Riding the Crab

It’s a spectacle that goes back nearly to when the dinosaurs roamed the planet. That’s how long Horseshoe Crabs have been coming to the sands of the northeast coast to lay their eggs in spring. A single female can lay up to 100,000 eggs. With an estimated 200-300 million crabs hitting the shores a century ago, well, that’s simply a lot of eggs, which is what attracts the shorebirds. Fueling up for their flight north to produce the next generation, they pile into the beaches, bays, and marshes to feast. This sadly, is long gone as I’ve found the past decade searching to witness this time-old event. We got a taste of the spectacular but just a small glimpse of the past two weeks ago in Delaware, seeing 50-60,000 shorebirds chase the microscopic eggs in their frenzy to feast. Dunlin is one of the species taking advantage of this abundant food source. When I saw one as the sun rose perched on a crab, it seemed to be the perfect story. The age old quest to ride the crab.