![]() Kids, you can play this joke on your adults! The Rough Piddock clam, they say, smells like a rose and when the kids sniff the protruding clam siphon, they get a squirt on the nose. Harbor WildWatch naturalists partner with the clams to play a little joke on the kids. The siphon allows water to circulate in and out of the clam for feeding, breathing and reproduction. The part of the clam that beachgoers see is the siphon, which extends from the buried clam up to the water. This clam rasps away at clay and soft rock to create a burrow where it will live for about 8 years. More commonly, the squirts originate from the Rough Piddock clam. Many people think that the squirts come from geoducks (pronounced gooey-ducks), but most geoducks live below the tidal zone and are probably under water, unless it is an extremely low tide. Some beaches have so much squirting, it looks like a children’s spray park. ![]() Get Squirted – When the tide is way out you will notice (or get surprised by) squirting water. ![]() Here are some ideas to GET you exploring during your next trip. Not sure which beach to visit? Check out the Washington State Parks website or Pierce County Parks for some ideas. A low tide gives visitors a window into the Puget Sound and the special creatures which live in the intertidal zone without getting (too) wet. The following is a guest post by Jennifer Beard, the d evelopment associate for Harbor WildWatch, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit environmental education organization based in Gig Harbor, Wash.Ī negative tide in the South Puget Sound during the summer is a big positive.
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