Cornish Rock Pools

Category: Wildlife

  • Finally! Portuguese Man O’ War in Looe

    Finally! Portuguese Man O’ War in Looe

    I’m always pleased to hear about interesting things other people have found around Cornwall especially from readers of this blog. I’ve been more than a touch jealous these last few weeks, however, of all the people finding Portuguese man o’war. They turn up occasionally in Cornwall but I’ve never seen one before and I feel like I’m missing my chance.

    According to other people’s messages, Portuguese man o’war are everywhere and have been for weeks, covering strand lines, floating in pools, strewn on rocks everywhere from Penzance to Wales. And for weeks I’ve been searching and searching my local beaches and finding none. Until today.

    It’s low tide and there are posts bouncing around social media saying that there are Portuguese man o’war around Looe. I have a house to clean, scones to make and blogs to write, so of course I drop everything and drag my other half and Junior to Hannafore beach.

    I know they’ll be lifted off with each tide and battered and probably blown away with the next storm, so I’m not going to let this opportunity pass. Junior thinks I’ve gone mad though. He knows how powerful their sting is and insists, at first, that he’s not going near one.

    His reluctance evaporates within a minute of arriving at the beach, when I find the first one. We all huddle round. The colours take me by surprise. In photos they always look a striking blue, but in real life they’re iridescent and seem to glow in the sun.

    My first Portuguese man o'war
    My first Portuguese man o’war

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  • A close (enough) encounter with Weever fish.

    A close (enough) encounter with Weever fish.

    We’re on a stomp about the beaches between Looe and Seaton, enjoying a patch of sunshine.  “Watch out for Portuguese Man O’War jellies,” I warn Junior as we cross the muddy sand at Millendreath. I know there have been reports of them washing up all around the south west coast over the last few weeks, but there are none today. Inevitably, it’s something else that nearly gets me.

    In a sandy pool at the sea’s edge, a flicker of movement catches my eye. It happens so quickly I can’t be sure there’s anything there but the sand is settling, suggesting something has just buried itself.

    I call Junior over to look and I crouch low, reaching a hand to the water’s surface. If I can scoop the sand up from underneath I might be able to gently lift out the creature. Having seen plenty of well-camouflaged dragonets scooting about the pools today, I expect this to be another one. I stop short and stare into the shimmering pool.

    Dragonets, especially the females, are perfectly camouflaged on sand.
    Dragonets, especially the females, are perfectly camouflaged on sand.

    It’s a good call. You never know what might be lurking in the rock pools. Near where I saw the movement is a sandy coloured lump. I think I recognise the shape, but it’s only when I lower my camera into the water and zoom right in that I can be sure. A Lesser weever-fish is staring down my lens, its frog-mouth gaping slightly, the rest of its body buried in the sand. Before I can take a shot it’s gone. (more…)

  • Giants of the Cornish rock pools

    Giants of the Cornish rock pools

    Last week I shared with you the miniature world of the sea slugs, so this week I’ll super-size things and bring you some big fish. Silly-season reports of Great-white sharks often hit the headlines in Cornwall, but I prefer rock-pool giants; they’re not made up, and you can get close to them without having your leg bitten off!

    Cornwall is brilliant in all sorts of ways, our network of local, grassroots marine conservation groups being just one of them. The public launch, last week, of the new Three Bays Wildlife Group brought experts and volunteers together and gave me a chance to explore some new beaches in the St Austell area.

    Judging by the squeals of excitement from the children and adults alike, the crabs, pipefish, prawns and anemones we found at the main rockpool ramble on Portmellon beach near Mevagissey went down well. By the end of the day, the local group had recruited lots of potential new volunteers.

    Green shore urchin at Portmellon beach - adorned in seaweed
    Green shore urchin adorned in seaweed. Portmellon beach.

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  • For the love of sea slugs…

    For the love of sea slugs…

    I love sea slugs a bit more than is probably usual. My other half even made sure I have the t-shirt, which I wear with pride in the Cornish rock pools despite the odd looks it gets me.

    Trend setting in my waterlogged wellies and 'I love sea slugs' t-shirt.
    Trend setting in my waterlogged wellies and ‘I love sea slugs’ t-shirt. Hannafore beach, Looe.

    If you don’t already have your own t-shirt, it might be that you haven’t yet met these amazing little creatures. Unlike land slugs, sea slugs come in a mind-boggling variety of colours and shapes and have cool super-powers.

    So, this week I’ve been braving the traditional British summer-holiday weather to find top slugs to convert you to the cause. My lucky t-shirt worked its wonders… (more…)

  • The One That Got Away… Cuttlefish in a Cornish Rock Pool

    The One That Got Away… Cuttlefish in a Cornish Rock Pool

    If you’ve ever been rockpooling, you’ll know the feeling: you’re in the zone, bottom high, head down, lifting a rock or staring into the water when a movement catches your eye. While you’re registering that it’s some interesting creature you’ve never found before, said creature is darting away under an overhang or boulder never to be seen again.

    My camera is full of “things that were there only a millisecond before”.

