The 11th of August 2023 was a typical summer day. The weather was hot and dry from dawn to dusk.
I drove to the Liznjan's harbor early in the morning. In this opening photograph, you can see one of the coastal plants that grow there. Its scientific name is Salicornia fruticosa. In the following photograph ...
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... you can see more plants of the same kind and a bit of the scenery too.
I was there in the harbor to get a kilo of fresh sardines.
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There is a small fish market, just one sales booth near the sea, that sells what local fishermen bring to land if the weather is good.
Too bad that the place was closed at 8 AM when I arrived. According to the working hours displayed on the storefront, it should have been open.
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The name of the seaside mini market is "Black Lobster". It sounds a bit like the name of an obscure superhero to me. The name is written on the sales booth and the refrigerated van, parked across the road. In both cases, there is a lobster artwork to accompany the words. On the booth, the lobster is stylized ...
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... while on the van ...
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... you can see a very realistic version of the iconic crustacean. The scientific name of this particular species is Homarus gammarus.
Since the fish market was closed, I decided to spend some time with the plants and animals in the bay, in the hope that I'll be able to buy the sardines a bit later.
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This is the Carcinus aestuarii, a crab from the Carcinidae family. In the following GIF ...
... the crab is running across the mud in the shallows of the intertidal zone.
On the surface ...
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... something that looks like a dead crab was floating propelled by the current that resembles an invisible little river that flows through the shallow sea.
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This is, actually an empty exoskeleton that a crab has replaced with a brand-new one. The name of the species that left the exoskeleton floating is Pachygrapsus marmoratus.
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Here you can see a small boat stranded near the edge of the intertidal zone.
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If you enlarge this photograph by clicking on it, and if you take the time to explore all the details, you may notice a small bird near the right border of the frame. In the following shot ...
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... I zoomed in on the bird. I zoomed in a lot.
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I'm not sure about the species ...
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... but this sandpiper looks like a common greenshank (Tringa nebularia) to me. I could be wrong, of course.
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The bird was searching for small invertebrates in the mud.
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In this funny GIF, the sandpiper is moving the entire body but its head is firmly in one place. It looks like an interesting dance move.
Here you can see the sea anemone that looks like an underwater flower that grows in the mud of the bay.
These are the leaves of another plant that grows very close to the sea.
Here you can see the flowers of the same plant. The name of the species is Limonium narbonense.
The scientific name of this sea snail with a shell covered with algae is Hexaplex trunculus.
In this GIF, the Carcinus aestuarii is approaching the snail.
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The water in the shallows was calm and exceptionally clear ...
... so I had a lot of fun observing the crabs. It looked like these two Carcinus aestuarii could start a fight or something ...
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... but one of them escaped so nothing happened. Meanwhile ...
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... the sandpiper was still there, busy exploring the mud on the edge of the water.
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The little egret (Egretta garzetta) was hunting in the shallows.
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I used the powerful zoom of my Canon PowerShot SX60 HS camera to bring the elegant bird closer in these two photographs.
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Here you can see a Carcinus aestuarii posing near the Hexaplex trunculus sea snail. At some point ...
... another crab of the same kind that was roaming the same territory came closer ...
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... and the two started a fight.
Now this was a great situation to observe and photograph. This moment alone was worth all the waiting for the fish market to open.
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In this photograph, the ritualized fight looks more like a friendly hug.
While I was following the first and only round ...
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... this hermit crab was minding its own business less than a meter from the fight. Only one leg and an antenna are visible in this shot so I can't tell you what hermit crab exactly this is. But I can tell you that the crab is using the empty shell of the Phorcus turbinatus sea snail.
Here you can see a legit Phorcus turbinatus with a mollusk body inside the shell.
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In this photograph, you can see the little egret and something that looks like an extremely small wooden boat protruding from the shallow sea.
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Here you can see yet another Carcinus aestuarii.
In this, the previous, and the following photograph ...
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... you can follow the same crab on its way across the stones and mud very close to the shore.
This is a juicy green detail of the Salicornia fruticosa plant.
Here you can see the same plant in its coastal, salt marsh habitat.
These are the leaves of the Atriplex prostrate plant.
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This is the last Carcinus aestuarii presented in today's post. You can see it running across the mud in this photograph. In the following triptych ...
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... the same crab is searching for a good hiding place among the stones.
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This photograph shows the pine trees that grow five or six meters from the shore and my car, parked closer to the narrow road that leads to the harbor.
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At half past nine, the fish market opened. Here you can see the board that explains how the fish market project was partially founded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
I finally bought some fresh sardines.
It was time to go home.
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I cleaned the sardines in the outdoor sink in my yard.
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The cat called Miaukula was there to assist me.
In this GIF and the following photograph ...
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... I zoomed in on the fish.
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The day was getting hotter every minute but working with cold fish and cold water in the shade of the elderberry wasn't too bad.
Another cat arrived soon. This one is called Tzvrtchak.
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Tzvrtchak and Miakula ate all the bloody gills and entrails.
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After cleaning the sardines in the yard ...
... it was time to fry them in the kitchen.
Here you can see Tzvrtchak observing the process with great interest. In the following photograph ...
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... the same cat just drank a bit of water from the little pot I use to prepare the coffee in it.
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In this tryptich, the cat called Farabuto is eating the remains of my lunch.
