Starfish riding a Common Whelk

On New Year’s Eve a couple of years ago, winter storms had stirred up the seabed offshore, dredging up all the marine invertebrates like Razor Shells, Common Starfish, Brittle Stars, Spiny Cockles, Common Whelks, and much more. These were lifted up by the waves and tossed high on the shore with a lot of debris and empty shells in abundance. Some of the animals struggled to survive and others profited from the feeding opportunity provided by the mass stranding. All were mixed up together – the dead and the quick. Maybe the starfish were just searching for firm substrates but a lot seemed to home-in on the roaming and predatory whelks – attaching themselves firmly to the shells and seeming to hitch a ride on the large gastropods.

 

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Carved faces in the cliff at Studland

Sad, serious and happy. Three faces carved in the multi-coloured cliff rocks at South Beach, Studland. The colours are natural. The faces amongst many graffiti on these cliffs. But, look again at the middle face…..

Take a closer look. Can you see anything unexpected here? Sheltering in the groove that represents the nose is a small Two-Spot Ladybird, Adelia bipunctata (L.). Isn’t that sweet? And no, I didn’t put it there.

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Flinty eye at Studland

Here is a curiously shaped crystal-lined cavity in a flint nodule. A bit like an eye or maybe a fish.

This is the broken flint nodule found on the sand at South Beach, Studland, showing the crystal hollow within.

The flint on the beach came from a layer in the chalk nearby. You can see a row of large flint nodules embedded in the rock in this picture. 

This is the upper part of the chalk cliff containing flint nodules – and below a general view of the chalk cliff and rock platform on the shore at the south end of South Beach.

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Studland views on 27th December 2009

It was great walking at Studland on Sunday. There were hundreds of people, wrapped up against the cold but determined to cover the stretch from Shell Bay to Knoll Beach. Walking in a line at the edge of the water. Talk about changeable weather. Mostly it was overcast with dark clouds. The sun seemed to be always shining on Poole and Bornemouth in the distance instead. However, occasionally, the clouds which were scudding overhead parted and briefly allowed the sun through. The following photographs were all taken during a single walk along the seashore lasting an hour or so. They illustrate just how much the vista changed during that short period. 

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Common Lizard on the sand at Rhossili

This Common Lizard, with its fine-grained scaley green skin and bright beady eye, was looking up at me from the hot dry sandy beach one July at Rhossili Bay. I am not too sure what it was doing on the beach. Perhaps it had fallen down from the grassy turf of the escarpment to Rhossili Down. I opened my eyes as I lay on the seashore to find the lizard next to me – sharing the shade of a large driftwood tree trunk.

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Patination patterns on bronze (2)

The patination on bronze objects, in close-up, reveals a huge variety of natural corrosion patterns, textures, and colours that are as beautiful as any artist-wrought abstract design and would grace any wall.

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Dog with a ball on the beach

This little dog was soo… happy playing on Rhossili’s sandy beach. He was having great fun with the large ball. He had tremendous energy and handled (pawdled? nuzzled?) the ball with the canine equivalent of a David Beckham’s skills. I hope his owners don’t mind that I couldn’t resist taking his picture.

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Patination patterns on bronze (1)

 

Bronze forms a bright coloured coating, a patina, over time. This natural corrosion process creates accidental patterns that combine with the various hand finishes of the bronze objects. The result can be beautiful abstract designs that could be mistaken for abstract art. 

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Pebbles with wind-blown sand at Rhossili

Dry, fine-grained sand blew northwards along the length of Rhossili Bay towards the small island of  Burry Holms. It drifted against the pastel-coloured pebbles on the upper shore, gently cloaking the windward side and creating fine edged scarps to lee. The resultant effect something suitable for contemplative focus – zen-like.

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Wind-sculpted sand & shells at Rhossili

Strong winds dried the very top layer of the wet sand on Rhossili beach, lifted the grains just above the surface, and drove them with great ferocity across the vast expanse of shore. The gusts of sand-laden wind  scoured the beach  into contour patterns and left buried seashells stripped and exposed to windward. Beautiful, natural patterns were created.

 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved