Crab for Breakfast

I got up early, and was going for a bike ride in the Robinson Preserve. I used my "clown" bike that we bought down here at a garage sale last year. It is a fold-up bike with 20 inch wheels. Fits in the back of my van nicely. I even added a little bike bell from Dollar Tree, after being yelled at by a couple of women last year.

Robinson Preserve is a big place. 487 acres with some bay frontage, and a lot of inland waterways. Amazingly enough...not a great amount of wildlife, but I did get a big turtle, juvenile night herons, lizards, crabs, and ibises.

This juvenile ibis is enjoying breakfast. A couple walking by said..."Look at all the crabs." There most have been 350-400 crabs. Junior ambled around the bend, and there was a mass crab exodus towards their holes. I thought Junior would be shut out until I saw him sticking that long beak into the crab holes, and coming out with the "treats."

A couple of "Can you imagine" questions. 1. The ibis swallows the crabs whole. Can you imagine the birds digestive system, and what it has to go through to break down the crab? Amazing. 2. I don't want to dwell on it...but Can you Imagine what the crab feels like? One minute it is in his "cave", and the next minute it is travelling down 2 long tunnels. Not a happy ending.

I biked back to my van. An older toddler was nearby. "Hey, mister...can you do any tricks on that bike?" I ignored the young man, and loaded my "clown" bike into the back. (That last part didn't happen.)

Click on Large for a better look at the unfortunate crab.