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Tag Archives: rhos-on-sea

Going Wild on the Beaches

10 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by theresagreen in coastal walks, coastal wildflowers, Nature of Public Places, Nature of Wales, North Wales, Wildlife of the Wales Coast Path

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Buck's-horn Plantain, Curled Dock, flowering in June, flowering in May, rhos-on-sea, Sea Beet, street wildflowers, wildflowers on beaches

Rhos-on-Sea

Rhos-on-Sea has a small sandy beach protected from the worst of the elements by the piled stones of the breakwater wall.

Most of the time it’s quiet, with most beach-seekers opting for the bigger expanse of sand further round Colwyn Bay, but it can get busy on warm sunny days as it’s handy for the village cafés, shops and the all-important public loos. It’s popular too with some of the younger local Herring Gulls whilst the grown-ups are otherwise occupied with raising the next generation.

The nearby wooden jetty is a draw for those wanting to try out the gentle sport of ‘crabbing’ too.

But my interest in the beach is with other visitors, the opportunistic wildflowers that grow there, mainly at the back of the sandy beach pressed against the sea wall.

The line of small dinghies lodged haphazardly against the wall don’t get much exercise by the look of things, but they help give the plants a bit more shelter. There’s a nice spread of Wall Barley,

Wall Barley- Hordeum murinum

then more Wall Barley, touches of Dandelion and Groundsel surround a clump of Sweet Alison. This does have origins as a wildflower and it grows wildly around the Mediterranean, but is more familiar to us as a garden edging plant. This one is probably the offspring of such a one that has escaped the formality of a bedding scheme in favour of a wilder life.

There’s more Dandelion, past flowering for now, and a couple of clumps of Curled Dock. This is one of our two most common docks, whose narrower leaves with wavy edges make it distinguishable from the other more familiar Broad-leaved Dock, a much sturdier plant whose leaves we used as kids to alleviate the pain of nettle stings.

Dandelion and Curled Dock-Rumex crispus

Sea Mayweed-Tripleurospermum maritimum

 

There’s some Sea Beet here, but much more further along, so I’ll get back to that. By far the most prolific plant though is Sea Mayweed, which has the odd flower open but although it’s leaves are pretty, it’s not at its best yet.

There’s another Mayweed too, the Pineapple Mayweed, so named because it’s supposed to smell of the fruit when it’s crushed.

Pineapple Mayweed-Matricaria discoidea

More Curled Dock, silvery-grey leaved Fat Hen which is not flowering yet and Shepherd’s Purse with the distinctive heart-shaped seed capsules that give it its common name.

Curled Dock, Fat Hen and Shepherds Purse

And to finish this section a nice group photo featuring most of the aforementioned main characters.

At the far end of the beach, there’s a change in character. The sand thins  gradually petering out, and the now stony ground offers an opportunity for other plant species to stake a claim. I find it amazing that any plant can survive the harsh conditions of any beach, let alone one as exposed and seemingly hostile as this one. Some like the Sea Beet and the Curled Dock are perennials and look tough enough to have staked a permanent claim.  Others appear at first sight to be small and fragile, although looks are often deceptive and some, like this White Clover should surely be somewhere more lush and grassy?

Growing through the clover in my photo above are bits of a plant I like very much, the Buck’s-horn Plantain, named for the shape of its attractive leaves. This one is a toughie, and is found on disturbed ground and on rocky sites mainly near the sea, but it may be pushing its boundaries a bit here.

Bucks-horn Plantain-Plantago coronopus

There’s a sprinkling of Annual Wall Rocket plants

Annual Wall Rocket-

and a straggly looking Cat’s-ear, one of the few hawkbit-hawk’s beard or otherwise dandelion-flowered hawk-something that I think I know.

Cats-ear-Hypochaeris radicata

There’s more ferny-foliaged Sea Mayweed

Sea Mayweed

more Curled Dock

Curled Dock

and another one of my favourite toughies, the pretty Common Mallow.

Common Mallow-Malva

There’s more Wall Barley too.

And some impressive specimens of Sea Beet. I’m surprised this doesn’t get fashionably-foraged for one of our trendier local restaurants – it’s the plant from which our cultivated beets originated, so does have edible roots.

