Newts - As promised!

Great Crested Newts as promised. The individual in the top picture looks like a female as she has a pale lower edge to her tail. In the lower picture there are three. Can you spot the third? - which, incidentally, if you find him is the only definite male in the picture?

I had a quick peek over the seawall at lunchtime. A couple of Sandwich Terns were on the beach with a huge number of Herring and Black Headed Gulls. There was only a handful of Lesser Blackbacked Gulls and a Great Black Backed Gull swooped low along the watersedge. Best of all, standing alone from the others was a beatifully crisp plumaged adult Yellow Legged Gull. Not often we see them on the beach at south Shore.

The safari took a trip out on to the rockpools of the seawall this afternoon with a group of youngsters. More exciting creatures were found, including some Common Winkles, which we didn't see at the weekend. Green Shore Crabs and Shrimps were the most regularly potted animals. We had a great view of a Sand Goby which annoyingly wouldn't stay still enough to get a decent photograph.

The top two pics should give you a flavour of what our 'rockpools' are like. The third one shows the zoning of the different species of seaweeds very nicely and the last our young friend is pointing at Green Shore Crabs, a Common Winkle, a Common Razorshell, along with Sea Lettuce and Purple Laver seaweeds.

Below are two pictures of the Sabellaria or Honeycomb Worm that has colonised the seawall. There are quite a few decent sized clumps forming and many of the other rockpools have small accretions starting. It will be interesting to see how much 'reef' this worm has managed to build in say ten or twenty years.

Where to next? Not sure yet but there have been some decent sea birds seen off the promenade over the last couple of days so the safari might try a bit of sea watching.

In the meantime please let us know what you find in your 'outback'.