The Lyons Share

This was the first fish I caught yesterday whilst rock pooling at St Mary's Lighthouse and I soon realised I was looking at a young Lumpsucker Cyclopterus lumpus!!! It was only the size of a pea but there is no other possibility with the shape and the suction cup underneath. I have wanted to see this fish ever since I bought a guide to the sea shore when I was on holiday in Wales as a kid. If you look at the UK distribution on the NBN Gateway, it is well known from this stretch of the English coast line. In cellebration of my little Lumpsucker, have a listen to this.

I wasn't completely sure so I wanted to rule out Montagu's Sea Snail so I googled a few images of this species before carrying on dipping. Guess what the next fish I pulled out was?!

I watched the Montagu's Sea Snail change colour from an almost yellow to a dark brown in a matter of seconds.

I caught one wrasse which in the field I thought was Rock Cook but in hindsight I think this one is likely to be a young Ballan Wrasse, Rock Cook is very much a west coast thing and it doesn't have the right amount of spines on the anal fin. Quite obviously not the Corkwing that we see down south but as with the other two fish, I only caught one of this species. There are records of Ballen from St Mary's too so I'm happy with that.

There are also records there for this attractive goby, the Two-spot Goby which is highly distinctive to do with the spot at the base of the tail.

And this little fellow which I believe to be either a young gurnard or a dragonet as some people have pointed out. Either way these are difficult groups of species as adults so I won't be getting it to species. It was very small, barely a cm long but as soon as I put it in the tray it went from looking like a typical fry to this amazing little fish. I wish I could confidently say what it was. Most of the fish I saw were very small, making some identification a challenge. The largest (and most abundant) fish I saw was a Shanny. The only other fish I saw more than one of was the Butterfish.

Here is the full list of fish.

Words cannot describe how awesome this was. Every time I put the net I was pulling out something new! Despite driving rain off the north sea, I was loving every minute. Interestingly I must have started on the best bits because at one stage all I was pulling out were Shannys, I think I must have gained altitude slightly without realising. I'll definitely be having a look there every visit up to Whitley Bay, with an ecosystem that resets itself EVERY twelve hours, you can't afford to miss an opportunity!

We've just got back from four days in Teesdale but before that we spent a great few days at Rachael's folk's new house in Whitley Bay. I hadn't prepared myself for how much wildlife, literally just on their doorstep, we were going to see. Within fifteen minutes of arriving we were sat in the garden when a Spoonbill flew over flying north! the next morning I was up early for a sea watch in the hope of a skua or two but sea watching into the Sun isn't much fun. I was rewarded with a Hen Harrier flying north out to sea being mobbed by terns. Close in Eiders remind you of how far north you are.

I soon discovered that the rocks around St Mary's Lighthouse are pretty good for rockpooling and on Monday at about lunch time a very low tide was due. We headed out and found quite a few goodies but the net that I bought on the sea front lasted me about 5 minutes. The above Common Sea Urchin Echinus esculentus was a new species for me. I caught a Shanny which bit me. We also saw Long-spined Sea Scorpions and Butterfish.

The strange Broad-clawed Porcelain Crab put in a show.

And the first squat lobsters I have seen in almost a decade, this one is Galathea squamifera and looks like the ones I saw on Anglesey in 2003.

Strangest of all though was this 'armoured worm'. I have keyed it out tentatively to Lepidonotus squamatus. The plates are referred to as elytra in Hayward & Ryland.

Next time I go though, I will be prepared for some serious rock pooling as I suspect that Lumpsucker is not out of the question. It's pretty amazing having all that on your doorstep!