Behind the now empty buildings it grows prolifically.

Speaking of the buildings, I stop and wonder what will happen to them. They are very much a local landmark with an interesting history. An impressive pier once stretched out into the sea from this point and the buildings, including the iconic octagonal one, originally served as a toll both and entrance building for passengers embarking on steamers that docked here. There have been a few subsequent changes of use since the council finally bought the pier and demolished it in 1954. Many people seem to particularly remember the café once located here.The  walls on this beach side also form part of the sea wall, so perhaps partly for that reason their continuing presence was secured last May when it was added to the Grade II list of buildings.

Looking towards the old pier buildings

Leaving the beach there were more little plants to see on the paved areas at the side of the buildings and on the steps leading up to the front of it, so maybe this area is not included on the council’s weed hit list.

Against the pink-painted wall

Sow Thistle, Rocket & Chickweed

and from a crack in the paving

Pineapple Mayweed & Wall Barley

and growing across a drain grille was this White Stonecrop

White Stonecrop

THE PROMENADE

From here I walked back along the Prom; this view is taken looking back  along a section I’d already walked along   

Promenade Rhos on Sea

and this is going forward showing the embankment. Quite unusually I thought, it had been allowed to grow long, so was sprinkled with patches of buttercups, red clover and flowering grasses. It’s uncut state is probably more to do with council budget cuts than as an aid to wildlife. I’m sure it’ll be neatened up before the start of the official High Season.

Buttercups and Plantain

Red Clover

Sweet Vernal Grass
Sweet Vernal Grass
False Oat Grass
False Oat Grass
Yorkshire Fog
Yorkshire Fog
Cock's-foot Grass
Cock’s-foot Grass

Several plants have colonised the huge piled up rocks that provide extra sea defence, including a Sycamore tree which is currently flowering and  visited by Bumblebees. Despite the sunshine and the flowers on offer, admittedly not a great selection, there were very few insects about. I saw perhaps half a dozen bees and one White sp. butterfly.

Sycamore flowers with Bumblebee

The daisies have been spectacular here this year.

Daisies by the sea

To finish, almost home I spotted another couple of little gems tucked in against walls on the street

Wall Speedwell

and two tiny pink-flowered Cranesbills

Dove's-foot Cranesbill
Dove’s-foot Cranesbill
Shining Cranesbill
Shining Cranesbill

 

 

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Clifftop to seashore

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by theresagreen in birds of the seashore, Nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

brown seaweed, Linnet, Little Orme, redshank, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, rhos-on-sea, rocky seashores, seashore walks

I will be following the migrating birds soon, leaving the cooling shores of North Wales for the warmer ones of southern Spain, but I have a few things left that I want to include in the blog before I leave, including this last walk up to the Little Orme and back along the seashore to Rhos-on-Sea.

This was a very sunny day following a week or so of cooler rainy days. Arriving at the headland there was a strong breeze blowing in from the sea, so although it felt very warm in sheltered spots,it was considerably cooler out in the open.

Kestrel hovering over the cliff slope

As I walked towards the bay I was surprised by the sight of a Kestrel hovering low down over the cliff edge. Views of Kestrels have been scarce during the time I’ve been here, so although the photograph I took is not good I’ve used it as testament to having seen one at all. I love these little raptors and never cease to be amazed at their ability to hang almost motionless in the air for minutes at a time. This one was utilising the wind and air currents and remained suspended in this position for quite some time, perhaps having spotted potential prey, before being disturbed by people walking along the path close by.

There were very few insects about ; this Common Blue butterfly sheltered from the wind down in the long grass

I reached the cliff edge above the bay and sat for a while looking out over the sea. I had half-hoped I might see a seal or two here as they do breed in the locality, but all I saw was a lone Guillemot swimming and diving in the choppy water. The sighting was another first for me here, so I was pleased to see it, if only briefly. By far the commonest and most numerous birds here currently are cormorants, with a great number of them being dotted around the lower slope of the cliff and more flying back and forth. They are such a feature of the area that I think they merit a post of their own, so they will probably be the subject of my next one.

