Moving forward sideways

A Pallid Ghost Crab on the sand in Hawaii
On the lookout.

I was walking the beach at Pelekane Bay one morning, when I realized there was a lot of movement on the sand. A bit of quiet observation revealed crabs everywhere. They skittered back and forth, but if I moved, they zipped back to the edge of their holes or disappeared into them.

A Pallid Ghost Crab on the sand in Hawaii
Ready to disappear below in an instant.
A Pallid Ghost Crab on the sand in Hawaii
How do I get this down my burrow?
A Pallid Ghost Crab on the sand in Hawaii
Yes, there’s a crab in this photo, obviously!

I picked a spot where I could observe a good number of them and spent about 40 minutes there, kneeling in the sand, moving minimally, while the crabs went about their work. The ones in these photos are Pallid Ghost Crabs.

A Pallid Ghost Crab on the sand in Hawaii
Pallid ghost crabs leave sand balls outside …
A Pallid Ghost Crab on the sand in Hawaii
… when excavating their burrows.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

12 thoughts on “Moving forward sideways”

  1. restlessjo's avatarrestlessjo

    Hundreds of them here on certain of the beaches and in the salt marshes. I sometimes forget and jump out of my skin when they appear beside my foot then scurry off 😁💙

    Liked by 1 person

  3. bushboy's avatarbushboy

    I love watching little sand crabs and their sand balls depositing. These don’t seem to make patterns like here.
    There was a teacher at High School, Mr Robertson, when he was in a bad mood it was always “Oh no, here come crabby walking sidewards”😂

    Liked by 1 person

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