- Adur Marine Life Reports
- Coastal & Intertidal 2016
Reports
from
the sea, shore
and coast, including Widewater Lagoon
Information
Coastal saline lagoons and the Water Framework Directive (NECR039)
A number of coastal saline lagoons in the UK have been identified as ‘water bodies’ under the Water Framework Directive. This means that there is a requirement to develop type-based classification tools to help assess their ecological status. This study was commissioned by Natural England to inform future work of the UK Technical Advisory Group and Marine Task Team in developing a national consistent approach to the assessment of lagoons under the Water Framework Directive.
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(Community Group) |
Events
11
June 2016
Adur
World Oceans Day
World
Oceans Day was first declared as 8th June at the Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992.
Events
occurred all around the world on and around this day.
Adur
was one of the UK leaders in presenting the sixteenth environmental exhibition
of World
Oceans Day on Coronation
Green,
Shoreham-by-Sea.
The
British Marine Life Study
Society presented the usual exhibition of
lobsters
and crabs.
The Friends of Shoreham Beach (FOSB)
took an active role with their display of the wonders of Shoreham
Beach. Wildlife writer Steve
Savage presented the whale
and dolphin exhibition. Nikki Hills
on behalf of the Sussex
Wildlife Trust produced an interactive
display on the sea and seashore for the younger age group.
Exhibitors are available to find the time to answer questions about marine
life.
Other
participants will include Southwick
Camera Club with an exhibition of seascapes and marine life, and Shoreham
Sea Scouts.
World
Oceans Day on facebook
Adur
World Oceans Day on facebook
United
Nations: World Oceans Day.
Reports
15 November 2016
Teals on Widewater
2 November
2016
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A wind
chill under the clear blue sky in the morning
but by midday the sun shone on
the steep embankment of Shoreham Harbour opposite
Shoreham Power Station. With the sun came some late butterflies,
at least three male Common Blues,
at least two of them fresh and intact amongst the longer grass. After
five minutes a Clouded Yellow
flew past and although I only saw one at a time, I thought there could
be at least three of them. Last but not least, a Peacock
Butterfly flew up the steep bank by the
steps as I was about to leave. At least I thought it would be the last
butterfly (possibly the last of the year?)
until another Clouded Yellow
fluttered by.
Adur
Butterfly List 2016
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Wild
flowers
noted included bushes of Gorse,
Hawkweed
Ox-tongue, Bristly Ox-tongue,
Purple Toadflax,
frequent
White
Melilot Melilotus
albus, one spike of yellow Melilot,
about three Hardheads
(=Lesser Knapweed), two Red
Clover, Oxford
Ragwort, and small amounts of Yarrow
and
Red
Deadnettle.
Clover
Photo Guide
20
October 2016
On
the shingle beach at Shoreham by Ferry Road, I noted the following weeds
in flower: Oxford Ragwort, Dandelion, Smooth
Sow Thistle, Hawkweed Ox-tongue, Cat's Ear and
Orache.
Adur
Ox-tongues
19
October 2016
On
the northern bank (upper cliff grassy part east of the Schooner PH) of
Shoreham
Harbour canal in Southwick, the following plants were noted in flower:
Gorse,
Bristly Ox-tongue, Hawkweed Ox-tongue, Rough Hawkbit, Teasels,
and Everlasting Pea.
2 October 2016
Wall
Lizard predating on a Crane-fly
Photograph
by Su Reed
Location:
Shoreham
Fort
29 September 2016
Southwick
Beach
Babington's
Orache, Silver
Ragwort
Sea
Mayweed
Hop
Trefoil, Rock Samphire, Sea Beet
28 September 2016
27 September 2016
Widewater
Orache,
Sea Blite, Sea Heath
Sea
Blite, Glasswort
21
September 2016
The
plants nearest the shore (Shoreham Beach East) were prostrate forms of
Orache,
some of which had leaves turning crimson, although most of them were green
and the outlying leaves were the first to change colour, Slightly further
inland as near as ten metres from the Orache were prostrate species Ray's
Knotgrass and low lying Sea
Rocket. A few metres further inland hosted
prostrate Bittersweet,
Sea
Beet, Rock
Samphire and dwarf versions of Sow
Thistle.
Shoreham
Beach East
Orache,
Sea Beet
Orache
(unidentified),
Ray's Knotgrass x 2
Shoreham
Beach East
Sea
Rocket
18 September 2016
The water level of Widewater Lagoon on the gauge by the bridge was 163 cm. (it reaches 168 cm.)
