Marie Read / Black skimmers (Rynchops niger), three in non-breeding plumage on beach, Fort De Soto Park, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. January. Digitally altered to remove distractions.

Marie Read / American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) adult feeding chick, Long Island, New York, USA. June.

Tui De Roy / Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) in the surf, Black Beach, Floreana Island, Galapagos

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) pair on beach, Betty's Bay, Stony Point Nature Reserve, South Africa

Ingo Arndt / Flock of Black skimmers (Rynchops nigra) on beach, New Jersey, USA

Neil Aldridge / African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) preening themselves on rocks at the Boulders Beach colony near Cape Town, South Africa.

Ross Hoddinott / Ice on black volcanic sand beach with waves, Jokulsarlon, Southeast Iceland, February.

Kevin Schafer / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) group walking near huge stones, Boulders Beach, Cape Peninsula, South Africa

Theo Bosboom / Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) above snowy lava beach near Djupivogur in the East of Iceland, March

Orsolya Haarberg,Orsolya Haarberg / Brown Algae (Fucus dustuchus) making patterns in snow and sand. Skagsanden beach, Nordland, Norway, February. Highly commended in Plants category of the GDT 2011 competition

Juergen Freund / Seeds and flower from large tropical almond, sea almond, beach almond (Terminalia catappa) against black sand, Sulawesi beach, Indonesia

Michele Westmorland / Man collecting black sand in an area which is one of the locations for producing fine restaurant quality salt, most of which is shipped to Japan, Kusimbi Beach, Bali, Indonesia 2009. No release availa...

Peter Cairns / 2020VISION / Landscape view of Camus Malag beach on Loch Slapin, looking towards the Cuillin Hills, Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, UK, October 2012.

Anup Shah / Celebes / Black crested macaque (Macaca nigra) sub-adult male sitting on a beach, Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Graham Eaton / Jackass / African / Blackfooted penguin (Spheniscus demersus) endemic to South Africa, November, playing in the sea, Boulders Beach near Cape Town, South Africa, November

Carol Walker / Spanish / Andalusian horse performing Alta Escuela moves, walking through waves on beach, Andalucia, Spain, model released

Alex Mustard / A male Lined / Northern Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) beside some coral polyps at night. West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, March.

Ernie Janes / Dalmation dogs playing on beach, Norfolk, UK, August

Robert Thompson / Aerial view of Black Strand beach, Malin Head, looking towards Trawbreaga Bay, Malin Head, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, September 2009

Billy Black / Distant figures with kayak on Sandy Island, near Carriacou Island, the Grenadines, Caribbean, January 2010.

Guy Edwardes / Reynisdrangur stacks and black sand beach Vik i Myrdal at night, Iceland, June 2009

Solvin Zankl / These hatchlings of an Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) should be buried and protected under 40 cm of warm sand, but a domestic dog dug them out at Ostional beach in Costa Rica. Novembe...

Luciano Candisani / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) group on rocks, Boulders Beach, South Africa

Jouan & Rius / Pieces of iceberg calved from Vatnajokull glacier on black sand beach, Iceland 2005

Jouan & Rius / Waves on black sand beach of Vik, Southern Iceland 2005

Andy Rouse / Black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) with chick on nest, part of a large colony, Steeple Jason, Falkland Islands (non-ex)

Petra Wegner / Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, ruby, black-and-tan, tricolour and blenheim, sitting in line on beach, panting

Solvin Zankl / Blackfooted / jackass penguin (Spheniscus demersus) Boulders beach, South Africa

Mitsuaki Iwago / Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) juvenile exercising its wings, Hawaii

Scott Leslie / Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) flying, Granville Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada

Albert Lleal / SEM close-up view of a skeletal fragment of a Bryozoan colony at 35x magnification that came from a beach in Formentera, Balearic Islands, Spain

Albert Lleal / Electron microscope view of bryozoan colony fragment isolated from beach sand, Formentera, Balearic Islands, Spain

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Black footed penguins on beach {Spheniscus demersus} Boulders Bay, South Africa

Gerry Ellis / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) molting on the beach, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

John Downer / Black footed / Jackass penguins on beach {Speniscus demersus} Boulders Beach, South Africa

John Downer / Black footed / Jackass penguins on beach {Speniscus demersus} Boulders Beach, South Africa

Tony Heald / Black fronted penguins {Spheniscus demersus} Boulders Beach, South Africa Jackass male

Gavin Hellier / Jackass penguins {Speniscus demersus} on beach Boulders Beach, Cape Town, South Africa

Hugh Pearson / Black footed / Jackass penguins on beach {Spheniscus demersus} Cape Town, South Africa

Hugh Pearson / Black footed / Jackass penguins on beach {Spheniscus demersus} Cape Town, South Africa

Tom Vezo / Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) in winter plumage, Long Island, New York

Tui De Roy / Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) taking off from beach, Midway Atoll, Hawaii

John Cancalosi / Black footed penguin {Spheniscus demersus} South Africa

Espen Bergersen / Ice sculptures on black beach. The ice comes from the Jökulsárlón Glacier close by. Iceland 2016

Espen Bergersen / Ice sculptures on black beach. Jokulsarlon Glacier, Iceland 2016

Espen Bergersen / Ice sculptures on black beach. The ice comes from the Jokulsarlon Glacier, Iceland. May.