There is a published list of the ‘special’ plants found growing within the Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve on the Little Orme. Many had finished flowering by the time I arrived here in July, but I have discovered a few of them during the course of my walks. I was pleased to add one more today, the Wild Cabbage. It doesn’t sound too glamorous I know, but it is not a common plant, so its continued presence here is quite important.

Brassica oleracea, or wild cabbage, is a species of Brassica that is mainly native to coastal southern and western Europe. Its tolerance of salt and lime and its intolerance of competition from other plants typically restrict its natural occurrence to limestone sea cliffs.

Wild Cabbage-Brassica oleracea

Wild B. oleracea is a tall biennial plant. In the first year of growth the plant forms a stout rosette of large leaves. The leaves are fleshier and thicker than those of other species of Brassica, which are adaptations made by the plant to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a flower spike 1 to 2 metres (3–7 ft) tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.

The dry, spent flower spikes of a wild cabbage plant. I like the effect of the tracery of bone dry silvery stems against the clear blue sky.

These cliffs are the haunt of corvids; I heard the characteristic deep ‘bark’ calls of Ravens and looked up to see a pair circling the rocky peak. There were one or two Carrion Crows about and quite a few Jackdaws foraging around on the ground.

A glossy black Jackdaw, beak agape

There wasn’t a great deal else to see here today that I have not already mentioned in previous posts, which perversely I was quite glad about: I would hate to think I might be leaving having missed something.

I had walked along the promenade and around the residential streets to get here, so I decided to walk back along the seashore as far as I could, accessing the beach via the steps at the end of a walkway between the houses. This far end of the beach of Penrhyn Bay, sheltered by the cliffs of the Little Orme has a different character to the open stretches leading to Rhos-on-Sea. Some vegetation has become established, nothing wildly exciting, but clumps of flowering Sea Mayweed were attracting quite a few insects.

Drone fly on a flower of Sea Mayweed

The seashore of Rhos-on-Sea consists of rocks in various sizes and first impressions may be of a harsh, barren environment predominantly coloured in shades of brown. It is not the traditional people-friendly playground that most holidaymakers seek; even walking across the uneven rocky surface is a feat of endurance requiring concentration and a good sense of balance lest you stumble and twist an ankle or worse. But the rocks form an essential part of the protective barrier between land and sea, dissipating some of the force of wild winter seas and creating a rich and reasonably undisturbed environment for wildlife.

A view to the Little Orme and Penrhyn Bay across the rocky seashore

The view in the opposite directions to Rhos-on-Sea and beyond

Some of the birds I photographed on my walk today:

A Redshank wading on the sea edge

Curlew investigating his reflection in a rockpool

Turnstone

A Herring Gull preparing to take off from a rock

Lift off. The gull has beautiful wings and they need strength too to be able to lift up that bulky body from a standing start. I think this one may have something wrong with its foot.

I spotted some small birds fly over the sea wall and land on the rocks of the breakwater that I imagine defines the boundary between Penrhyn Bay and Rhos-on-Sea. It was a little party of Linnets that were here to feast on the seeds of the wild plants that manage to grow here.

A little flock of Linnets gathered at the base of the sea wall to feed on flower seeds

Linnet-Carduelis cannabina, in winter plumage with a beak full of seeds

The tide was on its way out, leaving behind freshly exposed rocks covered with gleaming seaweed and a myriad of shallow rock pools. This is such an important habitat for wading birds I felt it would be remiss of me not to include a very brief look at some of the predominant features of this part of the seashore.

Bladder Wrack-Fucus vesiculosus

Brown seaweeds are the most common type of seaweed found on rocky beaches. They normally have a method to strongly attach themselves to rock surfaces.The brown colour of the seaweed is due to the brown pigment fucoxanthin overriding the green pigment chlorophyll. Both pigments are used in the photosynthesis of light, fucoxanthin improving the process when the algae is covered by water.

Toothed Wrack-Fucus serratus, underwater

Small dry clumps of seaweed are a common sight blowing around on many beaches. Also in this pool is some bright green Sea Lettuce-Ulva lactulva

The Limpet's conical shape means there is a large surface area in contact with the rockface. This allows for a large foot, providing limpets with a phenomenal grip, to such an extent that they cannot easily be prised off by hand.Limpets have an important affect on their environment, they keep it clear of algae. If you look in rock pools, often the only algae seen growing is on the ungrazed backs of limpets.

