Delaware

Last Saturday, My graduate student and I piled our stuff in the Chevy HHR (a company car) and drove 14.5 hours from Alabama to Delaware. This is my 4th year out here on the Bay. This is part of a my major research project to develop models of population dynamics, estimate demographic parameters, and develop a smart decision making framework for managing Horseshoe crab harvests in the Bay in a way that doesn't harm migrating shorebird populations. There is a lot of technical stuff that goes along with that work. Coming up here is not about technical stuff, its about witnessing the spectacle.

This is truly a natural wonder of the world. Shorebirds that spend the winter dispersed across South America travel thousands of miles and converge on the mid-Atlantic coast enroute to the Canadian Arctic. In most years, concurrent with the shorebird arrival, horseshoe crabs crawl up on the beach by the hundreds of thousands or even millions to spawn. Walking along the beach on a calm windless moonlit night, I am often overcome with a sense of awe and eeriness. The water laps on the shore and you can hear the clicking and scraping of a thousand male crabs jostling and maneuvering for position over the hundred or so females digging their nests in the soft wet sand. The water is frothy with crab seamen, the air reeks of saltwater and the unique smell of sea life. The moon reflects off the glistening crab shells. Witnessing all this reminds me of how beautiful life is and just how lucky I am.