I have just got back from a well-needed mini break, something I always do to mark the change between the winter ID and write up period and the start of my field season. A few months back, Nathan Jackson (one of a bunch of incredibly talented young naturalists from Bangor University) invited me a long to a trip he was planning from Bangor to Falmouth. Now I was down there in November where I spent some time with Finley Hutchinson (one of a bunch of incredibly talented young naturalists from the Penryn campus of Exeter University). Furthermore, we coincidentally had a contingent from Hampshire, including John and Tara, as well as my mate Kim from Brighton and loads of other people. We mopped up back in November with just a few of us, so with the dozens of eyes in the rock-pools this time, with very much a focus on nudibranchs, there was no way I was missing this. I could only do four nights though, so have had to suck up getting gripped off by amazing stuff being found before I arrived and (still ongoing) after I left. Yet I cannot complain, this was one of the best four days natural history of my life.
Yet the opening image of this post is of two bull Killer Whales (this is one of Nathan's shots). Apparently, they are slightly larger than the largest nudibranch, this was quite possibly one of the most magical and unexpected moments of my life. So how on Earth did we go from turning rocks for sea slugs to running after Orcas along the cliffs like feral children? You'll have to wait...
Day 1. Karen and I left Brighton at 3.55 am to arrive at Falmouth for 10.00 am, comfortably making the first low tide. Finley suggested some new areas at Tunnel Beach and that place was really productive. So I think we collectively saw at least 20 species of nudibranch on this trip, I saw 19 I think and eight of those were lifers. First up, check out this little nerd! Rostanga rubra is such a cute little dude, it's the only only nudibranch to wear corrective lenses over its rhinophores.
My second nudibranch lifer of the day is also another common one down there but I think its my favourite. As pure white as the driven snow, with the weirdest shaped chocolate-coloured rhinophores. The best thing about this is that it is perfectly camouflaged to hide among the pure-white nudibranch eggs that it specialises in feeding on. Favorinus branchialis. See if you can spot this one hiding in the eggs. What I love about this one, is that it makes finding nudibranch eggs even more exciting. I really fancy some shredded coconut after looking at these pictures.
But Rainbow Sea Slug Babakina anadoni was playing hard to get, then I stumbled on this huge animal. Not the first time I have seen one but it's such a wonderful moment every time you turn a rock and see this. Even better though is showing it to people for the first time, it's such a privilege to be able to do that with wildlife this spectacular.Probably the best sea slug I found I didn't even photograph, Okenia nodosa is scarce at Falmouth (but really common at my nearest patch). Next up, a long overdue lifer for me under the first rock Cameron Wilkins turned over. Jorruna tomentosa, I didn't get a good photo but there were quite a few of these rather plain but attractive little dorids about.
Karen spotted her own Limacia clavigera, they are really common down there.
Nathan walked right up to this stalked jellyfish, which was a lifer for me (I have only seen three species, all of which I saw at Falmouth in the first two days of this trip). This one is Halycistus octoradiatus with those odd tubercles at the base of the stubby tentacles. It's a rather sickly green colour too.
And this snail was quite the looker, we had one here and one at Silver Steps the following day. Raphitoma purpurea, yet another lifer.
The weather was glorious on that first day, so there was some chance for some spidering in Falmouth after, Ero aphana was popular and I managed three year ticks. I got sunburnt on the last day of March!
Now, I am well known for being pretty intense and having a lot of energy, but I had to look after my health on this trip and not start my field season in a state. So I only managed to go out on one night time session, the first night. After four hours sleep I was back out of the hotel wandering around the rocks but I was feeling really rough, so didn't make it all night. It was magic though!
Louis hoyed out a massive Lobster!And it wasn't long before Nathan made the kind of sounds that can only mean he'd found something exciting. Now I only managed a rubbish shot in a pot, but this is Calma gobioophaga. This nudibranch only feeds on the eggs of gobies, and apparently the eyes of the tiny fish it eats on the eggs can be spotted in their serrata! Yolanda told me about these last year, so this was an exciting find for everyone!
