On 10th September 2026, a group of ten Natural History Group members, later to be joined albeit briefly by an eleventh, met at Rest Bay near Porthcawl for a ‘Beach Event’ (which is a rather grand title for poking about in rock pools!)
It was a cloudy but dry day, with a stiff cold breeze, definitely now feeling like autumn.
We were variously clad to inspect the rock pools revealed by the retreating tide, some in plastic shoes in which they could walk in the water, others in wellies hoping the pools weren’t too deep, and some in trainers who kept their footing on the rocks overlooking the pools. Most had brought books about seashore life, and some had buckets and other implements for raking about in the sand. We must have looked a motley bunch, but there were very few other people on the beach, it being a school day and the weather not particularly appealing.
We were however pleased with what we managed to find and observe, in the way of sea birds, shells, living marine creatures, sea weed, and some items which left us foxed, especially Charlotte’s gelatinous find, later identified as squid eggs.
After about an hour and a half on the shore, we were ready to call it a day, by which time some of us were ready for a hot coffee.
Here is a list of what we saw, a compilation between us:
Black headed gull
Herring gull
Mediterranean gull
Common gull
Lesser and great black backed gulls
Turnstones
Various corvids near the car park
Chough
Prawn/shrimp - alive
Cuttlefish remains
Limpets
Dog whelks Edible & rough periwinkles
Thick topshells
Empty shells of variegated scallop
Shore crab and edible crab
Sea anemones including beadlet anemones
Squid eggs
Honeycomb Worm and barnacles
Gibbula (sea snails)
Seaweeds:
Egg Wrack
Sea Oak
Thongweed
Linguine seaweed
Gutweed
Bladder Wrack
Japanese Wireweed
Sea Lettuce
Purple? Laver
