CATCHIN' CRABS

SELF | March 24, 2011 | swampsniper

[SWAMPSNIPER]

At low tide the mudflats of the saltmarsh will have large areas covered by colonies of little Fiddler crabs, the males busy waving the larger of their claws to lure females to his burrow. Fiddler crabs dig down a foot or so, the burrow curves as it descends.

The White Ibis has a curving beak, how convenient is that?

It was about high tide when I got to the marsh, this White Ibis was the only moving thing in sight. It was putting down those Fiddlers like popcorn. The Ibis are pairing off ready to nest now, but this one was all alone and pigging out, it obviously hasn't heard what Michelle has been saying..

It kept going behind little Black Mangroves and messing up my shots. I close cropped one so the Fiddler is visible. The little lumps and dark spots on the visible mud are burrows and material the crabs bring out when they dig.

There are places in this marsh where you would be stuck in the mud to your armpits but the Ibis has big feet.

White Ibis, Eudocimus albus

[FrogMom]

I love your pics, SS!

Do you have a ping list, or did I already ask that?

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I’ll put you on it.

[glock rocks]

Or one of those big guys for a teryaki barbecue?

If ole tubebender would quit sending snow over here, I’d be
tempted to break out the nikkors. A guy just can’t catch a
break sometimes.

[onemiddleamerican]

Wow, great shots, SS! I keep trying to take photos just half a good as yours, but I have never succeeded. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ‘work’ with us.

[kalee]

Me too please

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Gotcha!

[Kimmers]

Thank you for sharing your backyard......

[Kimmers]

Thank you for sharing your backyard......

[kalee]

Thanks!

[tubebender]

We had a break in the rain Monday so we bbqed Fresh Banana Slugs

[Celtic Cross]

Nice pictures!

[Vendome]

Damn you’re good.

[glock rocks]

Yah, we hid under the deck and q’d some Louisana hot sausage, and had it with some red beans and rice and green beans. I will tell you what. It’s warm now. Dang fine photos there SWAMPSNIPER. Yer breakin tubebender’s heart, livin as he does down in fogland.

[rustbucket]

We don't have fiddler crabs where I live. The birds pig out on crawdads instead. Yellow crowned night herons like this one usually spin the crawdad in its beak causing the two big claws to be broken off. Takes about 30 seconds or less.

[rockinqsranch]

Thank You SWAMPSNIPER for the ping to nature in your excellent photography. Appreciate it.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Have you ever seen a Yellow Crowned use bait? They will find a scrap or a leaf, anything that might attract fish, drop it on the water and then just wait.

They are around here but stay way out in the marsh most of the time.

[pandoraou812]

Very cool & beautiful!

[Ramius]

Reminds me of a girl I used to know...

[rustbucket]

I've never seen a Yellow Crowned use bait. They are the premier crawdad catchers around here though, although I've seen Grebes, Ibis, and even American Kestrels catch crawdads. I usually try to go on a picture taking expedition in late May or early June when the crawdads are in shallow water and apparently easy for the birds to catch.

Snowy Egrets vibrate their feet in shallow water to scare prey (crawdads, minnows, tadpoles, small fish) and make them move. That's a wicked looking beak on the Snowy below.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Snowy Egrets are beautiful but they're agressive little demons, I've seen the males fight over territory and it gets bloody.

When I worked with wildlife rescue I learned oretty quick to cover the head on any egret or heron first, when they get scared they go right for your eyes. A beak in the eye could kill you, sure would take an eye out. I lost several good shirts if that is all I happened to have to throw over them.