Adur Dragonfly Reports 2016
Fringes of Widewater
Widewater
Sea
Beet, Sea Purslane
*, Sea Aster,
Orache
(unidentified)
Sea
Spurrey, Sea
Blite, Glasswort
(*
River
Adur)
Orache
(unidentified
to species)
On
the shingle beach near the Church of Good Shepherd
Silver
Sands
Childing
Pink, Hare's Foot Clover,
Childing
Pink
Kidney
Vetch (late flowering)
It was still sunny for almost all day and the southerly breeze hardly blew the flowers about. Near Silver Sands, Shoreham Beach, occasional Childing Pink were still in flower with the seed heads of Hare's Foot Clover, and the last flowers of Kidney Vetch.
Oxford Ragwort
Between
the cracks in the tarmac on a road verge nearby, I recorded the Oxford
Ragwort,
Senecio
squalidus, for the first time; a more
showy immigrant plant than the native Common
Ragwort. A couple of juvenile Wall
Lizards, Podarcis
muralis, skittered
over the carnot
wall of Shoreham
Fort. Two grasshopper
species were spotted by Silver Sands
and Shoreham Fort:
Common
Field Grasshoppers, Chorthippus brunneus,
and Lesser Marsh Grasshoppers,
Chorthippus albomarginatus.
Adur
Ragwort
11
September 2016
In
the autumn sunshine there were frequent butterflies
and they were almost all Whites.
The
white bobbing rear of a Wheatear
flew over the shingle seaward of Shoreham
Fort, Shoreham Beach, prior
to emigration. I spotted a young Wall
Lizard, Podarcis
muralis, amongst the shingle vegetation by Shoreham
Fort, but not on the carnot
wall.
4 September
2016
An
organised walk by Sussex
Botanical Recording Society on Shoreham
Beach Nature Reserve led to the discovery of plants
that were not on the Friends
of Shoreham Beach list or noted before
on these Nature Notes pages. This most notable
of these were the diminutive four-petalled flower and easily overlooked
Sea
Rocket, Cakile
maritima, and even easier to miss
Ray's
Knotgrass,
Polygonum
oxyspermum. Both straggling prostrate plants were discovered right
down on the shingle beach only a metres above the strandline,
in an area where the prostrate form of Spear-leaved Orache,
Atriplex
hastata, was previously thought by
me to be the only wild plant present in this zone.
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Ray's Knotgrass, Sea Mayweed |
Cat's Ear, Curled Dock, Silver Ragwort |
Botanists can identify plants by their leaves and non flowering characteristics. Sea Mayweed, Tripleurospermum maritimum, was confirmed. For the most part these web pages reports the flowering plants of which the familiar Bristly Ox-tongue, Hawkweed Ox-tongue and Cat's Ear were yellow flowers seen frequently. A young Slow Worm was discovered under a rock and a Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis, was seen in hole of the carnot wall of Shoreham Fort.
Ray's Knotgrass
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17
August 2016
On
Widewater Lagoon, the pair of Mute Swans
had five nearly fully grown cygnets
in attendance. I checked out for 3-spined
Sticklebacks by the bridge and saw a few,
but there were a dozen or more Common Gobies,
Pomatoschistus
microps.
12 August 2016
The annual Friend's of Shoreham Beach "rockpooling" event at the Old Fort Beach produced scores of Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas, and one large Flounder but very little of interest. A small caprellid (= Skeleton Shrimp) and small Brown Shrimps were collected in the youngster's nets amongst the usual tiny prawns and a few Common Gobies. The temporary aquaria housed a few Beadlet Anemones, Actinia equina.
Wall Lizard
I spotted three Wall Lizards, Podarcis muralis, amongst the shingle vegetation by Shoreham Fort, Shoreham Beach in the sunshine. They were very skittish. One of three was on the carnot wall.
6 June 2016
Sepiola
Little
Cuttle
Shallow
seas off Widewater
4 June 2016
On breezy humid afternoon, I spotted my first Painted Lady Butterfly on Shoreham Beach 20 metres west of the carnot wall of Shoreham Fort. This immigrant butterfly was very restless and settled for a second at most. Viper's Bugloss was spotted in flower for the first time this year on the shingle.
Painted Lady
3 June 2016
Southwick
Beach
Tree
Mallow, Silver Ragwort, Common
Poppies,
Sea
Campion
Yellow-horned
Poppy, Rock Samphire,
Sea Campion, Sea Kale
29
May 2016
A
large unidentified dragonfly
was seen flying rapidly over Shoreham Beach and the Shoreham
Fort end (east). It was the first of the
year and flew like a hawker. Wall Lizards,
Podarcis
muralis, were not seen on the carnot walls of the Fort but they
were occasionally seen (5) on the shingle and house garden walls backing
on to the beach.
