“It’s a bird party,” my daughter called from the deck one morning. Indeed, there were birds everywhere, swooping down onto the water and squawking up a storm — not just cormorants, but gulls and terns as well. There was slapping all across the surface of the water and it wasn’t just from the birds. On closer look, I saw a cormorant emerge with a bright, silvery fish in its bill. It wasn’t just a bird party but also a fish party.

In our bay, we are used to seeing schools of pogies (menhaden) moving up and down with the tides and, occasionally, a striper chasing them — and, even more rarely, a seal going after the striper. It’s like watching the whole food chain in action. These tiny fish, however, were definitely not the much larger pogies that regularly gulp at the surface of the water and expose their strongly forked tails. Instead, they had slim, elongated bodies and didn’t measure more than a handful of inches each.

After a little research, I discovered that the fish party was a group of schooling sand eels. Sand eels are a broad term for a number of different species found worldwide, the most common one in the Gulf of Maine being the sand lance. These little silvery fish typically live on soft bottom in shallow inshore areas. Like many fish, they follow the tide as it brings in a fresh supply of plankton — their favorite food. As they gather, they make a perfect gathering place for the many species of sea birds that depend on them as an important part of their diet. This is common in the warmer months of the year, including June through September in Maine. In the colder months, they find refuge in deeper waters and, in sandy habitats, often bury themselves in the sand where the temperatures are more constant. This gives sand lances their scientific name, Ammondytes dubius. “Ammos” is Greek for sand and “dytes” means to dive. “Dubius” is thought to possibly refer to the fact that many species in the sand eel category look alike and sorting out the exact species is a dubious science. Regardless, these little fish are literally sand divers.

In addition to the birds that like to eat them, they are also attractive to striped bass. For that reason, sportfishermen sometimes either use sand eels as bait or use lures or flies that mimic the real thing. You can likely picture the common little shiny, silvery lures you see at local tackle shops. Throughout the world, they are important components of the ecosystem as a forage fish that provides ample food for other marine species.

There are commercial fisheries for sand eels in some parts of the world where they are harvested for fish meal used in farmed fish, feed for other animals and also for fertilizer. They can be caught in a number of ways from a simple jig to baiting to raking the sand for them — a common method of harvesting in places like Cape Cod where they congregate in shallow sandy waters. But overfishing along with concerns specific to sea bird populations and other larger fish that rely on sand eels for food has led to closures in those fisheries in some cases. In 2023, sand eel fishing was shut down in the English and Scottish North Sea.

Here in Maine, there is no commercial fishery for sand eels. But we get to appreciate them in the form of the entertaining “bird parties” they create as an expression of how important they are to feed those hungry populations of sea birds that keep our coasts so lively.

Susan Olcott is director of strategic initiatives for Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.