Day 2 (technically). It's just gone midnight now and Nathan spotted these two Atalodoris pusilla sitting next to each other like a pair of slippers. My fifth nudi lifer of the trip.
Louis got me onto these tiny but gorgeous little sea slugs, also a lifer (but not a nudibranch). They look like something out of Pokemon, they were only a couple of mm long though. Like a cross between a stegosaurus, a flower and a slug - Placidia dentrica is not rare but it is friggin' awesome!
As usual, fish are out and about more at night so I was pleased to find my first Montagu's Sea Snail in years and this was a lifer for all the Bangor lot.
As it neared 1.00 am, I felt like death warmed up, so headed home. They only went and found two more nudis that I had not seen. This one is Okenia aspersa in blob mode. Nudi lifer number six! I think six more Babakina were found that night too!
Talk about starting with a bang! By this point though it feels like Day 4 when it's still only Day 2! We head to Silver Steps. Finley found a big patch of nudi eggs covered in Favorinus, and there was a speedy Facelina annulicornis there too. We picked this up last November but this is the first time I have got a half-decent shot if it. What an absolute stunner that is!
We had two more staked jellyfish in the same gully, neither were new for me but I love seeing these. Calvadosia cruxmelitensis.
And Calvadosia campanulata.I found another Babakina. At least three were found that morning.
Now bear in mind it's April fool's day. I was just taking some shots of this when Finley yells that there is a report of Orca's swimming past the Lizard! It took us about ten minutes to realise the weight of what was happening before galavanising into action - just as Tylan had arrived, to see a wave of be-wadered rock-poolers running towards him. No, straight past him, to their cars! We all piled down to the Lizard (Tylan too) and about an hour later, this happened...
I love this shot of Yolanda's with the cliffs in too! Here are a couple of Nathan's. You could see the white behind the dorsal fin, even through my rubbish binoculars.It was Finley who got onto them really quickly though, like in less than 5 minutes. Finley followed by myself likely to be the first people to see Orca and Rainbow Sea Slug in the same hour. Here's the prostrate form of me creating my own mud bath in excitement. Tylan here is wondering if its possible to suction sample an Orca.
Day 3. This was quite possibly my favorite day. Helford Passage from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm on the sandy Eel-grass and then Kynance Cove with Tylan and Paul from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm.Auger Shells, three species of pipefish, cockles in numbers but it was this huge egg mass that got me excited, as I had never seen anything like it before. It turns out to be the egg mass of Pleurobranchus membranaceus. They had an adult after I left which I missed but the eggs were cool enough!
One nudibranch was everywhere - Amphorina andra. Now this might be something else entirely in the genus, we'll have to wait and see as Finley is going to get the DNA done one one but for the time being I am calling it that, will edit if there are changes. The orange form was most common.And I had a few of these darker ones with mottled serrata. They really are quite stunning.
Then Yolanda caught a Nursehound with her bare hands! I have only ever seen the egg cases, so chuffed to see an adult.
Here's a Spiny Cockle.And Finley showing three species together. Acanthocardia paucicostata (the small one - which I had there new to Cornwall in November). Spiny Cockle Acanthocardia aculeata on the right and Rough Cockle Acanthocardia tuberculata on the left. It's 2.00 pm and my alarm rings, so I have to leave everyone to head to Kynance!
It was just the three of us (Tylen Berry, Paul Gainey and myself). The weather was glorious. Now I am really here to year list spiders, bugs and rare plants! I ticked off Hairy Greenweed and Cornish Heath soon enough, along with Lousewort and Heath Milkwort. Choughs were everywhere.
Tylan found most of the rare spiders instantly! Gnaphosa occidentalis under the first rock. I spotted an adult male Aelurillus v-insignitis. Euophrys herbigradus was in every suction!
Ty found an adult female Porrhoclubiona genevensis. We had about 15 Thyme Lacebugs too. As we found Segestria bavarica as we were watching the Orcas the day before, that was pretty much the whole set. We went on to look for House Centipede under some rocks, it was fruitless but this tiny bug caught me eye. It's Taphropeltus hamulatus. A really scarce bug with only five records on the NBN, one of which is for Kynance! I have been looking out for this for years.
