Shoresearch, Snowdrops and Sunsets

Back in February I persuaded my lovely Mum to come along with me to a Shoresearch event. These are monthly happenings run by the Marine team at Kent Wildlife Trust and aim to record the marine species that are found on the shoreline. Different species are likely to be found depending on the geology of the beach. We went along to the Shoresearch at Copt Point in Folkstone. The weather was gorgeous! Sunshine for the entire time! There was also a record number of people who turned up, with some Wildlife Guides from France joining us. It really was a fascinating few hours - seeing creatures I had never seen before. Find more info at Kent Wildlife Trust - Shoresearch

Fabulous blue skies at Copt Point

Masses of egg wrack (Ascophyllum) - this is one of the only sites where this species of seaweed grows on natural objects

Sugar Kelp - Laminaria saccharina

Dog Whelks - Nucella lapillus

Sea slug - Acanthodoris pilosa

Shore Crab/Common Littoral Crab - Carcinus maenas

Small Spotted Catshark eggcase - Scyliorhinus canicula

Me searching the shore!

Beadlet anemone - Actinia equina

In comparison to the creatures featured above, these more common garden birds may seem dull to many people. However if you watch these little birds I can almost guarantee that you will be surprised at how interesting and endearing they can be. They are the perfect species to observe behaviour of, simply because you can get relatively close to them without them worrying about your presence. I saw an opportunity and took it. The neighbours may have thought I was odd hiding behind the sheets hanging in the garden to dry. Little did they know I was stalking our regular house sparrows and blue tits and watching them devour the fat balls we put out.

Mr and Mrs spuggy having a bite to eat

Gorgeous little blue tit

March 1st is a special day for my family so my Mum, my Auntie and I visited a sweet little church in Challock (Website Here) where there were hundreds of snowdrops. The sun shone occasionally through fast moving clouds and in the sunlight the early daffodils were gleaming and the snowdrops were shimmering.

I'll finish off with some pretty sunset photos from a few weeks ago. I love the wavy patterns the clouds have made.

Licking the ground - odd dog with a right mucky face!

Another post in quick succession from the last one. Just had the odd 20 minutes over the last few days to add to it. Tomorrow afternoon I will set aside some time to read everyone else's blogs and see what you have all been up to! I hope all my readers are well :)