The Northern Quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) is damn good eating, although I’m not sure the radioactive etc. toxins of Dead Horse Bay are the best sauce.
Dropped onto the exposed bricks, glass, and pottery shards of the mid-century midden so they crack open, the clams are then feasted upon, if they’re not stolen by other gulls.
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This work by Matthew Wills is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Backyard and Beyond 
Imagine trying to remove the clam meat from its shell with a pair of tweezers or some needle nose pliers, only. No other hand or device to help. It should give you some appreciation for the incredible utility if this very evolved part of a bird.