This is the sort of habitat that I usually find C. hirticollis in the Great Lakes. The larvae are most abundant in fairly moist sand, just above the high water mark, sometimes amidst sparse low vegetation and cottonwood saplings. The adults are typically found from the water's edge to perhaps 30 meters inland on the dry sand. They're often seen searching about for flies at the wrack line. This particular beach is heavily used by swimmers during beach season, and I have found no larvae at all in the most heavily trampled areas.