“You Have That Crab…Or Does It Have You?”
Yesterday I was watching these two white ibis fishing in the salt marsh at low tide. One of them plucked a nice little crab up from out of the marsh mud, but surprisingly it quickly shook the crab off it’s bill and dumped crabby back into the mud! The clearly distressed ibis then flew off, immediately followed by his friend. I couldn’t figure out why they both left the crab which normally would’ve been eaten until I looked closely at the photos later. That crab had really latched onto the ibis’ bill and gave it a good pinch which was more than enough to deter the ibis from any further action. So…crabby wins one this time and lives to tell the tale of how he fought off a hungry ibis!
Phil Lanoue Photography 
I do like your photos sequences. It’s surprising to me that their would be enough sensitivity in the bill for that to work for the crab.
Thanks much! I was thinking the same thing about their bills considering the way they jam them under and around the oyster beds with no apparent discomfort. But that crab pinch must be more forceful and painful then we would think. I have seen this on more then one occassion where a crab ‘explains’ to a bird how bad of an idea grabbing him was.
…. 🙂 This was so lovely, what a story! Thank you dear Phil amazing photographs you captured again. Love, nia
I’m glad you liked these Nia! 🙂
Great sequence Phil. 🙂
Thanks, I appreciate you checking out the ibis pics!
How funny!! These are amazing action shots!
Thanks Molly! These guys can be fun to watch. I saw them catching small eels, tiny fish or shrimp as well as some crabs yesterday.
Hmm, that must have been Sebastian – you know the little red Jamaican crab in “The Little Mermaid?”
You no gonna be eatin’ on me today mahn! 😀
😉
Excellent shots, Phil!
That’s what I’d call “survival of the fittest” 😉
Thanks a lot Gracie!
Well on this day anyway, crabby managed to survive and continue on with his life. 🙂
Funny Question! 😉 And very dirty Feets!
Heh heh, yeah and that’s one of the reasons we call them “Muddy Ibis”. They often have dirty feetsies and faces. 😀
Great shots as always.
Thanks a lot.
Aside from the story here (which was wonderful), the shots with the reflections were stunning! As usual, words fail me…
Thank you very much Gunta! Glad you enjoyed the story and photos!
beautiful set of images, the reflections in the water are so clear, and the flying ibis is sharp and captured perfectly. what lens do you have?, as it captures your wild life images perfectly.
Cheers Callie
Thanks for checking out these ibis photos Callie, and glad you like ’em!
For these I used a Canon 300 f4 with a Canon 1.4 extender making it a 420. 🙂
All your photos are amazing, you must be patient to wait for the right moment in taking your images.Good to see you are a canon user, I am going to buy some new lenses over my break.
Keep those great captured moments coming.
Cheers Callie
I love how he makes the crab fly through the air ! Funny, I always thought that a birds beak had no feel. Who knew?
I’m happy you enjoyed viewing these pics Bella! I would have thought they might not feel something like a crab bite but I’ve seen them jump and fling off a crab before so I figure it’s must be painful.
Remember a while back I had a similar crab vs. bird post but with a young night heron? 🙂
Totally remembered that one. This faked me out as I thought is was a rerun, but then quickly realized it wasn’t.
Bwahahaha……… that Ibis looks a trifle miffed, doesn’t he? Wonderful captures, Phil. Have a great weekend. 🙂
He looks irritated for sure. That crab has a lot of nerve trying to fight for it’s life. What a jerk! Ha!
Thanks Sylvia and enjoy your weekend!
Don’t mess with the crab, you’ll get THE CLAW – signed Crabby. 🙂
Exactly! That Crabby is not fooling around! 😀
Fantastic captures.
Thanks very much Edith!
lol that shoot just takes the cake um crab cake that is
Humm…crab cakes sound pretty good right about now. 😀
yes they do
Quite amazing! I almost didn’t scroll through to the end when I saw the poor crab about to be eaten. So glad I did!!
Thanks a bunch for checking out the crabby pics!
What a great set! I would also think that bills were like fingernails, dead cells with no feeling. Live and learn!
Yeah I’m guessing those bills are much more sensitive then we would have thought.
Thanks for looking!
You made me laugh again … thrilling photos, Phil!
I’m so happy you enjoyed these Paula! 🙂
Luck favours the brave!
Heh heh so true!
Hi Phil,
what a great (and funny) series, poor ibis!!! 😉
Greetings
moni
Ha! Thaks moni! That ibis did not look very happy.
Heh. I’ve always known there’s not much logic to it, but I can’t help but pull for the underdog in nature – although, I guess now I think about it I’m not certain that crab could be considered an underdog…
Yeah Sid I know what you mean. I kind of found myself rooting for Crabby as well. The odds were certainly against him but he managed to prevail!
can’t help but think of a scene in Clash of the Titans, haha!
In this case Clash of the Goofy. Those ibis can behave a little nutty at times! 😀
I’m kind of surprised that a pinch to the bill would cause the Ibis to let go? I always thought their bills were more tough and less fleshy. Great captures as always!
I think they do have a very tough bill, but the pain of a crab pinch must get through somehow. I have seen it before where a crab gets a bird to let go of it by really clamping down on the bill. I guess Crabby knows right were to bite!
Thanks for looking!
WONDERFUL…beautiful set of images, the reflections in the water are so clear ! Bye Phil Giovanna
Thank you so much Giovanna! I am very happy that you like these photos!
That’s a great story, and great photos! That crab certainly wasn’t about to be eaten, at least not that day.
Thanks, glad you liked these! And no, Crabby was not going to be anyone’s meal on that day!
lol! I think the crab had him!
It sure did! That Crabby is no pushover.