Here are some more photos to give you an idea of what the annual Horseshoe Crab egg feast is like on the South Jersey shoreline.
Sanderlings and other birds near an upside down Horseshoe Crab.
Shore birds, including Red Knots to the left of image, waiting for Horseshoe Crabs eggs being spawned on the right.
Shore birds flying up as a Bald Eagle passed by.
Red Knots, Dunlins, Sanderlings eating eggs by upturned Horseshoe Crab.
A couple of Laughing Gulls had needs other than food to be met.
Laughing Gulls temporarily did not care for Horseshoe Crab eggs.
neihtn 
A real feast for the eyes and all the beautiful birds you have captured,Hien!I got my laugh with the Laughing Gull couple … Like lovestruck humans they lose their appetite too … 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed, they were totally unconcerned about the feeding frenzy around them, and kept at it for a good while!
LikeLiked by 1 person
good for you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful! Love the one of all the birds flying!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you M.B.!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mother used to talk about seeing many, many horseshoe crabs on Jones Beach on Long Island, back in the late 1920’s. Of course they’ve been around FAR longer than that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are still coming to Jones Beach.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely amazing event and captures, Hien!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Donna!
LikeLiked by 1 person
These wading birds make wonderful patterns whether they are wading of flying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wouldn’t it be quite a spectacle if you had Horseshoe Crabs come ashore on one of your Swansea and Gower beaches?
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would be totally awesome but I’d worry that something had gone horribly wrong for the poor horseshoe crab!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a spectacle, Hien!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was a grand spectacle indeed, Dries. You could look in all directions, and there was always something interesting going on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, that is for sure a feast happening! Nice captures to illustrate the behavior.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks John!
LikeLike
Now we know why laughing gulls are so happy. 😉
Once again, I’m amazed at the size of the flocks of birds that come to feed on the crab eggs, it must be quite a spectacle to see and hear in person.
LikeLiked by 2 people
On the South Jersey shoreline, from Fortescue to Cape May, there could be millions of birds of birds that feed on crab eggs. It is a sight to behold, and to photograph of course.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know this is the way of nature, but do many eggs survive so there can be more Horseshoe Crabs? The upturned Crab….he can roll over by himself?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lois, Horseshoe Crabs usually cannot turn themselves over. They must rely on the waves, at high tide, or on people to flip them them over.
I think humans, not birds, are more of a threat to the crabs. Commercial fishing uses Horseshoe Crabs for bait, while the pharmaceutical industry uses the crabs’ blue blood to detect bacterial contamination.
LikeLike
Thanks so much for the information, Hien. I had no idea about any of this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautifully captured, especially the birds in flight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Amy!
LikeLike