Tag Archives: blue crab

Babalua Beach Day

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Babalua Beach is one of those wonderful little beaches a bit hidden and out of the way.

Babalua Beach is simply a lovely spot for lazing in the water, snorkeling around the rocks or the reef just off shore, pelican watching, and exciting for the kids too. It is on the other side of the Turtle Cove Marina boat channel.

A toes in the sand and clear water day

The water is always crystal clear as you wiggle your toes in the sand and the shallows as the sun creates sparkling prisms on the water.

Dive boat returning from diving Provo’s spectacular reefs.
Snorkeling in the shallows around the rocks
Always fun to see all the colourful fish.
The rocks are home to numerous little crabs.
A pretty blue crab scuttles along the rocks….hard to catch in a photo.
Kids love to explore as they climb onto and around the rocks.
What a spot to photograph our national bird, the Brown Pelican.

Babalua is full of activity. I managed to get up real close to the pelicans and the resulting photos were spectacular. The Caribbean brown pelican, has a wingspan of around 5 to 8 feet and a weight of 6 to 12 pounds. Endless entertainment as they dive bomb into the water and scoop up fish in their large bills, which can hold up to 3 pounds. Their bills are a natural sieve that will drain out all of the excess water.

A swooping pelican comes in for a landing.
Feasting on some small fish.
The rocks create a shallow calm area to enjoy the water.
A treasure found while snorkeling….that’s a sea urchin test.

 

A snorkeler takes a close look at a beautiful King Helmet shell

A snorkeler takes a close look at a beautiful King Helmet shell

 Eve finds and takes a closer look at a spectacular King Helmet shell while snorkeling off Babalua beach a while ago. They have a thick, glossy “shield” on the inside of the aperture on the bottom of the shell. This can be carved into cameos, and so they are sometimes called “cameo shells.

The King Helmet is a species of very large sea snail with a solid heavy shell.

The King Helmet is a species of very large sea snail with a solid heavy shell.

Keep a watch for these striking shells as you snorkel. The waters are brilliantly clear and hopefully you will enjoy seeing a variety including the Queen Conch.

 

And here’s a monster turtle cruising the shallows. It was the biggest one I’ve seen to date.
Providenciales is blessed with the most extraordinary beaches.
We’d love to have you enjoy our “Beautiful by Nature” islands.

Take some time to travel around Providenciales and while away a few hours at our more hidden beaches that are tucked away. Here at our villas…….Harbour Club Villas and Marina, we can give you ideas as to where you might go. We’ve been on Provo for over 20 years and know all the best spots. Hope to see you soon!

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Sandbar at Bonefish Point

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A beautiful walk from the little beach by Osprey Rock all the way to Bonefish Point

A high light of any trip out to South West Bluff is the beautiful walk from the beach at Osprey Rock down to Bonefish Point.

Osprey Rock in the distance as we wade through the shallows

A mangrove is salt tolerant and look at the roots.

Miles of beach with only us walking along the shoreline.

Bone fisherman stalking the flats for the elusive bonefish

A Haitien sloop washed up along the shore

Sad to say, we often see these wrecked Haitien sloops carrying probably 100 or more people to what they think will be a better life. Many are caught and repatriated.

Pin cushion sea stars love the sandbar. We found many of them.

That’s an amazing flat but make sure you have your fishing license with you if you plan to fish

Turquoise waters and brilliant white powdery sand

Mr Crabby shows his fighting form.

In search of starfish at the sandbar

A picturesque, dream of a day at Bonefish Point

A perfect afternoon to wade into the water at Bonefish Point

On another rather cloudy day, a storm changed the colours to a soft pastel combination of hues.

These great kids hammed it up for the camera in the shallows of the sandbar.

These great kids hammed it up for the camera in the shallows of the sandbar.

Some local kids were fishing  with one fishing rod and a hand line but I’m not sure that they caught anything other than disturbing a blue crab, a cushion starfish and a conch.

A blue crab wasn't too impressed with facing the camera but he was let go after his modeling debut.

A blue crab wasn’t too impressed with facing the camera but he was let go after his modeling debut.

The boys were having fun finding starfish and a conch while their Dad or uncle continued sitting and fishing.

The boys were having fun finding starfish and a conch.

Life is always interesting around the sandbar and on this day I lucked out, smiling kids, someone fishing, finding a small blue crab, a bright orange cushion starfish, a conch and of course, the muted colours of the ocean at low tide and passing storm clouds. Wow! What a spectacular and lovely day.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Long Bay Beach

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The eastern end of Long Bay beach is so quiet and peaceful

The eastern end of Long Bay beach is so quiet and peaceful

I can’t believe that it took me this long to discover another little piece of paradise. Several weeks ago when Yogi and Pat were visiting, we stopped to take a look at this area of Long Bay. I had heard that this was where the kite boarders went for lessons because of the shallow nature of the water and also, sadly in my opinion, another new development (5 stories high!!!!) is going to be built.

The water was like a mirror and storm clouds were threatening.

The water was like a mirror and storm clouds were threatening.

It was late in the afternoon so the water was warm and so very calm with not a breath of wind. We just lazed in the shallows enjoying the last few rays of the sun as storm clouds brewed out at sea.

Footprints outlined in the sand along the shoreline

Footprints outlined in the sand along the shoreline

Yogi took a walk and I snapped this photo of the footprints he left behind and the deepening shadows. I just love this time of day for picture taking. He called us to come and see what he had found…………a blue crab in the water. I took several photos and then realized that my digital takes photos under the water……….it just goes against the grain to put a camera into the water and friends tease me as I always hold it up high trying not to get it wet. When we got home and I put the photos up onto the computer, I was again surprised as the photos showed not one but two crabs who were mating.

A blue crab mating pair is called a "doubler"

A blue crab mating pair is called a "doubler"

The male cradle carries the female for two to seven days until molting is imminent. This serves two purposes: the male protects the female from predators and it assures that the male will be present when the female’s shell is soft and she is able to mate.

The male blue crab defends his mate as my camera came closer

The male blue crab defends his mate as my camera came closer

Once the female molts, the male releases her. She’ll only mate this one time in her life while her shell is soft. The male turns her upside down so that their abdomens are touching and copulation will last some five to twelve hours. Once again the female is clasped and cradle carried until her shell has had a chance to harden. The male will continue to mate with others while the female won’t release any eggs until 2 to 9 months after mating.

 

Marta

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Land Crab at the Villas

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Barry was the bravest of us all as he picked up this Blue Crab by our villas.

Barry was the bravest of us all as he picked up this large land crab by our villas.

Guests at Harbour Club Villas were surprised by this rather large land crab they found by their villa. Barry picked it up as it was not moving very fast and was not at all aggressive. We think it might have been injured or sick because it couldn’t even lift up its major claw in order to defend itself.

It sure had a lethal looking claw

It sure had a lethal looking claw

It was raining most of today but during one of the breaks between rains, our guests came across the land crab in one of our planters. We don’t think it’s going to make it. It was a great opportunity to take a real close look at a land crab.
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Crabs

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"Crabby Johnson" visits Harbour Club in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

"Crabby Johnson" visits Harbour Club in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Hi Marta and Barry.  Mike and I got your email message letting us know of your new blog.  It’s quite fun!  I love your pictures.  It brings back such nice memories of the fun we had when we stayed with you.  When I saw the crab pictures it reminded me that we were going to send you a picture of the very large crab that walked from the back of your property down the driveway.    I’m including it with this message. Kevin had heard a sound in the bushes near the veranda and when we went to look we saw him.  He proceeded to “walk” under our rental car and down the driveway.  You can tell how large he is in relation to the size of the tire.  Kevin named him “Crabby Johnson.  I hope you are back to normal after the hurricane scare in September.  Thanks again for letting us know about the blog. Take care, Sandy and Mike Adamson

What a great photo and I’d forgotten that you were going to email me it……………Thanks alot and he is huge judging by the tire!!!  I wished I had seen him too.

Thanks for your email,

Marta 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Blue Crabs

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catching blue crabs between the two lakes by Harbour Club Villas

catching blue crabs between the two lakes by Harbour Club Villas

Over the last three days there’s been all sorts of activity just down the road from our villas where the waters from Turtle Lake flow through a culvert and into Flamingo Lake. I went down there today with my camera as I had heard from guests that there were all kinds of crabs in the water and on the bank and that some locals were catching them.

Good job you have thick gloves Stanley!!

Good job you have thick gloves Stanley!!

When I arrived on the bank, Stanley who does a little fishing and is from North Caicos, was there with his net and a bucket. He told me that he would be eating real good tonight. I guess they love these little crabs and throw them in a pot and cook them up.

This one was looking quite fierce and didn't want to be caught

This one was looking quite fierce and didn't want to be caught

Stanley said that there were “hundreds” of them the other day when he was out.

It's not easy to throw that net.

It's not easy to throw that net.

I’m not sure just how much crab meat you would get out of some of the crabs.  He was throwing back some of the smaller ones  and was looking forward to a good feast this evening.

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Bonefish Point

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The sandbar at Bonefish Point

The sandbar at Bonefish Point

The sandbar at Bonefish Point is absolute heaven. It doesn’t matter when you go, at low tide, high tide or some where inbetween……….there’s always something special that will catch your eye. Bonefish, star fish, blue crabs scuttling in the shallows, nurse sharks, herons, pelicans, shells and conch too. As you walk along the beach from Osprey Rock to Bonefish Point, you’ll go through different types of beach formation. Some areas are littered with conch, others have coarse particles of coral, a small inlet with smooth round pebbles and of course there’s stretches of fine white sand that the Turks and Caicos are know for.

A blue crab strikes an aggressive pose !

This little blue crab was not happy to be confronted by my camera

This little blue crab was not happy to be confronted by my camera

The weather was perfect today for a trip down to Bonefish Point. I know you’ll enjoy all there is to see and explore at the South West end of the island.

Marta

www.diving.tc