I read this.

Read it for yourself--

Is this a house
for hermit crab?

At sunset,

When you're on the beach
and everything is calm,

You could almost forget
that all around,

There are these
wonderful creatures...

And that every wave
that breaks...

Washes up more.

I'll see you next time.

Today's reading rainbow books
are seashore surprises

By rose wyler,

Illustrated
by steven james petruccio--

An outdoor science book

Published by julian messner,

An imprint of simon & schuster
children's book division.

The seashore book
by charlotte zolotow,

Paintings by wendell minor,
published by harpercollins.

What's inside? Shells,
by angela royston,

Photos by andreas von einsiedel,

Published by
dorling kindersley incorporated.

Is this a house
for hermit crab?

By megan mcdonald,
illustrated by s.d. Schindler.

Published by orchard books,
new york.