Tiny spider versus little chick

Rajan Desai's Image

Rajan Desai (India/USA) experiences a surprise encounter between a beach wolf spider and plover chick.

Keen to avoid the beach-going crowds, Rajan had been lying on the sand since sunrise photographing piping plovers. The beach and dunes are an important nesting site for these small shorebirds, which are recovering from near‑extinction.

This chick was foraging for small invertebrates when a beach wolf spider attacked it. Eventually shaking it off, the chick fled to its parents nearby.

Although well-known for their defensive behaviours, beach wolf spiders are rarely aggressive unless provoked, making this attack on the unsuspecting plover especially remarkable. These spiders are athletic, running down their insect prey rather than catching it in webs.

Behind the lens

Rajan Desai

Rajan Desai

India/USA

Rajan became interested in photography at the age of 15 when his uncle gave him a point-and-shoot camera. He became serious about the pursuit when he read the book Photography for the Joy of It by Freeman Patterson and has completed the Mass Audubon's Birder's Certificate Program to learn about birds, their habitats, migration patterns and much more. Rajan wants to experience the hidden wonders in nature all over the world and to capture images that tell a story about the natural world around us.

Image details

  • Sony α1
  • 600mm f4 lens
  • 1/1600 sec at f5.6  •   ISO 400
  • Crane Beach, Massachusetts, USA
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