Large swathes of Red Valerian and Sea Kale were in flower with the silver leaves of the yet to flower Silver Ragwort.
Red Valerian
25 May 2016
Shoreham
Beach
Kidney
Vetch, Starry
Clover, Silver
Ragwort
Sea
Kale, Childing Pink
Red
Valerian, Sea Campion, Star
of Bethlehem, Sea Campion
Childing
Pink, Thrift, Tree Mallow, Starry Clover
25 April 2016
Shoreham Beach
Stonecrop,
Oxford
Ragwort,
Sea
Campion
Red
Valerian, Dove's
Foot Cranesbill, Corn Salad
Wavy
Bittercress, Mouse-ear
Oxford
Ragwort on Shoreham
Beach
Senecio
squalidus
17
March 2016
Just
after midday a
Peacock
Butterfly briefly landed in front of me
on the larger pebbles by Shoreham
Fort, Shoreham Beach.
It was my first butterfly
of the year. And it was the first rays of
sun that prompted at least 25 Wall Lizards,
Podarcis
muralis, to peek out of their holes in the carnot
wall of the old redoubt,
and from their shelter in crannies of the earth and rubble embankment.
All but one were adults with lizards in pairs and sometimes in three in
choice holes. This number seen was approaching
to the most numerous seen (38) in one day.
One lizard skittered
right up to the top of the wall.
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Hundreds of the egg cases of the Undulate Ray were scattered over the foreshore above the high tide on the shingle marked by washed up seaweeds and other strandline debris.
8
February 2016
Gales
blew throughout the day and for a large part of the daylight hours it was
Gale
Force
9 even reaching a steady 65.6
mph (Violent Storm Force 11) gusting
to 67.4 mph with
some very alarming sudden gusts. The wind direction was WSW but sudden
gusts could blew from other directions. These wind speeds were recorded
by the more exposed Shoreham
Beach Weather Station but even Shoreham
Met Office recorded gusts to 61 mph (Force
10). The lowest was Gale
Force 8 during the daylight.
Shoreham
Weather Reports
| SEA
STATE
Strong
Gale Force 9
Storm
Force 10
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Windfinder gave the maximum wave height at 5.6 metres. At the time of the photograph it was at 5.4 metres.
28 January 2016
Goosander
on
Widewater
Photograph
by Keith Wilson
| 25
January 2016
Two Turnstones were scavenging around the strandline near Shoreham Fort one poking its beak into the poisonous mineral oil, with scores of Undulate Ray egg cases, and where a small clump of Goose Barnacles, Lepas anatifera, were my first identified arthropods of the year. |
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20
January 2016
There
were at least half a dozen Little Grebes
on Widewater and one of them surfaced with s 3-spined
Stickleback (my second fish of the year)
in its beak.
19
January 2016
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Widewater was still as a mill pond, but hosted no birds of special interest under a clear blue sky. A Redshank waded in the shallows of the lagoon and probed in the mud. The family group of eight Mute Swans were all asleep in a small grassy back garden. A British Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus petrosus, scrambled amongst the minimal beach vegetation in mid-afternoon above the high tide mark on the shingle. Similarly, there was very little activity on the mudflats at low tide by the Toll Bridge at Old Shoreham. A hundred mixed gulls and a couple of Little Egrets making cursory attempts at fishing was the best on offer.
7 January
2016
A
drake Goosander
arrived on Lancing Widewater Lagoon in the morning and has been observed
chasing the Red Breasted Mergansers
already there.
6
January 2016
Widewater
was like a millpond, still and clear giving reflections despite the rapidly
fading light under a cloudy sky in the later afternoon. There were ducks
on the lagoon but the darkness set in so early that even through the binoculars
I could not discern their markings. From the behaviour I surmised they
were Teals,
ducking their heads under and rumps upward.
4 January
2016
A
tired Gannet
was down the Widewater brought in by the storms.
3
January 2016
After the four adult little gulls off shore at Widewater in the morning I returned this afternoon and in better viewing conditions saw again four adult Little Gulls, now foraging in the rolling breakers among countless Black-headed Gulls.
From
behind a beach hut by Widewater I saw four adult Little
Gulls including three together along the
shoreline at 09:52
and a Great Skua
all flying west.