Periwinkles abound here, I think they are the edible variety. Brown leathery straps of seaweed are Oarweed-Laminaria digitata.

Of course, being me, once I started paying proper attention I kept noticing more and more, but I have to leave my self more to discover next time I am here, so that’s it from this seashore for now.


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Birds and the art of fly catching

20 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by theresagreen in Birds, birds of the seashore, Nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

anthus petrosus, motacilla alba yarellii, Pied Wagtail, rhos-on-sea, rock pipit

As I continued my walk behind the rocky sea-break, it occurred to me that if I was finding it hard going walking against the strong wind,then the small birds I was hoping to see may be finding it even harder and may not be there today. Fortunately I was underestimating the powerful draw that an abundant supply of food is to hungry intelligent and opportunistic birds.The reason the Rock Pipits and the Pied Wagtails, (both species members of the motacillidae family) gather in this small area, more-or-less at the spot where Rhos-on-Sea becomes Penrhyn Bay is not pretty. A sewer outlet, that I was informed serves the village of Mochdre, runs beneath the sea wall and out into the sea here, and for some reason I do not really want to ponder too much, large numbers of flies swarm around the sea wall here. The flies are quite sizeable and it was quite unpleasant walking through the midst of a crowd of them, but the opportunity they presented to watch some beautiful birds in action was well worth a bit discomfort.

Rock Pipit-Anthus petrosus

I sat down close to where the main fly-catching action was taking place hoping the birds would not feel too threatened by the presence of me and my long camera lens. At first both Pipits, of which there were 2,  and the more numerous Wagtails did fly off, but only to a very short distance away and they returned to resume their feasting very quickly, elegantly pursuing their prey along the top of the sea wall then darting across to the rocks and back again. Their speed and acrobatic turns were impressive and highly entertaining, mostly too quick for my manually-focused lens, but wonderful to observe.

Rock pipit – Anthus petrosus

Family: Motacillidae

Scientific name from: Gr.: anthos=a small grassland bird described by Aristotle and Gr.: petros=a rock

Rock Pipit-Anthus petrosus

A coastal bird with a preference for rugged coastlines, Rock Pipits are easy to miss as their inconspicuous plumage shaded in greys, olives and buffs blends readily with the seaweed as they search for food amongst the boulders. It is larger and darker than its close relative, the meadow pipits and has a more heavily-streaked breast and dark olive-brown upper parts. In flight the dark-coloured legs and orange soles of the feet may be seen.

The Rock Pipit can be identified by grey outer tail feathers (white in Meadow Pipit) and by its alarm call - a thin 'phist'

The Rock Pipit is very strongly linked to rocky shores and usually nests in rather inaccessible sites on cliffs and among boulders of sheltered coves and gullies. During the winter months however, it sometimes deserts the high cliffs and may be seen on flat sandy coastlines and inland at sewage farms, floodlands and the borders of reservoirs.

Rock Pipit chasing flies across seaweed covered rocks

Their food includes a large proportion of marine animals, such as sandhoppers, small worms and marine molluscs.

Rock Pipits live partly on insects living in rotting seaweed, such as kelp flies. It also eats seashore plant food. This one was on the beach around Rhos harbour.

 Pied Wagtail – Motacilla alba yarrellii

Scientific name from:  Greek: muttex a bird described by Hesychius and Latin: albus=white

Family: Motacillidae

Once regarded as a species in its own right, the pied wagtail is now regarded by ornithologists as a race of the white wagtail of mainland Europe and Asia. The white wagtail may be seen on migration; it has paler grey upper parts and there is no join between the black cap and bib.

Increased numbers of Pied Wagtails have been a regular sight across the area for some weeks now. Small parties of them, which as they are mixed adults and juveniles could be families, can often be spotted foraging on the seashore amongst the vegetation and dry seaweed.

Pied Wagtail on the beach - black cap and bib merge together

Pied Wagtails really live up to their name, with black upper parts, throat and breast contrasts sharply with a white forehead, face and chest and long black tails that are in constant motion. Females show a lesser degree of contrast and have less black on their heads and a slate-grey back.

