Gift

I have discovered over the years that the more time you spend out in nature the better your chances of seeing many of the special events that God provides. There are the many beautiful sunrises and sunsets along with rainbows and wildflowers blooming. There are also the ones that aren't necessarily pretty but they are magnificent in their own way, usually resulting in the death of one creature by another in order to eat or feed their young. This last weekend we made the journey up to the Humboldt Bay area of Northern California for a short weekend. While sitting next to the bay a gull swooped down to the rocky beach with a Red Rock Crab in its beak. For the next half hour I was treated to how a gull dismembers and eats a crab. The key thing I noticed right away was that the gull held the crab by it's rear end in the beginning, staying well clear of those front claws. After landing the gull flipped the crab onto its back and worked it's way up the abdomen. Tearing off the legs and abdomen plates as it went upward. In the end all that was left was carapace. It probed its beak thoroughly into that as well for each and every last morsel of that poor crab. God bless, chris

Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 L IS, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a 3055 Ballhead. Camera Setting- ISO 400, AV Mode, F5.6