Working the Flats!

As I have said many times before, I am a watcher.  I enjoy watching nature.  The critters around the Bayou never cease to amaze me with their everyday ingenuity.  And as I have said many times before, we could all learn a thing or two by observing our animal friends.  Their struggle for survival makes them far more active than humans.  We as a species have become lazy and incompetent with our basic skills.  If the need should arise, not many would be able to survive long without the "conveniences" of modern life.  The search for food, protection from the elements and the evasion of predators would be quite the ordeal.  The critters, however, take this all in stride and have learned to take advantage of any means available to survive.

During low tide on the Bay, there are vast mudflats that extend a good ways out from the marshes.  These mudflats are a veritable smorgasbord of goodies for any critter that takes a liking to seafood!  There are tiny crabs and  fat clams buried in the mud and shrimp and fishes trapped in small tidepools. This all sets quite a tasty table for many of the larger critters of the Bayou.  Herons, egrets, ducks, seagulls and geese all come to snatch a meal.  Otters, raccoons, rats and fox can also be seen dining on the goodies left behind by the falling tide.

I watched as a lone raccoon feasted on the above mentioned sea life.  This little fellow would dig down, grab a fat clam, gnaw on it enough to crack the shell and the eat the morsel inside.  After slurping down that one, the coon would watch for another spritz of water that would indicate the location of its next prey!  The coon scavenged the shoreline for a good five hundred feet before changing to a different course of his meal.  Now came dessert!  After the main course of clams, the little rascal decided to chase a few Fiddler Crabs. The crab was pounced upon and then shaken rapidly to stun it before it was popped into the mouth!  I am sure the raccoon's appetite was sated after its working the mudflats for about an hour or so.  It ambled off into the marsh and back to the shore.  There it most likely curled up and took a nap for a few hours.

The mudflats provide sustenance for a good many of the critters of the Bayou.  Every low tide brings in a new source of nutritious goodies for those who are willing to work for their meal.  We, humans, could definitely learn a few survival tips from the critters.  Not that I think everyone needs to run to the mudflats to gather supper but rather that we should learn how to distinguish the edible from the inedible.  We need to learn the basic skills of living and not be fully dependent on commercial goods to live our lives.  Some day..this may just come in handy.