Juveniles are brownish-grey above, dusty below, with black crescent-shaped breast-band

Probably a more-developed juvenile, this bird still lacks the black throat of the adult

Overhead the Pied Wagtail’s call is as distinctive as their undulating, looping flight – a few flaps followed by a descending glide that is accompanied constantly by the ‘tschizzuck’ flight call.

In the early evenings I have seen them gathering on the lawns lining the streets that back onto the Little Orme. Pied Wagtails roost communally during the winter, often in great numbers, meeting up in the same place every evening before taking off together to roost for the night. Roosts may be in a reedbed, a copse or even in a built-up area.

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Between the rocks and the sea wall

19 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by theresagreen in Nature, nature photography

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

crystals in limestone rock, lichens on rock, limestone rock, moss on rock, rhos-on-sea, riprap breakwater, sea wall

On days when the wind blows in strongly from the north-east, blustering across the Irish Sea and whipping up the waves into foamy ‘sea-horses’, strolling along the promenade can be challenging and I have to admit, not that pleasant. On such a day I was heading towards Penrhyn Bay hoping to catch sight of Rock Pipits and to photograph Pied Wagtails, both of which I had seen recently on and around the sea wall there. The strength of the wind took me by surprise and if I had gone out with the sole purpose of taking an enjoyable walk I may well have reviewed my plans and set off elsewhere, but as I’d never seen Rock Pipits elsewhere, I was keen to see some.

Fortunately there is an alternative walk-way that was created when the original sea wall was constructed: a ledge, about 3′ (1m) wide was created on the wall’s seaward side placed about half-way up its height. In the 1980’s further protection from the wild winter seas was required and the breakwater, consisting of an immense pile of enormous rocks was piled in front of the wall. The rock pile rises higher than the walkway ledge, thus creating a sheltered passageway between the two structures. There is no view from there, the dark seawall encloses one side and the length of the summit of the rock pile the other, so other than for shelter from the wind I would not normally choose to walk this way.

A length of the rock breakwater running from Rhos-on-Sea to Penrhyn Bay in front of the sea wall

The piling of large rocks, also known as riprap, at the base of vertical Edwardian and Victorian sea walls is frequently used as a secondary defence mechanism to prevent them being undermined. Riprap works by absorbing and deflecting the impact of waves before they reach the defended structure. The size and mass of the riprap material absorbs the impact energy of waves, while the gaps between the rocks trap and slow the flow of water, lessening its ability to erode soil or structures on the coast. 

As I walked along, wondering where the vast amount of rock had been taken from, I began to see this confined, shaded and slightly claustrophobic space in a different way. I was drawn to individual rocks that had interesting surface patterns, crystals or layers of other types of rock or minerals and wished I knew what they were. I recognised too that a micro-climate exists here that is helping to create a habitat for an interesting number of plant species from vascular plants to mosses and lichens.

Limestone rock with a tracery of worm-like squiggles and touches of pink colouration. The pink stuff may be a lichen.

The rocks themselves are predominantly locally-occurring limestone and it is humbling to reflect on the fact that eons ago they would have been forming the sea-bed and now carry evidence to ancient life forms.

The beautiful crystals in this picture may be dolomite or perhaps quartz and the purple may be fluorite.

An interesting crystal-like deposit

A ribbon of mineral(s) marks this rock

A macro view of a patch of a Xanthoria sp of algae

A yellow-coloured species of algae

Cushions of moss

Plants have begun to colonise some of the spaces between the rocks and somehow manage to grow at the base of the rocks where they make contact with the sea wall.

A fern squeezing out from between two rocks

Ivy-leaved Toadflax - Cymbalaria muralis

An enlarged view of the delightful little flower and leaves of the Ivy-leaved toadflax

A tiny flower, enlarged, that I think may be English stonecrop-Sedum anglicum. The spiky leaves in the background are of a separate plant, quite possibly Thrift.

Red Valerian is an intrepid and highly successful uninvited coloniser that originates from the Mediterranean region

Red valerian has very pretty flowers that here were attracting several small moth-like insects that I think may have been Owl Midges.

