Shifting sands: environmental and cultural change in Maryland’s coastal bays edited by William C. Dennison, Jane E. Thomas, Carol J. Cain, Tim J. B. Carruthers, Matthew R. Hall, Roman V. Jesien, Catherine E. Wazniak, and David E. Wilson. IAN Press, 2009. 396 pages. Flexbound. $20.00.
Here is a fascinating, authoritative, richly-illustrated monograph that not only covers Maryland’s coastal bays (Assawoman, St. Martin River, Isle of Wight, Sinepuxent, Newport, and Chincoteague bays) but also adjacent Little Assawoman Bay in Delaware and the part of Chincoteague Bay that is in Virginia, as well as Chincoteague Island, and Chincoteague N.W.R. Mainland areas that drain into these bays are also discussed.
To give an idea of how heavily illustrated Shifting sands is there are c. 116 maps, 255 photographs (almost all in color), 206 tables, charts, etc., and 16 miscellaneous text figures, side bars, and the like. My favorite photograph is of 7 appealing Harbor Seals hauled out on a sod tump at Ocean City (p. 300). Many of the aerial photographs are stunning and show, variously, wilderness or incredibly dense development and everything in between.
Of most interest to birders should be the chapter Diversity of Life in the Coastal Bays), pp. 293-344, but other chapters concern each of the major bays, history, future, the bays in context, land-sea interface, water quality and nutrients, and habitats.
The book is a publication of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Copies may be ordered via: www.ian.umces.edu, then go to the search box in the upper right, key in shifting sands, then open up “ian press checkout.”
Each chapter is heavily referenced. The chapter headings do not really due justice to all that is discussed here. There is much on vegetation, geology, the fishing/watermen industry, the dynamic nature of barrier islands, and historic photographs. Coastal bays in other parts of the world are examined. Mark Hoffman, Glen Therres, and Dave Brinker, familiar to Maryland birders, co-author some of the chapters. Roman Jesien helped this year with the banding of Royal Terns and Brown Pelicans.
Data from Claudia Wild’s posthumous book is not included: Shorebirds at Chincoteague: patterns of migration on the Virginia coast by Claudia Phelps Wilds, edited by Edward (Ned) S. Brinkley (Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, 2007, 80 pages, paperbound). I’ve heard that a limited number of copies may be for sale at Chincoteague N.W.R. visitor center.
Also relevant, and only some 60 miles to the west, is Dorchester County birder Diane Cole’s Sea level rise: technical guidance for Dorchester County [Maryland], March 2008, 55 pages; Maryland Eastern Shore Resource Conservation & Development Council for Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, Coastal Zone Management Division).
However, Shifting sands covers so much ground (and water) that it is unreasonable to expect more than a learned overview of major phenomena. The literature is vast and diffuse, so it is unfair, perhaps, to expect every major monograph and document to be cited.
Other bones to pick – really minor ones – Celestún is spelled incorrectly on p. 206 (as Celesún). The Black-bellied Plovers shown foraging on p. 371 consist of just 1 BBPL plus 3 shorebirds that appear to be Dunlin. The Index is a little less than 3 pages, good on general items but not very useful for specifics. However, the table of contents, 9 full pages, is extremely thorough and largely compensates for this.
The stream photographed on p. 45 may be one that has been channelized but is not indicated as such. However, the table on p. 44 identifies “channel alterations” as the leading cause of “Stream problems identified” for all 4 of the major bay complexes the book deals with.
On p. 170 the meanings of several native American place names are given and the reader learns, perhaps to his/her relief, that Assawoman means “across stream.”
In addition to the 8 principal editors/authors there are 72 others who are contributors. Their affiliations are shown on pp. 371-372. Their conclusions and recommendations occupy pages 3-13.
I’d think anyone interested in the DE, MD & VA coasts would treasure this fine new book. Shifting sands has terrific aerial photographs of the bays and islands. Authoritative as the text is, it is not at all dense, but, instead reads easily for a lay person such as myself, offering cogent summaries on myriad phenomena. Highly recommended. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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