Susan McTigue shared these two shots, taken in Emerson Woods this week. (Thanks, Susan!)

I haven't seen any at the Celery Farm this spring, though not for a lack of looking.

On a walk along Cape May Beach on Tuesday, I came across this turn-turtle Horseshoe Crab.

That guy has one complicated underside!

It was high and dry, about 10 yards above the tide line, so I carried it back to water and it was quickly on his way.

I had learned the day before that upside down Horseshoe Crabs can last no more than one tide cycle out of the water.

And these guys are crucial to the survival of our critically endangered Red Knots. Article here.

Sorry, but I did not have any quarters on me to show scale. It was heavier than I expected when I carried it to the water, and still kicking.

Patty and I stopped by Reed's Beach on the Delaware Bayshore on Monday in hopes of seeing a few endangered Red Knots.

We saw an armada of Horseshoe Crabs making landfall, which attracted  a feeding frenzy of mostly gulls but quite a few shorebirds as well.

(Yes, almost everything you see above along the shoreline that's not sand or water is birds.)

Meredith Morehouse of  Manomet and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) showed us what the fuss was about: Horseshoe Crab eggs (right).

She held up a batch on a tiny half shell for us to see and took a survey regrading the group's efforts to help migratory birds and educate the public, including the signs below left.

We also bumped into Larissa Smith of Conserve Wildlife Foundation, who  showed us more shorebird action at the next beach south and rescued a tiny Diamondback Terrapin (Below right) crossing the road along the way.

(We did see several Red Knots, but none close enough to photograph. Nature's spectacle, however, was memorable.)

Sally Wiegand suggests this advice on ticks be posted at the main entrance to the Celery Farm.

Failing that, I am posting it here.

Too many folks are oblivious, alas.

I love walking around the CF after a night's rain and seeing animal tracks.

Reminds me of a being a kid again.