“Here comes some more photographers. I guess I should put on a show for them. I am a little hungry anyway.”

“Wait, don’t take the shot. I’m choking here.”

“Got another one. This is way too easy.”

“I feel like an owl twisting my head this way.”

“Yummy, I wish I had some butter for these crab legs.”

“Down the hatch”

“Hey, what about me? I got a crab too.” says the tiny Wilson’s plover.

The long billed curlews at the North Beach sanctuary at Fort Desoto have a reputation for being very accommodating if they’re out in front of the ropes. A large part of this section of the beach is roped off to allow the shorebirds to rest and nest. Sometimes they wander out of the roped off area to feed in the lagoon area and you can see them a little closer. We all sat down on the sand and spent a half hour watching this curlew dig for crabs right in front of us. He wandered pretty close to where we sitting for a while.  He must have pulled up 10 crabs while we sat there. Eventually, he headed over to the other side of the lagoon. I wonder if the crabs pinch the inside of the curlew as it goes down. Those shorebirds must have some tough insides.