Fiddler Crabs

Wednesday, November 17, 2021,

These are a pair of photos of some Fiddler Crabs I encountered while walking through Lido Beach Passive Nature Area in late September. I had turned a corner and there they were, just a few feet from the path. They all scurried away at my sudden appearance, but I’ve had some experience with Fiddler Crabs before and I was fairly certain they’d reappear and continue with business as usual if I just hung back and waited them out. So, I dropped back a few feet – this is where a long lens comes in handy – and stood still for a few minutes. After a while, the crabs began reemerging from their holes and the nearby deeper water and returned to the mud flats where I had first seen them. Now, while that may seem like a plan that came together, there is always a great deal of luck when dealing with Mother Nature. She is a capricious and uncanny Lady, who makes her own rules, and then, disregards them at will. So, trust me when I tell you that I was lucky to get these pics. JK.

JK

A Male Northern Flicker

Tuesday, October 22, 2019,

This is a male Northern Flicker I found at the Lido beach Passive Nature Area. Flickers are members of the woodpecker family but they often forage like Robins. This handsome bird was tearing up the grass in his search for insects and worms. The dirt was really flying as he hammered his way through the turf. He was a man on a mission. JK

JK