Skywatch Key West

Linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday

I am so glad you stopped by, I am taking you back to Key West for a pretty sunset.  It was our 2nd night in Key West and this time we watched the sunset from the famous Mallery Square. For NF Winged I am sharing all the gulls we saw around Mallory Square in Key West.

I had fun watching a huge flock of Laughing Gulls.

While we were watching the sunset from Mallory Square, we also watched this catamaran pull up in front of the sun go past a little and then back up and stopped right in front of the setting sun. So our view of the sun was blocked some by the boat. The folks on board got the best view.

Mallory Square sunset cruises.

The flock of gulls would take off and fly, while we were watching the sunset.

These gulls and a terns were catching some of the sun's rays.

Mallory Square was fun for a one time visit. We did enjoy the sunset but there are a lot of sunset spots along Florida's west coast.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I always appreciate your comments.

Happy Skywatching  to everyone!

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.  Also, thank you for stopping by to see my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Delaware Shores & shorebird Migration

 I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

 I hope everyone is enjoying Spring, it is a great time of the year to see the migrating birds.  After a spring full moon and the water temp's in the high 50's, the horseshoe crabs make their way out of the Delaware Bay. The arrival of the spawning horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay is timed perfectly for the migrating shorebirds.  Last weekend, beside Bombay Hook NWR hubby and I also visited the Delaware beaches hoping to see some of these migrating birds.

Slaughter beach above is one of the stops we made to check out the horseshoe crabs and to look for birds. On the path to the beach we saw a few Tree Swallows and the Purple Martins at their houses. Hubby and I walked up and down the beach turning over any horseshoe crabs that was stranded on its back. We were doing our part in trying to save these declining horseshoe crabs.

Shorebird congregations will feast upon the thousand of horseshoe crab eggs. The birds depend on these eggs to refuel during their spring migration. Saving these horseshoe crabs is important, not only to protect this arthropod species but to prevent the decline of shorebirds like the Red Knots and the Semipalmated Sandpipers. 

The horseshoe crab is like a hotel for living creatures that are attached to the shell of the horseshoe crab. Some of these hitchhikers have no effect on the day to day life of this horseshoe crab, but over time they may degrade the shell.

The male horseshoe crab will hang onto the female as she crawls up the beach laying thousands of eggs in sandy nest. As the female drags the male they in turn fertilize the eggs in each nest as they are pulled over the nest and eggs.

The Horseshoe crab can lay as many as 60,000 to 120,000 tiny green eggs in batches of a few thousand at a time.

 

For me seeing these gathering of the horseshoe crabs and seeing thousands of shorebirds is an awesome wildlife spectacle. On this day we saw mostly laughing gulls.  I believe the migrating shorebirds are still on their way to the Delaware shore. Hopefully there will be plenty of eggs to help refuel these migrating birds on their journey to their breeding grounds in the Artic.