Food Source for the migrating shorebirds

Horseshoe crabs play an important role in the ecosystem, any harm to them will interfere with the feeding and resting of hundreds of thousands migrating shorebirds.
In late spring the horsecrabs arrive on the Delaware beaches to lay their eggs. They say thousands of horseshoe crabs arrive in the Delaware Bay between May and June.

 The beaches which are mainly sand and pebble mixture are perfect for incubating the eggs. I read that one female can spawn repeatedly over several nights and lay over 100,000 eggs.

 Some of these eggs are exposed to the air which causes the egg to dry out and prevent the egg from hatching.  The exposed eggs are now the rich food source for the migrating birds. Delaware plays host to the second largest population of migrating birds. And these migrating birds depend on the exposed eggs for their feeding.

The horseshoe population needs to be protected from overharvesting. A decline in the horseshoe population can also mean a decline in the shorebird population.

I visited the Delaware beach this past weekend. Hubby and I walked along turning over any horsecrab that seemed stuck upside down. It was too early for most of the migrating shorebirds we did see quite a few Ruddy Turnstones and probably hundreds of Laughing Gulls.

To see more birds and other critters visit the Friday Ark and you can also visit Michelle's Nature Notes

Thanks for stopping by my blog.