Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero… Read More Heart of The Cosmos
A misty day on the beach at Llanudno, but we can still see the pier dating from the late 1800s stretching out across the sea. The pier is the longest in Wales, being 700m (2,295ft) long. Beyond the Grand Hotel where Winston Churchill once stayed, is a glimpse of the Great Orme. © Peter Hillman… Read More Llandudno Pier
I took this photo of the ‘Sea Serpent’ which the Vikings most likely saw it as from their longships as they approached, and where todays name originates from, as I stood on Llandudno Pier. © Peter Hillman ♦ 18th April 2011 ♦ Llandudno, Wales ♦ Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38
Sounds like the name of a seaside pub, I know. As the sun lowers in the sky a lone gull appears to be preparing for it settled on the sea wall. © Peter Hillman ♦ 21st April 2011 ♦ West Shore Beach, Llandudno, Wales ♦ Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38
Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. Albert Einstein Copyright: Peter HillmanCamera used: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38Date taken: 19th April 2011Place: West Shore Beach, Llandudno, Wales
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. Rachel Carson 1952 No photo filters or effects here … this is a genuine pink sunset. Copyright: Peter HillmanCamera used: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38Date taken: 19th April 2011Place: West Shore… Read More Our Star
Standing amidst the sand dunes watching the sun slip down the distant horizon is such a beautiful spectacle to behold. Soaking up the changing atmosphere as the colours of the sky and sea alter simultaneously, almost like they are melting into one another, a cooling breeze ruffling through your hair is purely awe-inspiring. Distant gulls… Read More Cosmic Connections
I thought you might like a change from spiders 🙂 Please click on an image to get the full vision. Sunset from the West Shore, Llandudno, Wales. April 2017.
Here he or she is just coming into view. Full of spring, full of life, hardly ever keeping still. Always on the move with poor nanny not far behind, ensuring he or she does not get into any serious bother, like falling off the edge of the cliff. Stopping for a chobble, or doing one… Read More The Kid On The Great Orme
Even from a distance one can spot the goats which roam wild on the rugged headland of the Great Orme. I am always amazed how none of them slip off over the edge of the perilous high cliffs as they wander near the edges to fall to their deaths. We came across a small group… Read More The Great Orme Goats
This little Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba), is very difficult to see on a stoney beach and could be another pebble until it moves. I followed this one as it ran along the shoreline. It hopped on the odd, larger stone as if to get a better vantage point or just to rest. Pied Wagtail (Motacilla… Read More Another Pebble On The Beach
Larus argentatus These are the blighters that will swoop down and steal your ice cream or fish and chips whilst on the beach or the seafront. A few years ago I was sitting on a pebble beach and was about to tuck into a nice custard tart when one dive bombed me from behind and… Read More Herring Gull
Oenanthe oenanthe I have admire this little bird for its resilience as it survives the wilds of this prominent headland’s rugged terrain. I think these are all males with their Zorro masks on and their orange buff breasts. It winters in central Africa, and then migrates here for the summer where they breed, mainly in… Read More Wheatear
Anthemis punctata ssp cupaniana At the start of a 4 mile walk around the Great Orme from the West Shore, I discovered these beautiful flowers growing on the cliff faces. In the first two images you can see the rock strewn beach below. It is usually found in southern climes, and here, on the Great… Read More Sicilian Chamomile
No, not cheese on toast, but a bunny from Llandudno with a beautiful seaview home who was just so chilled out on his front porch he didn’t want to move even though I was but a stone’s throw away snapping my camera and saying how cute he was. Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales.… Read More Welsh Rabbit
Geranium robertianum The small flowers of Herb Robert have five rounded pink petals, which fade to white towards the centre. They have two reddish stripes along their length and bright orange anthers. The hairy, scented leaves are deeply palmately divided. The hairy fruit bears a very long beak. It flowers May to September, and it… Read More Herb Robert
Please click on images for full definition. Photograph of Common Mussel (Mytilus edulis) taken April 2013, Llandudno, Wales. Camera Nikon Coolpix P500. © Pete Hillman 2013.
