Low-tide mudflats briefly feed shorebirds by the millions
When the tide drops, soft mudflats open into a cafeteria of worms, clams, and crustaceans that were underwater hours earlier. Migratory shorebirds time feeding frenzies to those windows.
A few hours later the sea returns and the table closes. Stopover wetlands along flyways must offer enough exposed flat at the right tide stage or flocks cannot refuel.
Mud looks empty until the tide leaves. Then it becomes one of Earth’s densest short-order kitchens for birds traveling continents.
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