Growing up between the rocks and the sea wall, I have yet to identify this plant

As they frequently do, my walk turned out to be unexpectedly interesting and I did get to see my Rock Pipits, which will be featured in my next post that will be following very shortly.

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Turnstones

19 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by theresagreen in wading birds

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bird migration, birds on the seashore, brown black and white bird with orange legs, migrant birds, rhos-on-sea, small wading birds, Turnstone, turnstone flock

The tide was high this morning when I arrived at the promenade, so I was not expecting to see many birds about foraging on the shore, but I’m happy enough to just watch the sea, so I looked out over the railings anyway . I’m glad I did that, as there beneath me, a whole flock of Turnstones were perched atop the sea-defence boulders immediately below. The birds were either resting quietly or catching up on their preening as they waited for the tide to turn and expose the rock shore once more.

11/9/11- Turnstone dozing

Turnstone-Arenaria interpres

Turnstones are distinctive medium-sized waders. They are high Arctic breeders, and are migratory. They are chunky powerful birds that have strong necks and bills that are well suited to their feeding technique. As the name implies, these species readily turn stones, shells or seaweed looking for hidden invertebrates. They eat insects, crustaceans and molluscs.

11/9/11-Members of the flock were resting or preening their feathers

As the birds were obligingly still, I counted 70 birds in varying sized groups spread along a length of the rocks, but there may have been more below and out of my sight.

11/9/11-The birds' rest was temporarily disturbed by a splashing wave

It would be interesting to know where the birds have come from as these particular birds have not been here for long. Turnstones are present around our coastline for most of the year. Birds from Northern Europe pass through in July and August and again spring, then Canadian and Greenland birds arrive in August and September and remain until April and May. Non-breeding birds may stay through the summer.

11/9/11-Plumage is mottled shades of brown, black, grey and chestnut brown. The head is patterned either brown and white or black and white. Underparts are white. Legs are orange.

Turnstones spend most of their time foraging creeping and fluttering over rocks, picking out food from under stones.

Their appearance is striking in flight, with white patches on the back, wings and tail.

Where to see them

Turnstones are found all around the UK coastline. They are strictly coastal,and are seen on stony, sandy and muddy shores beaches and are often found together with other waders such as Purple Sandpipers. The birds particularly like feeding on rocks covered with seaweed, and will feed along seawalls and jetties.

 

 

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Stormy Bank Holiday weather

17 Saturday Sep 2011

Posted by theresagreen in Nature

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Tags

colwyn bay pier, crashing waves, dramatic weather, rhos-on-sea, stormy sea, stormy weather

The Met Office raised the alarm over “persistent, heavy and possibly thundery rain” across south-west England and parts of south Wales on Friday, spreading to east and north-east England later in the day. For Saturday and Sunday, the warnings spread to north-east Scotland, the Orkneys and Shetland, which could face spells of torrential rain and winds of up to 50mph. Overall, the UK is anticipating a particularly gloomy weekend weather-wise. The traditional end to the summer season is likely to see temperatures struggling to a lukewarm peak of 18C (64F), even if many places will escape heavy rain.

There was no specific mention of North Wales in the above weather bulletin, but all of the above applied, including the rain. With my two small granddaughters visiting and anticipating some  sea-side fun, the weather certainly provided a challenge. On Monday, dressed warmly and armed with raincoats, we decided to take them to Conwy to explore the castle and weather permitting, to take a walk around the town walls.

Although it wasn’t raining when we left the house, it was quite breezy and the sea at Rhos was quite rough, but a bit further round the bay in front of the old pier at Colwyn, it was wild, with waves crashing over the lower sea walls. We sat in the car watching for a while, but I had to get out and take some photographs.

(click on images to make them larger)

28/8/11-The view back towards Rhos-on-Sea

28/8/11- A cycle of big waves beginning to build

28/8/11-Waves continuing to build

28/8/11-The force of the waves was quite scary

28/8/11- The full force of the biggest wave in the sequence

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Rhos-on-Sea- seashore surprises

24 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by theresagreen in birds of the seashore, Nature, Nature of Wales

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Tags

Crow dropping shellfish onto rocks, Curlew, curlew on seashore, intelligent behaviour of crow, migrant hoverfly, rhos-on-sea

Walk from Penrhyn Bay to Abbey Road, Rhos-on-Sea

The beach of Penrhyn Bay is mostly made up of shingle, a hostile environment for plants, but some tough species have gained a hold there, spreading forward from the base of the sea wall.

