Summerleaze Dunes under threat?

Looking eastward over Breakwater Drive

From the Dunes to Breakwater Drive

Bude Marsh and Valley Survey Group recently completed their annual survey of Summerleaze Dunes. July is always seleced as this is the month when most dune plants are in flower. And they were. The recently levelled area in front of the RNLI station was expected to be a barren desert, but plants are beginning to recolonise the area. It was formerly a home to many wasteland species and some garden escapes. The car park edges still host many of these species which is the seed bank for recolonisation of the bare sand.

Sea Holly

The larger natural dune area continues to be a delight. Sand dunes are the most natural remaining habitat in the UK and this area comprises both Embryo and Mobile Dune habitats. It is host to typical species of these habitats; Sea Holly, Sea Spurge, Marram, Sea Bindweed, Restharrow and Morning Primrose to name but a few. It is the only remaining dune habitat between Perranporth in the south and Braunton Burrows in the north.

The Sea Holly is an amazing colour and obviously important and attractive to bees. We observed tens of Red-tailed and hundreds of White-tailed Bumblebees nectaring on these plants.

Dune Chafer on Marram

The Survey Group continues to record all of these typical dune plants and invertebrates which are unique to this habitat. Silvery Leaf-cutter bees were again identified. They need the soft un-compacted sand in which to nest, Restharrow for nectar and Bird’s-foot Trefoil leaves to line their nest all of which are only to be found together here. We also added an endemic dune species for the first time; Dune Chafers which were busily producing another generation in the Marram grass.

Silvery Leafcutter Bee approaching her nest

This year we recorded 66 species of plants, birds, butterflies and beetles in this tiny 1.2 hectare area of Bude bringing our running total in three years of survey to 120 species.

It is one of Bude’s hidden jewels, a secret treasure that should be cherished.

A Whale of a Time

Sperm Whale at Perranporth

It felt like a pilgrimage. Hundreds of people were walking northwards from Perranporth along the shining pink road towards the beached whale.

We heard on the Sunday news that a female Sperm Whale was found beached near Perranporth and decided we just had to take the opportunity to see it in the flesh. We had underestimated how far from the nearest car park it was. Along with many others we walked 50 minutes to see the whale and another 50 minutes back to the car. The beach was covered in a pink tide by millions of Moon Jellyfish and the odd Blue Jellyfish. We judged we would have plenty of time to get there and back as the tide was ebbing from full. People of all ages were striding out with dogs and children. People who would normally just manage to walk a couple of yards from their parked car to empty the dog and get an ice-cream were making the journey.

The pink jellyfish path

Being two days after it had beached, the whale had been post mortemed on the beach with obvious incisions and jaw removed. The carcass was beginning to darken and bloat and the exposed entrails were bubbling and fizzing with the release of decomposition gasses.  

When the pilgrims arrived there were hushed conversations “Such a pity it had to die for us to see it.”, “They say some lads were trying to get souvenir teeth”, (in fact the autopsy team had removed the lower jaw with teeth to age the whale), “Well worth the walk to see it.”, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

On our return there was still a continual stream of people walking northwards to pay homage.

Post-mortem team

The following day I has a call about another stranding. This time, a female juvenile Minke Whale much closer to home at Bude. I was unable to get to it until the evening due to tides and commitments. Arriving at 9pm, there was a team of people from the Marine Srandings Network, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and of course James the volunteer veterinary who was beginning the post mortem.

James was assisted by both divers, one handling and wrapping the samples, the other listing what these were – Kidney, Liver, Ovaries, Eyes, Heart, Stomach contents (Krill) with Niki the Strandings officer taking record photographs. Duncan was the local Strandings callout with us other three local yokels provided guidance and porterage to get them, the samples and equipment back up the cliff in the dark at 10:30pm.

What a difference in the two experiences – Perranporth, a long walk along a sandy beach to see a Sperm Whale – 11 metres long with a long thin toothed jaw for feeding on octopus and small fish; Bude a stiff climb to a rocky beach to find a Minke Whale – 7 metres long with a large jaw with baleen filters to eat Krill and small fish.

Minke Whale at Bude

Both were judged to have been live strandings. The Sperm had died as her organs collapsed without the support that the sea gives to it; the Minke probably driven ashore by perhaps Dolphins had, judging by pre mortem lacerations and bruises, injured herself fatally whilst trying to squirm back to the sea.

They say things happen in threes – let’s hope this old adage is wrong. Nice as it is to experience the huge marine mammals at close range, I would rather there were no more such strandings.

Bude Marine Conservation Group

Abby with 60 attendees - adults and children

I had known for a few months that Abby Crosby our local wildlife celebrity of Radio and TV fame was to hold a Strandline Discovery event at Sandymouth. When she asked me to join her afterwards to talk about community engagement, I jumped at the chance of a free cuppa.

She had an extremely good crowd of about 30 adults and 30 children who she sent of with buckets to see what they could find and identify.

After an hour's scrabbling along the strandline and in rock pools she called everyone together. She held her audience spellbound while she held a show and tell with all their finds.

