Birding, Flipping and Tagging Horseshoe Crabs

The June 7^th birding, flipping and tagging trip was short on attendance but long on fun.  Highlights of early birding were Glossy Ibis, first summer Orchard Oriole and great looks at a Marsh Wren.  Other interesting notes were a red-bellied turtle laying eggs and terrapins sticking their noses up in the surf.  Crab flipping was a lot of fun.  We walked the beach to find any horseshoe crabs that had been tagged.  Carcasses of previously stranded crabs littered the beach and male crabs continued to pursue females as the tide began to ebb.  We brought live crabs up the beach and tagged over 160 before returning them to the water.  The bugs weren’t too bad until the sun began to set; glad I brought my DEET.