24/7/11-Dock plants growing on the seashore with the Little Orme in the background

Shingle as a habitat

Shingle plants will begin to colonise above the high tide mark. Below this the moving pebbles will prevent any seedlings getting a stable hold. The plants that grow on the shingle usually have long and tough roots able to withstand the friction of the pebbles that will be disturbed by storms. Often referred to as a desert-like environment, plants like dock have water-retaining leaves that enable them to be one of the larger colonisers of this unique habitat, while smaller plants may be able to harness the water that collects on the surface of the pebbles.

24/7/11-Penrhyn Bay beach-Common Mallow growing on the shingle was attracting insects
24/7/11-Penrhyn Bay beach -a Migrant Hoverfly resting on a mallow leaf

I left the beach where the shingle  gives way to the rocky shore of Rhos-on-Sea, keeping an eye on the beach from the promenade. A Black-headed Gull caught my attention and I stopped to have a closer look. The gull was standing on a patch of muddy sand and I was intrigued to see the tops of car tyres protruding above the sand behind it. The way they were placed seemed to be deliberate, so I wondered if they are being used to reinforce the sea-break or stabilise the sand? They must have been there for a good while as some have seaweed growing over them.

24/7/11-Black-headed Gull with tyres bedded in the sand behind it

Focusing my attention on the gull and the tyres, I had half-noticed a brownish coloured bird against the rocks behind them that I thought was a young Herring Gull. When I gave it proper attention I had a pleasant surprise; it was actually a wader, either a Whimbrel or a Curlew, that was foraging around the rocks, probing its long curved beak into the the muddy sand.It was so well camouflaged against the rocks it was difficult to keep track of it, but I got a better view when it spent a couple of minutes in a more open pool of water.

24/7/11-Curlew on the sea shore
27/7/11-The Curlew blended perfectly into its surroundings

The wader disappeared from sight amongst the rocks and I carried on with my walk. I didn’t get far before I stopped again to watch a Crow that was acting strangely, flying up into the air then diving down again. It took a few minutes to realise that what it was doing: it was searching for a shellfish, picking it up in its beak, flying up then dropping it onto the rocks hoping to break it and diving down after it.

24/7/11-The shellfish does not drop straight down, so the crow has to follow it quickly or lose sight of it. 
24/7/11-The crow is surprisingly agile and turns quickly to make a steep dive
24/7/11-Diving Crow keeping its eyes on the landing position of its snack

There was quite a gap between each performance which I thought may have been either because the shellfish needed to be a particular size or species, or perhaps needed to be partially open, or  simply that each mouthful obtained this way required so much effort – it may well take more than one drop to smash a shell. I was fascinated by their behaviour and very impressed with their ingenuity; clever things.

There were quite a few gulls about; Lesser Black-backed gulls, Herring gull adults and juveniles and a few more Black-headed gulls. Herring gulls frequently chase other birds they see flying with food in their bills, hoping to steal it if possible. During an interlude in the Crow entertainment I spotted a mottled brown and white bird that I took to be a juvenile Herring gull being chased by an adult; as it broke away and flew towards me I was surprised again to see that it was another Curlew carrying something quite large in its bill; a crab I think.

24/7/11-Curlew flying with food

The Curlew flew back along the sea edge towards Penrhyn Bay, landing a short distance away from me amongst a cluster of rocks. Watching it closely I could see other Curlews gathered there, difficult to count as they are very hard to see, but at least another three.

It’s amazing what you see sometimes when you don’t set out to look! 

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Oystercatchers, and more on the seashore

21 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by theresagreen in Nature, Nature of Wales

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Tags

3-pronged Bristletail, birds of North Wales, birds on the seashore, large jellyfish, motacilla yarellii, Oystercatcher, oystercatchers flying, petrobius maritimus, Pied Wagtail, rhos-on-sea

28 April

I was leaving sunny Rhos-on-Sea to start heading back to rainy Spain this evening (with a few days in London first), so a last walk along the promenade and seashore was a must this morning. It was a good day to leave on, the morning was bright sunny and warmish, cooled by a bit of a breeze that made for a pleasant temperature for walking.

