Life on the Creek!
Following our beautiful mild winter, spring is officially here. It is a beautiful time to be out on the creek with the trees budding a vibrant green and the ducks and geese nesting in the marsh. At least one of the eagles nest is showing activity with mom and dad making frequent trips carrying fish back to feed the eaglet hatchlings. Crabbing season officially began on April 1st , we are seeing lots of crab pots along the creek and have enjoyed our first taste of fresh blue crabs this season.
The Atlantic blue crab is a frequent site on Ayers Creek. We often see them hanging on the marsh edges or just swimming by our kayaks. Blue crabs have a number of natural predators such as gulls, eels, drum, striped bass, spot, trout, some sharks, cownose sting rays and humans. Human consumption of the blue crab is significant. Visitors and locals alike enjoy the taste of steamed crabs as well as the "party-like" atmosphere when eating with friends.
These delicious creatures also provide an environmental service. They are scavengers that feed from dead and decaying aquatic life. They consume thin-shelled bivalves, annelids, small fish, plants, carrion, human waste and other blue crabs. Their search for food does not end at the water's edge and are sometimes found deep in the marsh foraging for food. Male and female crabs can be distinguished by examining their abdomens. Males have a long slender apron while females have a triangular apron. Mature females develop a more rounded but triangular apron and have red claws at the tip sometimes referred to as painted fingernails. After mating, mature females travel to waterways with higher salinity levels such as Sinepuxent and Isle of Wight Bays to fertilize her eggs. She develops an external egg mass, or sponge, beneath the apron, which may contain 750,000 to 2 million eggs. The crabs hatch in larval form and float in that area for about four to five weeks, then juvenile crabs make their way back into the tidal reaches of the coastal bays. So, whether you enjoy eating them or not, crabs are interesting creatures and important to our local ecosystem.
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Join us April 27th - 29th for birding weekend to enjoy great views of migratory waterfowl such as the loon and the dunlin. We only see some of these birds for a short time as they pass through in the spring and fall. Birding weekend is the perfect time to get out on the water for an up close look at the migratory birds as well as many nesting pairs of ducks, geese, and terns. Check out our 
