The weather was fine for the Festival shore safari, the 5th safari in our 2011 summer programme. About 40 people assembled at Barricane for 11am, mostly couples and some families with very young children. Jim Monroe and Mavis Symmons led groups down the shore while other Coastwise members went out to find interesting creatures.
Overall, this Coastwise event attracted enthusiastic and interested families and there were 70+ visitors attended this event. Many seemed happy exploring in family groups and returning with their ‘catch’ for identification and discussion and there seemed to be lots of interaction between the Coastwise members and visitors. On leaving, people expressed their thanks for an interesting and enjoyable event.
Animals were seen in North Devon on Saturday that even television does not show.
Visitors to the AONB’s Discovery Day at Combe Martin on 21st May were able to view tiny shore animals down the microscope at Coastwise North Devon’s Workshop, and witness a rarely seen event – the birth of Beadlet anemones, the familiar red “jellies” of the shore.
There are thousands, possibly millions of animals on the shore, largely invisible to the naked eye. Many are the vital first link in the marine food chain which is so important to us, but most of us know nothing about them. What are they like these microscopic organisms? As most look weird, with behaviour beyond imagining, the best answer is to see for yourself, and for that you need a microscope.
On Tuesday 19thApril a combination of fine weather and school holidays helped make the first Coastwise Shore Safari of 2011 a roaring success, with nearly fifty people enjoying the sunshine on Croyde Beach. The event took place at the Northern end of Croyde Bay among the rocky outcrops and sandy gullies.
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