My first stop was at the rocky breakwater, where I was hoping there may be some birds foraging, but there were only Herring Gulls. As I was about to move on though I heard the familiar ‘tschissick’ call of a Pied Wagtail and one duly arrived, landing just a couple of metres away from me. I’d had a couple of previous sightings of the birds, around the golf course area and a male ‘singing’ from a rooftop, but this was a perfect view of a female. The male bird is all black above and has sooty-grey flanks; female is dark grey on mantle/back but has black crown, rump and uppertail-coverts. Slightly different in appearance to the race of Motacilla alba we see in Spain and the rest of Europe, this is Motacilla alba yarrellii that occurs in Britain and Ireland and locally on adjacent Continental coasts.

Pied Wagtail – Motacilla alba yarrellii (female)
A Carrion Crow flew down to forage on the newly exposed seashore

The tide was on its way out exposing a narrow strip of pebble beach, so I walked down to it via a concrete ramp to see if anything interesting may have been left by the receding sea. On the walls of the ramp, nicely warmed by the sun I noticed several little insect-things scuttling about, which on closer inspection turned out to be Bristletails – of the 3-Pronged variety.

3-pronged Bristletail – Petrobius maritimus

The insects belong to a primitive group of wingless insects (Apterygota) that are dependent on humid conditions. The 3-Pronged Bristletails belong to a small order ( Thysanura), all the members of which have 3 ‘tails’, comprising 2 cerci and a central projection known as the epiproct. The most familiar member of the group is the Silverfish. I am open to correction on this, but from my research and based on their location I am assuming the ones I saw to bePetrobius maritimus:

Description: A slender brown insect, up to 15mm long, with antennae that are almost as long as the body. Central ‘tail’ distinctly longer than the 2 side tails. Habitat: Close to high watermark on rocky coasts and short distance inland in crevices. Status and distribution: Common and locally common throughout in suitable habitats.

I’ve seen very similar-looking  insects to this on our covered terrace walls in Spain, but we are a  kilometre or so  inland from the sea, so perhaps we were closer once upon a time and they got marooned and have adapted. I must try to find one and compare them.

Reaching the beach I disturbed a group of Herring Gulls that had been foraging on the sea edge. They flew up and began circling around, voicing their objection loudly and their proximity gave me a moment of anxiety as I visualised a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’. Then it occurred to me that they may have been alarmed by my long camera lens, so if they thought it may be a gun I was quite safe from attack. Phew.

I was soon distracted by birds I had been hoping to see, a number of Oystercatchers, very handsome in their immaculate black and white plumage, were standing on rocks at the sea edge looking down at the receding water and anything edible it may be leaving behind.

Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus

Oystercatchers waiting for the tide to go out
The birds’ comings and goings gave the opportunity to see their outstretched wings
The birds grouped together to await a feeding opportunity
A few minutes later the birds began to venture into the shallow receding water
A bird probing the sea bed
The back of an Oystercatcher flying away, showing white rump and black tail-band

I became absorbed by the sight and was enjoying my close-up views of the birds, so the arrival of  a man with his dog startled me. He  stopped to chat to me and I told him I was watching the Oystercatchers – the camera with a big lens may have given him a clue I was taking photographs too, but he carried on walking straight towards them anyway. Needless to say they all took off to look for somewhere more peaceful.

Oystercatchers flying away

The expansive mussel beds located here attract large numbers of Oystercatchers, although they also feed on cockles, limpets, small crabs, shrimps and worms. Breeding takes place after the wintering flocks have broken up, in mid-April in the south and May or June further north.

I turned to retrace my steps up to the promenade, almost stepping on this huge stranded lump of a jellyfish.

A stranded jellyfish – the only big one I know is a Portugese Man o’ War, but I’m not sure what this is . I don’t imagine the hot sun would do it much good.
Common limpets- Patella vulgata and an edible periwinkle- Littorina littorea
Pebble beach

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