    Not the most accomplished photo of a Greater pipefish as long as my arm!
    Not the most accomplished photo of a Greater pipefish as long as my arm!

    So, you’ll have to take my word for it that I finally encountered an animal I’ve been longing to find in a pool. After four decades of failure, my big moment came while I was taking some friends rock pooling this week. (more…)

  • Wrasse and wrack

    Wrasse and wrack

    The Cornish summers are anything but predictable. One day I’m sweltering in shorts and beach shoes and the next I’m shivering in waders and a thick jumper. Although the showers are back with a vengeance, there’s always something to be found if I can make it across the rocks without breaking an ankle.

    Painted top shell, East Looe
    Painted top shell, East Looe

    My first outing is to the rocks beyond East Looe beach and I’m pleased to come across a new colony of St Piran’s hermit crabs on the mid-shore.

    A St Piran's hermit crab starting to emerge from its shell.
    A St Piran’s hermit crab starting to emerge from its shell.

    They’re becoming a familiar sight around Cornwall and I’m starting to recognise them from the tips of their red legs, before their chequerboard eyes and equal-sized claws emerge from their shells. (more…)

  • A predator among the fish eggs: Calma gobioophaga sea slug

    A predator among the fish eggs: Calma gobioophaga sea slug

    If you read this blog regularly, you’ve probably noticed a pattern: I bimble about the Cornish rock pools looking for an exciting creature, fail completely, then find something unexpected. Well, hopefully you like the format because this week is no exception. I go on a quest to find fish eggs and discover this rare sea slug.

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  • Discoveries on my Doorstep – Rockpooling with the experts in Looe (Day 1)

    Discoveries on my Doorstep – Rockpooling with the experts in Looe (Day 1)

    There’s a questionable theory that 10 000 hours of practice makes you an expert and I may be close to ‘doing my time’ in the Cornish rock pools by now. However, I often feel I’m only scratching the surface of what’s out there. What better then, than to spend a few days on the shore with the genius that is David Fenwick, creator of Aphotomarine together with a fabulous group of fellow rockpool fanatics from Coastwise North Devon?

    With layers and waterproofs aplenty, Junior and I joined them at Hannafore Beach, a site I know intimately, to see what new discoveries might await us.

     I realised within minutes that I should have brought a notebook. David’s knowledge of marine species is immense and he wasted no time in finding signs of nematode worms living inside seaweed, reeling off their names. It was windy, drizzling and cold and to make matters worse Junior sprung a leak in his wellies, but there was no doubt this is going to be a fascinating day. Leaving Junior playing at reconstructing ancient ruined cities from the rocks of a mid-shore ridge, we waded across the lower shore.

    Sea hares (Aplysia punctata) were everywhere munching on the seaweed.
    Sea hares (Aplysia punctata) were everywhere munching on the seaweed.

    Some species were familiar. The sea hares were everywhere and so abundant that it was impossible to avoid them. This swirling cloud of purple ink in the water was a sign we’d accidentally disturbed one of them. (more…)

  • All-Weather Rock Pooling

    All-Weather Rock Pooling

    Much as I love the Cornish rock pools, there are times – throughout the year – when the conditions are grim. According to the forecast, today is going to be one of those days. I have reluctantly cancelled a meet-up with Junior’s friends because the charts show the sort of gales and lashing rain that have most little kiddies shivering before they even reach the pools.

    I don’t want to make rockpooling a traumatic experience for other people’s children, but I don’t think Junior’s aware that staying in is an option. He’s so well trained to enjoy the misery that at 10am he’s merrily pulling on waterproofs and wellies and grabbing a bucket. We’re off to ‘the gully’ and no amount of buffeting winds or ominous clouds are going to stop him.

    Junior's training in rockpooling in all weathers started early - out with Countryfile age 3
    Junior’s training in rockpooling in all weathers started early – out with Countryfile age 3

    We are climbing across the rocks from Plaidy beach towards our favourite spot when hail starts ricocheting off our buckets. We keep our heads down, turning our attention to the variety of colours in the pebbles. Junior crams his pockets with his favourites, the extra ballast helping to keep him upright against the howling wind. (more…)

  • A Window to the Underwater World

    A Window to the Underwater World

    The pools sparkle as the sun finally shoulders its way through the February murk. Beneath the surface, the seaweeds are sprouting up, the first sign of spring in the rock pools, and with them come the sea slugs. Many of these minute molluscs choose to spawn in the shallow waters around the shore, where their favourite foods such as sponges, sea squirts and seaweeds are abundant.

    A baby sea hare, Aplysia punctata, grazing on seaweed.
    A baby sea hare, Aplysia punctata, grazing on seaweed.

    How they travel such distances to find mates and lay their eggs here is something of a mystery to me. They are delicate, squishy little things at best, and mere blobs of jelly out of the water. Once in the water, though, they reveal their colours and shapes, and most rockpoolers delight in finding them. Today, I see mostly pale, blobby ones rather than their spectacular cousins, but they are intriguing nonetheless. (more…)