What a difference a day makes ! After the storms of the 9th March, the weather was on its best behaviour for the Coastwise field trip to Lee Bay on the following day.
The low tide (0.2m, with high atmospheric pressure) meant that more beach was exposed than most members had ever seen, and this yielded a wonderful range of finds.
Notable specimens were the Devonshire Cup Corals (Caryophyllia smithii) and a 12cm Tompot Blenny (Parablennius gattorugine) waiting out the tide beneath a stone (both pictured R). The DC Corals displayed a variety of colours from reddish-pink to pure white, a range not mentioned by Gosse in his "Rambles on the Devonshire Coast" detailed account of his finds at Ilfracombe.
A hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus) trying unsuccessfully to hide in its Sting Winkle shell is pictured R
A full species list can be downloaded here.