Kites and crabs on the beach – Skywatch Friday

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Before I left Fort Desoto Park on a recent Saturday morning, I headed over to the East Beach turnaround area which faces the Sunshine Skyway bridge. I thought I’d check out the little beach area to see if there were any interesting shorebirds there (still looking for that avocet). This is what I saw as I was driving toward the beach so I know there would be no birds here. It wasn’t super windy but just enough that these guys could kiteboard.

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They were cruising all across the water.

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I got out of my car and walked down to the water to get some closer shots as the guys were coming by. When I got down to the beach area (it was low tide) I saw the below.

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Thousands of little fiddler crabs covered the one corner of the beach.

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It’s hard to get them close up. They are very skittish and start running for the mangroves when they see people.

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As I walked out on the sand, they all started marching away.

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He was shaking his claw at me like “Stay off our beach”.

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I was thinking “If I was a bird, I’d be on this beach chowing on some crab legs.”

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They have pretty colors.

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The sand was also covered with big jellyfish globs.

You just never know what you’re going to find at Fort Desoto on a Saturday morning.

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7 thoughts on “Kites and crabs on the beach – Skywatch Friday

  1. The windsurfers always make for colorful pictures (I’d just as soon see birds, as I know you would as well, but they are great pictures). And my gosh that’s a lot of those little sand crabs — you got amazing pictures because I know they skitter. You have good photo karma (aka, amazing talent and lots of patience). . Even nervous animals and birds pose for you.

  2. I like the birds too, but all the crabs are fun, the fiddler crabs are so funny with their big claw, little eyes sticking up, and I didn’t know they had magenta on their backs. Such cute shots!

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