We scrambled down the slope for a few ants. Ponera testacea somehow appeared in one of Tylan's pots. Lasaeola prona ticked for the year when Ty found two rather odd looking crabbies. Now I see Ozyptila claveata all the time on the chalk, so I was sure they were not that. Ty sees Ozyptila blackwalli enough to know it wasn't that either. Could this be Ozyptila scabricula?! Indeed it was! Check out these perfect little gargoyles. Ty found another male too, these being the first in Cornwall since 1968 and an entirely new hectad. Mad for a site he works really hard, and it just goes to show no matter how hard you work a site, there are still treasures to be found! This is my 564th spider in the British Isles. I was not expecting a spider lifer this week.
Day 4: Winding now, one final trip to Tunnel Beach produced much of the same, but Finley was on fire with his small crustaceans, including pointing Vicky Barlow to search the mouth of a huge Spiny Spider Crab for a host-specific thing called Isaea montagui, what a bizarre creature.I found a Topknot the size of my face.
When suddenly a report of a Killdeer comes in from the other end of the county! "Oh god, it's happening again" I hear Karen mutter. Another mad thing with 'kill' in the name to twitch. Scrambling up the rocks and piling into cars, and an hour later I am looking at my first Killdeer (thanks to Finley for the photo) in the same hour (nearly) as a Rainbow Sea Slug. Thanks to James for the lift (and for getting me back in time for the dinner we had planned, I arrived at the restaurant on time to the minute).
This has all been a bit rushed. I am starting field work in a couple of hours but if I didn't get this done today it wouldn't happen. There are likely some typos and errors in here, so please let me know. A HUGE thanks to everyone involved for sharing their finds and knowledge, a massive thanks to Finley and Nathan for organising stuff. Once again though, it's great seeing so many young people get as excited as I do when I see new things, it's absolutely awesome. More of this please!
Oh and a quick update on the 6000 Species Challenge! As of today I am on 1,756 species (29.3%). A couple of days ago I hit 1,000 inverts for the year (on 1,022) including 118 molluscs and 221 spiders. Yet, as the field season starts, the year-listing begins in earnest today!
Firstly, if you didn't read the last two I did about Menai Bridge, have a look here before reading on. OK, so how on Earth did I add eight more nudibranchs to my list over two days recently? The answer: some incredibly talented Gen Z naturalists who were the real stars of the show. But before we get to them, here's some nudibranchs (I'll come back to the showy Trinchesia cuanensis later).
The first rock I turned had several Coryphella gracilis under it (yet this wasn't entirely down to chance, I was guided to this particular small area of rocks). This species I found on my own there back in July, love that orange.
Seconds later, Cameron Wilkins (who has especially sharp eyes and a great deal of patience) found a Coryphella lineata, lifer no. 1 of the trip! I soon found my own. I think this was my favourite species. A shade redder than gracilis but there is not much in it and they do vary. Those white lines though!
Now Yolanda Evans is an absolute wonder. She has amassed an incredible amount of knowledge on nudibranchs and many other marine groups...all by the age of 20. Her passion for all living things, especially those in the sea, is a joy to witness and is close to my own heart. Sadly for us, her partner Nathan (who I was in regular contact planning this weekend) was abroad for all the low tides featured here but we did get to meet briefly in the dunes at Rhosneigr. Anyways, back to the nudibranchs.
Yolanda found this little coconut-toastie-of-a-sea-slug, it's Onchidoris bilamellata. Quite a common species over the winter apparently but a new one for me. Lifer no. 2!
And then something I was super pleased to see, as it's a big genus that I have not met yet. Doto coronata. What a superb thing! Those cerata are mental. Lifer no. 3, thus concluding the first evening's antics.The next morning we headed back down and had a look for some fish on the water's edge but we didn't see anything like what they saw 24 hours earlier. My mate Simon came along too, the pair of us representing and book-ending the Gen X brigade. The photos of Humans (Homo sapiens) were taken by our resident Boomer, Mark Colvin. Ultimately it was Mark that got me onto the site, so a big thanks to him for starting all this. Well, to be fair showing Mark his first nudi at Ovingdean earlier this year also helped. One thing is for sure, lots of different people sharing their passion and knowledge for natural history both online and in the field is what is so vitally important at allowing us to connect. And a great deal of fun too. These are all my kind of people, my tribe!
