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 :(
So I have just got back from the longest holiday I have had in a decade. Ten days on Jersey. After really getting the bug last September, I was desperate to get back there and get in the rock pools again and this time I timed it so I could do some rock-pooling every day for that whole period. More importantly though, I was accompanied each day by Nicolas Jouault, who took us to all the best places on the island (including a two day trip to the Ecrehous, which was so awesome it's getting its own blog post). Nick's knowledge of the island's marine species and where and how to find them is incredible and I am so grateful for all the time he gave me. Here's me, Karen, Nick and Lou Wagstaffe (Lou came out with us to La Pulente and showed us loads of stuff there - check out Lou's amazing photography here).
We did find rather a lot! Before I get to Nick's discovery of Discodoris rosi, please indulge me in this sequence of dorids, neatly setting me up for a rather stupid gag...
We saw plenty of these Warty Doris Doris verrucosa. Not a new one for me but a pleasure to see these large nudis again. They're almost too big for the macro!
On the second morning out with Nick, we headed to Le Hocq and Nick soon found our target species. The behemoth among nudibranchs, Dendrodoris limbata. This massive species should be handled with care, as it secretes a toxin to help it consume the sponges that it feeds on. I went on to find another three animals, including two immatures! I could not get enough of them. This was one of the key targets for me on this trip. They are a recent arrival to Jersey.
Terrible photo, but turning a rock to see Dendrodoris limbata and a Green Ormer in a 'yin and yang' like embrace is the most Jersey thing ever! There were three species of nudibranch under this rock. While I am at it, it's vital to turn rocks back the way you found them and gently too. It kills the life under them that can't move very quickly. There are some utter tools out there doing this wholesale, likely driven by illegal fishing. Just turn the rocks back, it really isn't that hard. Anyway, rant over.
We saw quite a few Sea Lemons Doris pseudoargus. A common and widespread dorid.
This one was a lifer. Geitodoris planata. Large and dark, often with pale starry patterns on them. These were at La Rocque and also the Ecrehous.
Then back to the star of the show. Nick found a bright orange-red dorid under a rock at La Pulente. We thought it was something else at first but then noticed the pale rings. It's the ridiculously named Discodoris rosi. DISCODORIS! FREAK OUT! And freak out, I did. That was the most unexpected find and completely new to the Channel Islands! Nice one, Nick.
Here are the best of my shots. Check out the translucent bases to the rhinophores.
And finally, Grannydoris hominesis. A recent DNA test led to the discovery that I am one quarter nudibranch, explaining my obsession with these awesome creatures! You see, my late Granny Doris fooled everyone for decades - we had no idea she was a nudibranch (to be fair, I did always think it was odd that she got through so many sponges). Here she is with her rhinophores retracted, awaiting a fresh delivery of sponge from Kwik Save. Miss ya, Gran.
Anyways. Back to reality. Another lifer for me was the awesome little Celtic Sea Slug Onchidella celtica (not a nudi though). They are all over the pier at La Rocque, we saw some 50 animals in a square metre. You find these sitting out of the water quite high up the shore, they are very slug-like but cute.
Edmundsella pedata was the commonest sea slug on Jersey. I saw 50 in one day and well over a 100 on the trip.
Nice to see a tiny Montagu's Blenny right at the top of the beach. This was a four blenny trip, I think well over 20 species of fish in all. I'll cover them more on the Ecrehous post.
I got a lot of lifers in the squidgy groups, like sponges and tunicates! Here we have Pyura tessellata.
And what I have as Ascidiella scabra.
I should have warned this post goes on for ever. Aeolidiella alderi was widespread but in low numbers. We had one or two on each session.
And what I believe are their eggs. A bit of foreshadowing here. Many nudibranchs are identifiable by their eggs through experience, association and deduction...
Remember the rock I said had three nudibranchs under at Le Hocq? It had a single Dendrodoris and a couple of Edmundsella and round the edge it looked to be covered in small hydroids. I went for the close focus binocular trick and spotted a tiny bit of egg white with yellow highlights. Hold on a minute, that's a nudi! We gently got it into the lid of the Ferroro Rocher box and it was none other than Trapania maculata (turns out this was only the 4th record for the island). For the record, this was a 12 nudibranch trip!
At Rozel I found my first cup corals. These were common on the Ecrehous. This is Scarlet-and-gold Cup Coral Balanophyllia regia.
Also there, Manilla Clam Ruditapes phillipinarum. A recent non-native introduction to the island.
Facelina auriculata is surprisingly uncommon there. We only found two (one at La Rocque, one al La Pulente).
This place is incredible, like the surface of some alien world. Just watch these tides though, you can get caught out here easily. It's dangerous if you are not experienced and reading the tide all the time to go out far.
We found a couple of these stalked jellyfish Calvadosia campanulata, which is the one I see most often.
Nick identified this bryozoan at La Pulente, as the rarely-recorded Schizomavella sarniensis. There's so much stuff like this on the rocks, most of which I am clueless about. It's humbling but insanely addictive. I love being outside of my comfort zone.
I got very excited by this mollusc, only to figure out it's just an immature cowrie sp. (Trivia).
Round the other side of the island to Archirondel, Karen found these two Parasitic Anemones Calliactis parasitica.
And Nick showed me this incredible sea weed there too. It's Codium bursar and is quite scarce. It feels like a sponge and well deserves the colloquial name of French Beret.
Man, I can't get enough of this stuff. As you can imagine, I am pretty stoked. A huge thanks to Nick for all his help, time and knowledge. We were lucky with the weather but we saw no one else out recording in the rock pools. I am surprised that so few people are recording marine wildlife on Jersey. It's really important to record and submit records, so this is a plea for anyone reading this on the island or travelling there for a break, to do so. It's changing all the time too through climate change and accidental introductions and documenting these changes is really important stuff.
Furthermore, you can support the study of natural history on Jersey by joining the Societe Jersiaise here.
OK, I need a breather after all that. But I leave you with this collage that says it all really. Each of these was a lifer from this trip. I think I added about 55 species!
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