Espen Bergersen / Herring gull (Larus argentatus) flying over the enormous black beach close to Dyrhoaley, Iceland, May 2016.

Espen Bergersen / Gull and waves on Reynisfjara, Black Sand Beach, Iceland. May.

Espen Bergersen / Gull on black beach with waves on Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Iceland. May.

Espen Bergersen / Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Iceland.

Espen Bergersen / People framed in crystal clear ice on diamond beach, Iceland. Commended in the Nordic Nature Photo Contest 2019.

David Woodfall / Black plastic mat, put in sand dunes to stabilize sand dunes. Rhosilli Beach, Gower, South Wales, UK, December.

Milan Radisics / Aerial shot of a volcanic beach of black sand, Iceland, August 2018.

Shane P. White / American Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) on beach, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean

Marie Read / Royal tern (Sterna maxima) perching on a sand castle on a beach, Fort De Soto Park, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, March.

Marie Read / American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), closeup of individual feeding by using its chisel-shaped bill to pry open shellfish, Fort De Soto Park, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, March.

David Pattyn / Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) and a Tukey Vulture (Cathartes aura) eating from a dead fish washed up the beach, Puerto Lopez , Santa Elena Peninsula, Manabi Province, Ecuador, July

David Pattyn / Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) group eating from a dead fish washed up the beach, Puerto Lopez , Santa Elena Peninsula, Manabi Province, Ecuador, July

David Pattyn / Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) eating from a dead fish washed up the beach, Puerto Lopez , Santa Elena Peninsula, Manabi Province, Ecuador, July

Lynn M. Stone / Grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola) foraging on sandy beach in late afternoon, Santa Barbara, California, USA. October.

Sandesh Kadur / African / Jackass penguin (Spheniscus demersus) colony on beach. Cape Town, South Africa. January 2018.

Tui De Roy / Flightless cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi) carrying nesting material on beach. Punta Albemarle, Isabela Island, Galapagos.

David Fleetham / Commerson's frogfish (Antennarius commerson) camouflaged against coral on bow of Alma Jane wreck, diver in background. Off Sabang Beach, Puerto Galera, Mindoro, Philippines. April 2017. Model rele...

Guy Edwardes / Iceberg on black sand beach at Jokulsarlon, Iceland, March 2017.

Guy Edwardes / Iceberg on black sand beach at Jokulsarlon, Iceland, March 2017.

David Allemand / Volcanic sand on beach, and mountains, East Iceland. October 2013.

David Allemand / Volcanic sand on beach, and mountains, East Iceland. October 2013.

Werner Bollmann / Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) on beach, Flakstadoya, Norway, March.

Ashley Cooper / Landslip on the South West Coast Path at Charmouth. This section of the Jurassic Coast has always been prone to landslips due to the unstable nature of the Jurassic clays and shales, but increased hea...

Ashley Cooper / Guillemot (Uria aalge) covered in oil on a black sand volcanic beach at Vik, on Iceland. September 2010.

Ashley Cooper / Guillemot (Uria aalge) covered in oil on a black sand volcanic beach at Vik, on Iceland. September 2010.

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Minden / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Oliver Geiseler/ BIA / Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) group on beach, Falkland Islands

David Fleetham / Sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park, Hana, Maui, Hawaii. June 2016.

David Fleetham / Black sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park, Hana, Maui, Hawaii.

Sylvain Cordier / Black browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) pair mating, Saunders Island, Falkland Islands.

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) parent with calling chick on nest, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) on nest, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) pair courting, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) pair on beach, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) pair, Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) pair, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) calling, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa

Kirkendall-Spring / Lava boulder covered beach at Kaimu, Hawaii. December 2016.

Tony Wu / Columbus crab (Planes major) which was stranded on the beach, South Africa.

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Ice chunks on black sand beach, Jokalsarlon Lagoon, Iceland

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Ice chunks on black sand, beach, Jokalsarlon Lagoon, Iceland

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Ice chunks on black sand beach, Jokalsarlon Lagoon, Iceland