Shortly after this I found my 4th nudi lifer of the trip. Aeolidiella glauca. Very close to Aeolidiella alderi which I see commonly away from Sussex (we had one on the first night even). The white collar is much less distinct than it is on alderi, the rhinophores and tentacles lack any hint of yellow pigment and the clincher - gold flecks on the back of the animal in the bare area between cerata. Having seen dozens of alderi in the last two years, I did think this was glauca straight away. The black box by the way is a great idea, I have even edited my book to reflect just a little of what I learned on the trip!
Here's me and Yolanda searching the rocks. Both Yolanda and Cameron, as well as having incredible eyesight and patience, have this uncanny ability to fold almost in half. Even at 18 I had back issues and couldn't do that, I can just about get to 90 degrees look. The only way I am getting that close to the rocks is if they rolled me out on a skate board! Being that close to the rocks clearly really helps though!
Yolanda showed us this parasitic crustacean on Edible Crab. Always wanted to see one of these, I didn't realise they were host specific but it's kind of obvious when you think about it. They have a really strange life cycle. This one is Sacculina inflata. "Where is it in relation to that sponge-like thing?" I hear you say? "It IS that sponge-like thing", I say! Yep, that is a crustacean.
Then Yolanda found this tiny dorid (which was fully grown) on orange encrusting bryozoans, which it feeds on, and it seems to be a fairly scarce one as it was only the second time she's seen it. My photos came out terribly, so you'll have to spot it here. Nudi lifer no. 5 was Atalodoris sparsa.
That evening, we were again accompanied by Cameron who was finding nudis faster than I could photograph them. First up one Ancula gibbosa. One of the white ones with yellow flecks but much smaller and differently-proportioned than Polycera. It liked hunching up in 'blob form', so again I have some not very good photos of it in a white tray but you can at least see the detail of the rhinophores here. New nudibranch no. 6!Then, the awesome Tricnhesia cuanensis. Cameron spotted three! Love those 'fishing float' cerata. New nudi no. 7! I mean, just look at it!!!
Last but not least, the more subtle Tenellia foliata. Eight new nudibranchs in two days. I feel utterly spoilt. I am now on 30 species of nudibranch, all 30 of which I have seen in 2025. It doesn't end there though. We did a fair bit of terrestrial stuff too, where I got to show everyone some spiders, we found some really nice stuff and I was amazed at how good Nathan, Cameron and Saffron (Cameron's partner who joined us later in the weekend) were on terrestrial stuff too. I am glad that they're all on PSL now, even if it means me being pushed down to third place for nudibranchs. Saffron got me on to my first Risso's Dolphin near South Stack!
The last night we did a bit of wading in the straits at low tide, by torch. Here's Mark and I not in any way posing for the camera.
We had about ten species of fish. Yolanda was on fire (not literally) and was hoying out all sorts of stuff. Including this massive Short-spined Sea Scorpion.
And we caught a Greater Pipefish each.
Yolanda caught this crustacean, which I think was Processa edulis, yet another new species for me.
I found these strange colonial tunicates growing on some as yet unidentified jelly like stuff, hanging down under an overhanging rock. I believe the tunicates are the invasive Perophora japonica.
And finally I found this Rayed Artemis (Dosinia exoleta). Yet another new mollusc for me, helping me to claw back my title of top mollusc lister on PSL. I doubt I will hold it for long though!
What an amazing three days! A huge thank you to everyone involved but especially to Yolanda, Cameron, Nathan and Saffron. It gives me great hope for the future that such passionate and talented young naturalists are doing all this work in their own time and reaping the benefits already. I have no doubt they will all go on to great things soon and the world of PSL is richer for their involvement too.
I miss the sea already :(
Posts