I have shown the two gaper shells on one post to illustrate how different they are, beginning with the Sand Gaper above. Sand Gaper (Mya arenaria) A large and robust bivalve, the shell is oval in shape, the anterior end rounded, the posterior end more pointed. It has concentric ridges and is off-white, grey or… Read More Two Gapers
Macoma balthica The shell is a rounded-oval, although the posterior more angled. The colour is variable from pink to purple, yellow and white. Width 25mm. It is found on the lower shore in muddy sand, and also in estuaries. Common and widespread. Photographs taken June 2012, Llandudno, Wales. Camera Nikon Coolpix P500. © Pete Hillman… Read More Baltic Tellin
This is an off-white or bluish-grey cracked, crustose lichen. Apothecia are rare, but when seen they are tiny with dark steeply convex discs and narrow rims. One or two are found on the areoles. Often found on rocks where seabirds perch in the splash zone, very rarely on exposed rocks inland. Common and widespread on… Read More Aspicilia leprosescens
Verrucaria maura Also called ‘Black Tar Lichen’, it is often confused with oil because of its sooty black nature. It has a regular, almost rectangular areolate pattern. The reproductive bodies are tiny black spots. It occurs on many types of seashore rock, and is often found above the barnacle zone. It can tolerate sea spray… Read More Tar Lichen
Leymus arenarius This is a dense growing, blue-green grass with broad leaves and tall flower spikes. The spikes consist of many overlapping, flattened spikelets. Perennial. Plant height 1.5m. Flower size 35cm long. Flowers July to August. Found on the coast in sand dunes and upper beaches. It is a primary sand dune builder. Common and… Read More Lyme-grass
Haematopus ostralegus This is one of the larger waders, and certainly one of the most distinctive with its black and white body, dazzling red-eye and long, vivid orange-red bill. It has short, pale pink legs, and long and broad white wingbars with a white ‘V’ on its back can be seen when in flight. In… Read More Oystercatcher
Redshank (Tringa totanus) The Redshank has a straight, black-tipped red bill and red legs, as the common name suggests. It has a marbled-brown back and a white, black-spotted underbelly. The males and females are similar, and the juveniles have yellow-brown legs. Length 27 to 29cm. To feed they probe mud and sand with their medium-sized… Read More Catch The Runner!
Tephromela atra Also called ‘Black-eyed Lichen’, it is a crustose, warty lichen, pale grey in colour with distinctive disc-like black fruiting bodies, each with a raised, pale grey rim. Thallus 10cm in diameter. Fruiting body 3mm wide. Found well-lit coastal rocks in the splash zone, on seabird perches such as cliffs, and stone walls inland.… Read More Black Shields
This is a small, dark green lettuce-like algae when wet, which forms flaky coatings over rocks and boulders. Length 1cm. It grows on rocks and stones in the splash zone, mostly frequented by seabirds which drop their faeces from which it gets its nitrates to flourish. A common and widespread species, but mainly seen in… Read More Prasiola stipitata
Porphyra umbilicalis Greenish in colour when young, but becoming purple-red as it matures, and is very resistant to drying out and the action of the waves. It forms thin, delicate sheets which cling to rocks and has a polythene-like texture. Width 20cm. Found attached to rocks in sandy habitats. Abundant and widespread on rocky shores… Read More Purple Laver
Pelvetia canaliculata This seaweed is dark greenish-brown in colour when dry and yellow when wet. It has no gas bladders, the fronds have no midribs, and they are curled along the length forming a channel. Height 15cm. Found on the upper shore attached to rocks. Reproduces from August to September. It is very resiliant to… Read More Channelled Wrack
Ascophyllum nodosum Also called ‘Knotted Wrack’, this is a yellowish to olive-green seaweed, which has long, narrow chain-like fronds with gas-filled bladders. This is a slow-growing seaweed which has no mid-rib. Height 0.5 to 2m. Found on rocky shores, often on the mid-shore, preferring sheltered conditions, extending into estuaries and usually attached to rocks. It… Read More Egg Wrack
Littorina littorea Also called the ‘Edible Periwinkle’, the shell is variable in colour, from black and grey to brown, white or red, and usually patterned with spiral dark lines. It is conical in shape with a pointed apex. This is the largest British periwinkle, but is usually smaller than 50mm. It favours rocky shores upper… Read More Common Periwinkle
Ulva intestinalis This aptly named bright grass green seaweed forms an inflated, tube-like frond which resembles an intestine. Length up to 80cm. Found attached to rocks and stones on sandy or muddy shores, in sheltered estuaries and rock pools on the upper shore. A common and widespread species. Photographs taken April 2013, Llandudno, Wales, and… Read More Gutweed
Anurida maritima A bluish-grey springtail with 3 thoracic segments and 6 abdominal segments. It has 3 pairs of legs. The entire body is covered with white hydrophobic hairs which allow it to stay above the surface of the water on which it spends much of its life. The Rock Springtail cannot leap like other springtails.… Read More Rock Springtail
Nucella lapillus The Dog Whelk’s shell is variable in colour, from white to dark brown, yellow or banded. Thick-shelled, it is broadly conical bearing spiral ridges with a short spire. Shell height 3 to 5cm. It is a fierce predator of mussels, barnacles and other molluscs. It bores a hole into the prey’s shell using… Read More Dog Whelk
The West Shore is the quiter side of Llandudno, Wales, and if you are up early enough you can catch the rays of the sun. Photograph taken April 2014.
Grey Chiton (Lepidochitona cinerea) I enjoy being nosy in rock pools when I visit the coast, and when I first set eyes on one of these I had no idea what it was, so I had to look it up. It is a mollusc, and this particular species has only been around for about 500… Read More Sir Chiton
Ostrea edulis Also called the ‘Flat Oyster’ or the ‘Native Oyster’, it has a thick, rough textured grey-brown shell. It has a deeply cupped left valve, and a smaller flat right valve. Shell diameter 10cm. The Common Oyster is the only native oyster, and is an important source of food for humans and other animals… Read More Common Oyster
