The Horseshoe Crab Migration

They came out of the sea on that dark and stormy night -- okay, well, it wasn't really stormy, but it was dark.  On a May night in 2012, I was lucky enough to watch part of the annual horseshoe crab migration to the shores of New Jersey and Delaware.  It wasn't pretty, but it was interesting to witness them squirm awkwardly onto the sands of Slaughter Beach, Delaware.

 

I went with a Meetup hiking group who had planned the outing around certain specifics that included knowing when the moon is full and the tide. They also knew that the migration occurs in late May to early June. Yet, we still almost missed it.

 

The evening of our outing was very cold.  After standing on the beach for awhile and seeing nothing, a small group of us headed to a small store to look for something warm to eat or drink. Thank God, the owner turned out to be a local volunteer who was involved in counting horseshoe crabs each year during the migration. He sent us off with some advice on where to look.  

 

At first, we saw nothing, but as the sun set, we started to see one here, two there.  Then boom, a virtual orgy of crabs. The big ones pictured above are the females and the little ones are the males.

 

If you have questions, feel free to ask me!