The beaches here come alive with Horseshoe crabs during their month long mating season. Millions upon millions of eggs are laid and left to incubate in the sun warmed sand.  In a fantastic example of nature’s impeccable timing, huge flocks of wading birds pass through here at exactly that same time on their route from South America to nesting grounds in the north. The Dupont Nature Center in Milford does a great job telling the story of this event.  The naturalists are well informed, welcoming, and well spoken educators.  It is well worth a stop.

I held a horseshoe crab. His little feet scrambled wildly against my hand as he tried to scoot away.  It didn’t hurt but did feel a bit weird.

We watched a blue crab eat squid. They have great “hand and eye” coordination and just gobbled it up.  Heaven help mankind if those things were bigger!

The slimy looking foot of a welk moves that shell unexpectedly quickly across the aquarium.

A beachfront camera on the beach gives us an up-close look of the first arriving horseshoe crabs.

Protecting the Atlantic Flyway

The Delaware coast is part of this migratory bird super highway.  Development is taking its toll as wetlands and coastal prairies are drained and barrier islands taken over by subdivisions.  To slow and counter that trend, National Wildlife Refuges, State managed lands and private conservancies are holding and managing lands in a more natural state.

We wind along the wildlife drives and trails to check out Bombay Hook and Prime Hook NWR. We are just outside of peak migration season and winds are gusting to 30 mph so the birding is only fair.  Still, I’m glad we wandered through here.