Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 15:41:28 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Denise Ryan Subject: Re: Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" I second that political action and action to help the turn-over crabs. I visited Port Mahon on Friday morning at high tide - thanks for the recommendations! I saw one Red Knot (my first). The horseshoe crabs were sparse but certainly present. My husband and I had fun rescuing the crabs out of the rocks and sending them back out to the surf taking turns taping each other with the video camera. Then we headed down to Slaughter Beach and found no crabs at all. Not even old shells. Sunday night I was in Chincoteague and rounded up the crew and went out to the beach to look for crabs under the full moon. We found no Horseshoe crabs at all in Tom's Cove beach. Two years ago we were at the beach at the same time and found a lot of Horseshoe crabs morning, noon and night. Ironically, my group of friends were entertained by the multitude of land crabs all over the beach. I'm not sure if they were sand crabs or ghost crabs, but the largest was the size of a fist. Other birds of note off topic in VA are Least Terns at Assateague NWF - they are on the road to Tom's Cove in the fresh water impoundment area. I counted at least a half dozen. Lots of Bobwhites around the wildlife loop in male/female pairs and I found a single Piping Plover in Tom's Cove parking area 4 around the mud flats at low tide. The Clapper Rails were also out and about and running around the mud flats in the late afternoon low tide. I even approached one out in the open as close as 30 ft. before the bird noted my presence and ran screaming back into the Spartina Grass. Maybe we can hope the crabs will all come in on the next full moon? Our climate and seasons have been so funny this year that maybe the cycle is a bit off? Let's hope so. Does anyone have contact with other Horseshoe crab taggers further north? Maybe they are on a Northern track this year. I wouldn't be surprised since the Inuit peoples of the North now report seeing Robins on the tundra for the first time ever in their culture. They don't even have a word for Robin. Denise Ryan Washington, DC -----Original Message----- From: Bob Mumford [mailto:Gyrfal@AOL.COM] Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 3:27 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds Monday I visited Port Mahon Road and Pickering Beach in Delaware, as I have been doing most years of the last two decades. Here are my observations and conclusions: Observations: 1. The crabs appear to be about 10% of the numbers of twenty years ago, particularly along Port Mahon Road. 2. Shore bird numbers were also way down. 3. I saw not a single Red Knot along Port Mahon, and only a handful (maybe six flying) at Pickering. 4. Gulls, particularly Herring, were up substantially in numbers from early visits. 5. I found six tagged crabs at Pickering. 6. The rip-rap along Port Mahon Road has been built up to protect the road from overwash. 7. Fisherpeople along PM Road were in much greater numbers than in years past. 8. The residents along the beach at Pickering have put up a sign that allows no taking of crabs along "their" beach. I met Sheila Eyler at Pickering, the young USF&WS woman who is conducting Horseshoe Crab research there. She advised: 1. The team tagged 4000 crabs last year and 2500 so far this year. There is little fidelity to nesting, with some crabs tagged at Pickering showing up at Cape May. 2. Females were observed spawning up to five times and males up to ten times during the study last year. They sometimes come up on the beach on successive high tides. 3. The scientists see no population change during the three years of the survey. 4. Delaware still permits taking Horseshoe Crabs for the bait trade. On two days a week - Tuesday and Thursday as I recall - a TRUCKLOAD of crabs can be legally taken each day! I have personally seen the locals filling up the back of a pickup truck, although I did not see enough crabs this year to make that possible. 5. The Pickering Beach residents have been very supportive and helpful to the USF&WS. While the observations of one person on typically one day a season do not constitute science and certainly would not be consider statistically valid, my conclusions are follow: 1. The Horseshoe Crab population has taken a dramatic downwards turn over the last two decades. However, any government agency like the USF&WS is going to be very, very cautious in reporting this kind of trend. 2. Shorebirds that depend on the crab eggs have also diminished, at least along Delaware Bay beaches frequented by birders. 3. Red Knots are down substantially. I have read this elsewhere too, and it is apparently fact. 4. The rip rap along Port Mahon Road is having a negative effect on the crabs. Some are caught in the large rocks, others cannot get to the high tide reach. Sand augmentation at Pickering may also have a negative effect. 5. Gulls consume a disproportionate share of the crab egg harvest due to large appetite and increased numbers. 6. If Delaware does not establish and enforce far more stringent bag limits for Horseshoe Crabs very soon, there will not be enough to worry about within a few years. 7. Not enough birders and other ecologists have made their voices heard in this serious and disturbing situation to provide the political muscle to affect change and prevent disaster. 8. Commercial interests are far more successful in some political circles than ecologists and so far have the upper hand in Delaware. Recommendations: 1. Read more lengthy reports on the web. Become fully informed. 2. Write the Director of the USF&WS, senators and congresspeople with your concerns. 3. Even though it might be a "drop in the bucket", when you visit the beaches and find overturned but alive Horseshoe Crabs, turn them right side up. If each visiting birder did this to a few dozen and saved their lives, it would likely make an impact. If only a few people do it, there will be no effect. I was quickly able to right over 125 crabs. In the old days this was not necessary or critical. It might be now. Bob Mumford Darnestown, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================