Egg Wrack - 4 years old

She coaxed the children in to correctly identifying a mass of “snail” eggs which she explained were actually Whelk eggs and that sailors used the mass as a makeshift washing sponge. She explained the gory story of how the first hatchings gorged themselves on their siblings to cries of mock horror – survival of the fittest.

Next was a shore crab – prompted and eventually identified as a female, followed by a Limpet with stories of nightly foraging after which it followed its chemical slime trail to the exact spot it left earlier in the night. Then Egg Wrack which, by counting the “eggs” proved to be four years old. Finally the difference between shrimps and prawns – shrimps are almost totally transparent whereas prawns have stripy pyjama bottoms (legs).

With each item she took the opportunity to stress conservation and care of living creatures after which each was replaced in their original (or as near as possible) location.

The tide was too high for Honeycomb Worm, but one was found in a gully quite near to Dog Whelk eggs. The adults hatch into the predators of the seemingly impregnable limpet.

Dog Whelk eggs

A single Honeycomb worm

Over our tea, Abby introduced her colleague Natalie who had just started a contract to expand the current Voluntary Marine Conservation areas (currently Fowey, Helford, Looe, Polzeth and St Agnes) to include Bude.

Plans are in hand to engage with local groups of all kinds and individuals to establish a similar group in our area.

We await developments with eager anticipation.

Stranding 7400

After a couple of false alarms, this week I had my first real Marine Stranding.

In September last year, about 30 volunteers attended a Marine Strandings Network workshop in the Parkhouse Centre in Bude.

Abby Crosby lead the day and described how the MSN operates then showed and described to us the typical species that are washed up on the Cornish beaches.

We then went through the recording process for the two most common strandings; Seals and Cetaceans. This was followed by a gruesome film showing what the volunteer veterinary surgeon has to deal with when a stranding is sufficiently fresh to be worthy of a post mortem examination. Thankfully this was after we had eaten lunch, not before!

The rest of the day was taken up with simulated recording exercises outside in the sun. First we practised on a blow-up dolphin then a seal.

.."placed under the waterfall"

After three long months the call came on Thursday afternoon that a dolphin had been washed up on nearby Sandymouth beach. The coordinator told me where it could be found and that it had been moved above the High Water mark as the tide was within an hour of High Tide. I also had to describe what I would be wearing in case of accidents so that the Coast Guard would know what to look for and agreed to phone in to confirm that I had found the stranding and successfully left the beach.

As agreed with my local colleagues on the training day, I phone Duncan who wanted to help. My kit had been packed for three months, but I still needed to go through my check list before driving the mile or so to Sandymouth.

The carcase was immediately visible when I arrived at the beach. Unfortunately the considerate people that had reported it have moved it almost directly under a waterfall. The strong onshore wind was blowing the stream of water regularly over the corpse drenching it and anyone who approached it.

Duncan and I moved it to where we could photograph and record and tag it as Number 7400. A concentrated 45 minutes followed while we went through the procedure we had been taught. Duncan had already recorded a couple of seals so his expertise was most useful. We were battered by the wind and covered copiously in the blowing spume.

Common Dolphin - Stranding 7400

My first stranding was a beautiful Common Dolphin. It had lost one eye and suffered a broken jaw, but on the post mortem can explain why it died. It was a privilege to see one of these magnificent animals at such close quarters, to touch its skin and gaze into its eye. It is such a pity it had to die so that I could have that experience.t

Seasearch at Northcott Mouth

Seasearch volunteers

Honeycomb Worm reef on SS Belem

I joined other local members of Cornwall Wildlife Trust Tamar Group, North Cornwall National Trust staff and Marine Biologists from Cornwall Wildlife Trust for a PANACHE Shoresearch survey  on Wednesday 16th July.

Celtic Sea Slug, Greenleaf Worm on
Honeycomb worm reed

Matt Slater, CWT Marine Awareness Officer led the group to identify and locate particular species whose presence will provide strong evidence in support of the proposed Hartland Point to Tintagel Marine Conservation Zone.

Some of the species were found and recorded and will help the case once full consultation begins. Of particular interest is the highly regarded, and protected, Honeycomb Worm reefs (Sabellaria alveolata) which is a feature of our local beaches.

Beadlet Anenome

Spiny Starfish

This part of the North Cornwall coast from around Widemouth to Hartland is the most northerly extent of its range and occurs where rocky outcrops and lots of sand meet. The reefs provide safe homes for the delightful Celtic Sea Slug and Greenleaf Worms. An unusual site for Honeycomb worm was on the remains of the SS Belem.

Other species seen and noted were – Spiny Starfish, Strawberry Anenome, Snakelocks Beadlet Anenome, Purple and Toothed Topshells and Shore Crab.

A flock of 25 Oystercatchers performed aerial maneouvres as we encroached on their feeding territory and wheeled away to the south.

Flock of Oystercatchers 

A good afternoon out on the beach with a real purpose, to gain protection for this unique habitat with great diversity.