Beautiful Swimmers Mating

What were you picturing?
I hope it was Callinectes sapidus.

If it was something else, well, I may just have to wash your brain out with soap.



Meanwhile, back on that island from Wednesday ...


After a while poking about the island, I left the kayak parked on the shore and waded out to sea. There were blue crabs EVERYWHERE, mostly juvies of 4-5 inches, but plenty of bigguns too. Had I thought to bring some string and chicken necks, I could have come home with supper pretty easily.

The nursery aspect of a healthy marsh is hard to miss when you are out there surrounded by schools of tiny new killifish and mullet pups. Plus, when every step sends 4 or 5 blue crabs scuttling away into the depths and the mud is covered with gelatinous egg masses from worms ... well, like I said, it's hard to miss.

In a tiny pool, about as big as a small swimming pool, I found this pair of blue crabs mating. The pool was entirely enclosed by "higher" ground now that the tide had dropped, except for one small, inch deep rivulet with water flowing to the Gulf.

It was a great place for a pair of blue crabs to mate, away from the pressure of predatory fish for a few hours while the tide left, changed it's mind, and then started back.

The photos above and below were taken by holding my polarized sunglasses over my camera lens to cut the water's glare, so they aren't super,duper sharp, but I wanted you to see this.

A big male blue crab is holding a female protectively beneath him. During this embrace, she will molt her exoskeleton under the protection of his feisty crabattitude.

That's important since she will be a very vulnerable soft shell blue crab chick for several hours while the new exoskeleton stretches and hardens.

During this time, he will mate with her.

Sort of a ... you scratch my carapace, I'll scratch yours.

Crown conchs were patrolling the sandier areas. These are voracious predatory snails that strike fear into the hearts of smaller snails like marsh periwinkles.

The other, really abundant crab, the stone crab, was less obvious, due to the fact that they were under, around, and on the oyster clumps ... and they hold still rather than scurry off.

Since the young ones are about the same color as the oysters, they really blend in.


Back at the Shell Mound boat launch ...

This earlier in the day picture shows the ramp at the time I launched. Pay attention to the water and how close it is to that spectacular red JEEP.



The picture below is what it was like when I returned, still with an hour of falling tide to go.

In the photo above, I'm standing about directly behind where the JEEP is parked in the first photo. I had just paddled in through that narrow slot of 6 inch deep water and then slogged and dragged the kayak up the smooth muddy shore.

It's a little gooshy at low tide, so plan to get sweet smelling marsh mud on your lower parts if you launch from this site.

You'll feel really smart if you pack a gallon of freshwater to rinse off your tootsies before getting back in your vehicle.

I wish I had thought of that before the trip.