Shell Suite

More random shots from Cornwall - this time a few bits from the beach and dunes. Again these were taken with the new versatile Lumix - telephoto shots one minute, macro shots the next.

The marram grass dunes were littered with thousands of tiny snail shells - some typically rounded and lots that were conical shaped. All appeared to be empty, and most were bleached white. No idea what species they are.

The beach had some really great tidal pools, and the undercliff was littered with small caves. Loads of common tidal molluscs, barnacles and anemones ..

Quite a few crab ghosts on the beach aswell ..

Jackdaw

This very approachable Jackdaw was one of several loitering around beaches last week looking for an easy meal. Easy to dismiss birds like Jackdaws, but good light shows tones that are easily missed.

Magpies on the other hand are clearly more colourful than most of their congeners but I've never managed to get a good shot of one - they always seem wary when a camera is about.

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipits knocking about on every stretch of rocky beach and harbour last week, like these two in Newquay ..

Kestrel

This superb Kestrel was not hovering over the Perran Beach cliffs - it was simply holding it's wings back and letting the wind do all of the hard work staying pretty motionless with minimal effort. Heavily cropped images but you get the gist.

Turnstone

I like waders. They always seem to have character, and of course the variation and ID challenges within the group help to build the interest. Not often you see waders acting like town pigeons though, but Turnstones seem to have a real knack of eeking out a living on harbour walls and coastal car parks!

Herring Gull

Let's face it - when it comes to aesthetic beauty, acoustic serenity, or any other appealing quality starting with A, Herring Gulls are pretty much bottom of the heap. Anyone who has to suffer winters looking at masses of inland gulls will surely agree that eliminating all of them from the view would be a great benefit. They are mean-looking and aggressive bastards. Not sure what the collective noun is, probably a 'Hard of Herring'.

Having said all that, once you get away from inland reservoirs, playfields and rubbish tips and into coastal towns, it is the cries of Herring Gulls that really make you feel you are at the British seaside. This is where Herring Gulls should be - scavaging the harbour and tideline for bycatch (not the prom for chips). Here's a selection - a few more on Flickr.