This morning we went to The Ding Darling Nature Reserve and took the dike nature trail in search of whatever animals we could find. In particular we were looking for fiddler crabs and alligators. Unfortunately we weren’t able to spot any alligators but found a good number of fiddler crabs crawling around on the beaches. In addition we found some ant lion holes and were able to dig up one ant lion.

                The most exciting find of the nature trail was the number of horseshoe crabs we spotted. We found approximately 50 horseshoe crabs gathered in a shallow area near the rocky shore. The smaller males were in search of the larger females in order to breed. It was amazing to see all of them together in one spot.  

                Later that day we arrived at Archbold Biological Station and spent some time walking around the property and studying its history before the thunderstorm sent us inside. In the evening, once the storm had passed and the sun had gone down, a few of us went in search of spiders. We found a lot of wolf spiders, including one large female with a bunch of babies on her back, which was a pretty exciting discovery.

Overall, it was a great day full of lots of neat discoveries and there was a ton to see and learn.