Horseshoe Crabs on the Beach in Wildwood New Jersey

Our travel "Photo of the Week" this week features a photo I took back on September 11th, 2012 of a horseshoe crab on the beach in North Wildwood, New Jersey. Normally when we walk the beach, we will see one or two horseshoe crabs up on the beach (dead or alive) but during this particular week, we saw over a hundred of them!

I don't know why so many horseshoe crabs were washing up onto the beach that week but it was really strange! We go down to our condo a few times every year to enjoy the Jersey Shore and the beach, and I don't ever recall seeing so many horseshoe crabs on the beach like we did in early September.

The previous year we saw a LOT of Jellyfish on the beach, but not a lot of horseshoe crabs. I am not sure why we saw so many, but they were pretty to look at (the "alive" ones) but the dead ones...well, the seagulls were having a field day and dinner with those!

When you see a horseshoe crab stuck on the beach, check to see if it's still alive. If so, turn it upright and carry it down into the water and set it free. Sometimes they get stuck on the sand during rough surf or during breeding time when they get tired. If they're still alive, please stop and help to set them free! They're an important part of the coastal eco-system.