Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge

Mass exodus

The highlight of my day was a trip to Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge, a small island that lies between Hilton Head and the mainland.  A closed road served as the nature trail, and we met several runners, hikers, and a bicyclist or two on the path.  Before we arrived at the parking area for the trail, however, Lee spotted hundreds of small crabs rushing out of the water to their holes on - it seemed to be a mass exodus!  It turned out they were fiddler crabs, some with itsy bitsy tiny claws, and others with a massive claw almost large than the crab itself.

On guard!

Home!

Next, I wondered what all those mollusks were that stuck out of the mud when the tide receded, and discovered they were eastern oysters!  (This is probably well-known by those living on the east coast, but they were new to me.) 

Okay, so this is going to take three posts, the best is yet to come!  Thank heavens, you say, so far it's all muck and mud.