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
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
Common Mussel (Mytilus edulis) Exmouth, Devon. August 2019 © Pete Hillman.
Feel free to click the image to enlarge and click again to get even closer … Various seaweeds, August 2019, Exmouth, Devon, England. © Pete Hillman.
On a stroll across a quieter section of beach where the tide had gone out I came across this little arrangement of rocks. They kind of reminded me of the remains of a prehistoric cairn, although this is most likely child’s play. Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer… Read More Keeping Balance
This mysterious sea mist drifted in from Luccombe Bay. As soon as it appeared it disappeared. Memories of John Carpenter’s ‘The Fog’ came to mind. It had quite an eerie quality to it. Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.
Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer Shanklin Beach, Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.
This photo was taken during a pleasant evening’s walk along Keats Green at Shanklin. In the distance, across Sandown Bay, we can see the white chalk cliffs of Culver Down. We can just make out a tall edifice on its top. It is called the Yarborough Monument, erected in memory to Charles Anderson-Pelham, the 2nd… Read More As The Sun Sets
Sandown Bay, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.
Click once to expand view, click again to get that little bit closer Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) juvenille, Shanklin Beach, Isle of White, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.
I believe these are Shanny (Lipophrys pholis), also called Blenny. As the tide pulled out it left these crystal clear pools of water and in them they teemed with these young fish which moved nimbly through the shallow water. They are so well adapted to their environment you would hardly notice them until they moved.… Read More Spot The Little Fishy
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.
No special effects used here. Just a photo as it is, taken from a clifftop and looking down at the shallows below as the tide rolled in and softly kissed and melted the rocky coastline. Double click image to dive in … April 2017, from atop the Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales.
Double click image to delve deeper into the rockpool. What can you discover? August 2015 Meadfoot Beach, Torquay, Devon.
Double click image to delve deeper into the rockpool. What can you discover? August 2015 Meadfoot Beach, Torquay, Devon.
Common Mussel Mytilus edulis, August 2017, Shanklin Beach, Isle of White, England.
Double click to get in amongst the various seaweeds washed up on the shore. August 2017, Shanklin Beach, Isle of White, England.
Common Limpet Patella vulgata, August 2017, Shanklin, Isle of White, England.
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
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
I don’t know whether periwinkles blow bubbles or not like their terrestrial snail cousins, but this bubble was quite well placed until … … it appeared to pop! Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea), West Shore, Llandudno, Wales.
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
Cerastoderma edule The shell of the Common Cockle is cream to pale yellow or brownish, and it has 22-28 radiating ribs crossed by prominant concentric ridges which may bare short spines. Length up to 5cm. It is found in muddy, sandy and fine gravel shores, from the middle to lower shore. Utilising a muscular foot,… Read More Common Cockle
Scrobicularia plana The shell has numerous fine, concentric rings and grooves. It is dirty white, yellowish or greyish in colour, and is flat, thin and delicate in form. Length 6.5cm. It is found in sheltered, brackish habitats, like estuaries and muddy shores where it burrows up to 20cm, leaving behind a star-shaped tell-tale impression on… Read More Peppery Furrow
Chamelea gallina The colour of the shell is pale cream or yellowish, usually marked with three prominent radiating brown bands. It is fairly thick and has fine concentric ridges. Length 4cm. It is found buried in the lower shore to sublittoral, and it can live up to 10 years. Common and widespread on all coasts,… Read More Striped Venus Clam
Donax vittatus This mollusc has a shiny white to yellow, purple or greyish-brown slender wedge-shaped shell. Growth stages show as pale bands. The inner surfaces are tinted white, purple, yellow or orange. Length up to 38mm. Found on the middle to lower shore where it burrows into coarse sand and lives just below the surface.… Read More Banded Wedge Shell
Polinices catenus The Necklace Shell has a buff to pale yellow shell with a spiral row of brownish marks near its upper edge. Similar to Alder’s Necklace Shell which is smaller and darker. Shell height up to 3cm. It is found buried in the lower shore, in sheltered to moderately exposed sand. It feeds on… Read More Necklace Shell
Pharus legumen The shell is elongate, thin and brittle. There are numerous fine concentric lines, with a group of fine radiating striae. It is white or light brown, light olive or yellow. The hinge and ligament is positioned about a third of the way along the length of the mollusc. Length up to 130mm. It… Read More Bean Solen
Patella vulgata Have you ever wondered what the underside of a limpet looked like? Note the large muscular foot, the relatively small mouth above, and the tentacles either side. The Common Limpet has an ashen-grey or greenish-blue shell, sometimes with a yellow tint, and with radiating ridges. It is conical with an almost central apex.… Read More Common Limpet
Mytilus edulis Also called the ‘Blue Mussel’, the shells are dark brown, blue-black, or purple in colour. Shell length up to 10cm. It is found middle to lower shore, and attaches itself to rocks via byssus threads. It will also find crevices in the rocks, or attach themselves to manmade structures like piers and harbour… Read More Common Mussel
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
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
Saccharina latissima Also called ‘Sugar Kelp’ or ‘Poor Man’s Weatherglass’, this is a long, belt-like brown to olive coloured seaweed with wavy edges and a crinkled centre. Length 4cm. It grows in deep pools and around the low tide mark, usually on sheltered rocky shores attached to rocks with a small branching holdfast. A common… Read More Sea Belt
Polysiphonia lanosa A brownish-red seaweed which is tufted and made up of branching filaments which gives it a wool-like consistancy. Length 70cm. Found middle to low shore, and grows mainly on Egg Wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) for physical support, known as an epiphyte. It makes use of the hosts buoyancy at high tide so it will… Read More Egg Wrack Wool
Fucus serratus Also called “Saw Wrack’ or ‘Serrated Wrack’, this is an olive to golden brown seaweed, flattened with a prominant midrib and saw-toothed fronds. Length 60cm. Frond width 2cm. Found on the lower zone, it latches onto rocks on more sheltered shores. A common and widespread species. Photographs of Toothed Wrack (Fucus serratus), taken… Read More Toothed Wrack
Fucus spiralis Also called ‘Flat Wrack’, it is a dark olive-brown or greenish seaweed with a prominent midrib with no gas bladders. There are often pairs of swollen reproductive bodies on the tips of the frond branches. The fronds have a tendency to twist. Length 15 to 20cm. Occurring on the upper shore, preferring sheltered… Read More Spiral Wrack
