The Lyons Share

I'm halfway through the farm surveys. I've walked about 150 miles so far. On a farm in East Sussex today were a flock of 90 Corn Buntings, in the above photo you can just about make out 82. A flock of 65 Linnets and a Golden Plover were also of note. This snail was new to me, the Wrinkled Snail Candidula intersecta which in hindsight I have seen before on the Downs.

I suddenly remembered another species I saw way back in 2002 but it did not come to mind before now because of how odd it is. One morning after coming off the island Ynys Feurig I was working on (species protection of a tern colony) the strand line was a vivid blue. I looked closer to find  the blue was coming from  vast numbers of the unusual jellyfish called By-the-wind Sailor Velella velella. They had wrecked on the beach overnight, as well as floating in all the rock pools on the islands. I remember how artificial and plastic-like they looked. That puts me on 3061.