Community Environment

Low tides make for Purdy good marine life viewing at Purdy Spit

Under a cloud-dappled blue sky, families gathered on the shores of the Purdy Spit on Sunday, April 19. The outgoing tide made the perfect first Low Tide Tour of the year in Gig Harbor.

Local marine life and conservation nonprofit Harbor WildWatch leads the tours in different locations around the area. They teach families about the plants, animals, and algaes living just beneath the Sound’s surface.

Kids gather around an old wooden post covered in barnacles, during Harbor WildWatch’s Low Tide Tour at the Purdy Spit on April 19, 2026. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick

Starfish and eelgrass and crabs, oh my

Rachel Easton, Harbor WildWatch’s education director, led this particular tour along with organization volunteer, Bliss. The pair helped the more than 40 people — most of them parents with children — learn about and identify all kinds of animals, including sapphire blue starfish and feisty northern kelp crabs.

They also showed attendees a variety of different seaweeds and the two kinds of eelgrass (a plant) that provide shelter and nesting spots for marine life.

Easton also explained how the phases of the moon affect tide levels.

“We have a new moon right now, so that means the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction and giving us what are called ‘spring tides,’” Easton explained. “Nothing to do with the season — it has to do with the ‘springiness’ of the water. When we have a new moon or a full moon, we get higher-than-average high tides and lower-than-average low tides, and today’s low tide is 2.7 vertical feet below the average of all the low tides.”

A male northern kelp crab lances Easton with one of his legs, during Harbor WildWatch’s Low Tide Tour at the Purdy Spit on April 19, 2026. “There’s a thing about kelp crabs that makes them a bit dangerous: it’s how sneaky and sharp their toes are,” Easton said, as she showed attendees the crab stabbing her finger. “People hold the kelp crab and they get grabbed by these very sharp claws or pincers. … The pincers are also a threat especially with this species because he can reach behind his head. Most crabs can’t reach back here. … With these crabs, um, the easiest thing to do is just simply not handle them.” Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick

That means, she continued, “we’re at like zero right now. … This is like an average low tide. It’s not always this low. Sometimes it’s a little higher, sometimes a little lower, but this is average.”

Very low tides will happen in mid-May and in July.

Be a good GUEST

She also slipped in a little reminder that everyone at the beach deserves respect and space. Sure, they look really cool, and they have evolved to survive low tides — but they are still “freaking out,” because low tide is still a stressful time for creatures that are normally underwater and not quite so exposed to heat, air, and predators.

“We are not here to add to their stress. We’re going to do our best to minimize our impact in this environment by being good GUESTs,” Easton said, referring to an acronym Harbor WildWatch uses to guide how to behave towards other living beings — macroalgae, plant, and animal — at the beach.

Children hold a moon snail, as another places an egg collar around the snail, during Harbor WildWatch’s Low Tide Tour at the Purdy Spit on April 19, 2026. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick

The acronym stands for:

Gentle: Don’t poke anyone too hard.

Use your head: Don’t lift rocks any larger than your head, and put them back down, instead of rolling them back into place.

Everyone stays: Don’t take anyone or anything home, and put them back where you found them.

Step slowly: You never know who’s hiding under a bed of seaweed or in a hole.

Take your belongings home with you: The beach doesn’t need anything you bring along.

For information on upcoming Low Tide Tours, check Harbor WildWatch’s Facebook page or  online calendar.