Rockpooling

at KINGSTON BEACH, SHOREHAM-BY-SEA
with Andy Horton

The purple numbers (in brackets) are the locations on the map above

 
2019
 

10 April 2019

As the sun cast strong shadows, the local young Common Seal hauled on the slipway on Kingston Beach and just lazed around at high tide for at least a couple of hours in the afternoon. In the chilly north-east breeze, the seal attracted about a dozen visitors at any one time including children at half term. 
BMLSS Seals

8 April 2019
At Kingston Beach I enjoyed great views and opportunities for photographs of the local Common Seal.

Seal Picture Report by Sean Stones

  
2018
 

19 June 2018

English Stonecrop

I made an impromptu passage visit to Kingston Beach at high tide as the sea lapped against the concrete by the Lifeboat Station. I noted the following plants in flower on a beach where shingle defences had obliterated patches of plants: Mayweed, Oxford Ragwort, Groundsel, Curled Dock, Common Mallow, Ribwort Plantain, the groung-hugging Scarlet Pimpernel, English Stonecrop, Biting Stonecrop, Black Medick, and non-flowering Great Lettuce, Sea Beet, Orache etc.
Adur Stonecrops

2017

16 September 2017

Common Knotgrass, Polygonum aviculare
This could be  Polygonum arenastrum
Kingston Buci Beach

2016
 

20 September 2016
An early morning start to see an Little Egret fishing in the very muddy shallows on the low (0.5 m) spring tide receding past the Chart Datum tide marker: the fish eating bird probably had a good feed as there were hundreds of hundreds of edible-sized Edible Prawns, Palaemon serratus, large enough to eat. 

Long-legged Spider Crab, Sea Mat (Bryozoan), Brittlestars
Hairy Porcelain Crab, Brittlestar 

There was very little else: notably two two small Long-legged Spider Crabs Macropodia rostrata, one soft shelled largish (for the shore, 80 mm wide) Edible Crab Cancer pagurus, under a large rock, a small (35 mm) juvenile Bullhead, Taurulus bubalis, two Oysters Ostrea edulis, one Hairy Crab, Pilumnus hirtellus, two medium-sized 5-Bearded Rockling, Ciliata mustela, as well as the usual tiny Long-clawed Porcelain Crabs, Pisidia longicornis, and at least one slightly larger Hairy Porcelain Crab Porcellana platycheles clung on the underside of boulders as expected. Small Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas were frequently seen. There was something of exceptional note which could be easily overlooked underneath a large rock mid-tide (3) and that was a few tiny white Brittlestars. The tiny shrimp Athanas nitescens was seen in the pools under rocks a few times. 

6 June 2016
There was so much silt (from the dredging) that Kingston Beach was not only no good, but actually dangerous. I did record two adult and large Oysters, a large Eel under a boulder and a few Common Gobies, and one small Brown Shrimp. Crangon crangon.

2015

3 June 2015
The tide did not go out nearly far enough and the conditions were too rough, so I left just with a full sized adult Blenny, Lipophrys pholis, and a juvenile for Adur World Oceans Day 2015. 

20 May 2015
The early morning sea water was surprisingly clear (as was the sky) after the gales of the preceding two days. Hundreds of edible-sized Edible Prawns, Palaemon serratus, large enough to eat. The small fish under rocks were three juvenile Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, two Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus and a Common Goby, Pomatoschistus microps. One spirally corded Dogwhelk Nucella lapillus was noted. 

16 January 2015
Five Mute Swans cruised in the still waters at the entrance of Shoreham Harbour viewed from Kingston Buci Beach. One swan seemed to be exceptionally aggressive, but the target swan did not seem to unduly intimidated. 

2014

9 September 2014
A Little Egret fished in the very muddy shallows on the low spring tide receding past the Chart Datum tide marker. Just one first year Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, was netted and a very small Bullhead, Taurulus bubalis, but it was mostly and exceptionally scores of young Common Gobies, Pomatoschistus microps, plus hundreds of small prawns and two Brown Shrimps, Crangon crangon. Young first year Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus, were very frequently found under rocks and boulders with just one juvenile Blenny, Lipophrys pholis, and a single elongate Butterfish, Pholis gunnellus. 
 

Dogwhelk	Dogwhelk feeding on a Mussel	Sand Mason tube

There were quite a few of the larger Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas. Tiny Long-clawed Porcelain Crabs, Pisidia longicornis, were seen on the underside of rocks and boulders. Three small Common Hermit Crab, Pagurus bernhardus, occupied Periwinkle shells by discarded empty Netted Dogwhelk shells. 

4 July 2014
 

Edible Crab	Common Mallow

12 June 2014
There were plenty of Edible Prawns, Palaemon serratus, and juvenile Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, and Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, at Kingston Beach at the Chart Datum tide marker. Not much else though except the inevitable Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas.  A very small fry of the Sand Sole, Pegusa lascaris, was unexpected from the sandy shallows. Some of the haul were collected for Adur World Oceans Day 2014. 

15 May 2014

Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops

At low tide on Kingston Beach the churned up water was loaded with silt and contained thousands of the miniature Sea Gooseberries, Pleurobrachia bachei, that appeared as globular transparent blobs in the prawn net. Near the Chart Datum tide marker, I caught scores of smallish prawns Palaemon elegans in the shallow sea, with two young Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, two young Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, and an adult, and two first year Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops. 
BMLSS Prawns & Shrimps

7 March 2014

Harbour Porpoise
Photograph by Louisa De-Ville on facebook

A Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, was washed ashore dead on Kingston Beach at the entrance to Shoreham Harbour. The stranding occurred in the morning and it had been removed by the high spring tide around midday. 

Report by Louisa De-Ville on facebook

BMLSS Cetaceans
Whales & Porpoises in British Seas
 

23 September 2013
On the incoming incoming equinoctial spring tide, there were a few large Edible Prawns, Palaemon serratus, and juvenile Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, and Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, in the large prawn net below the Chart Datum tide marker. I also picked up a Common Hermit Crab, Pagurus bernhardus,  in a periwinkle shell. from in the sand and an Edible Crab Cancer pagurus, from under a large rock. A Little Egret stalked the shallow pools at mid-tide level on Kingston Buci Beach (4) but it flew off immediately at my approach.

31 August 2013
A Seal was seen in the entrance to Shoreham Harbour at Kingston Beach.

Report by Ashley Paul Richards on facebook

 

29 June 2013  A Little Egret stalked the shallow pools at mid-tide level on Kingston Buci Beach (4). It was surmised that it was successfully feeding on prawns in the muddy pools and a photograph revealed this to be the case. At least half a dozen prawns were caught in as many minutes as the Little Egret lunged forward repeatedly. Often it had to adjust its head to capture prey hiding under shelter of rocks and boulders.

Little Egret

25 May 2013
An Adur World Oceans Day 2013 collection visit to Kingston Beach produced a largish (for the shore) adult Bullhead, Taurulus bubalis, and a Common Goby, Pomatoschistus microps, plus hundreds of small prawns.

19 May 2013
An adult Blenny, Lipophrys pholis, was the only capture of note when the tide did not recede past the Chart Datum tide marker. It was measured with a length of 185 mm excluding the tail fin.. It was grey in colour. It weighed exactly 2 oz. That is only 56.7 grams though.

20 August 2012

Below the High Tide Mark

An early morning mussel collecting visit to Kingston Beach on a low spring tide found the unprecedented frequent (30+)  occurrence of very small Common Starfish Asterias rubens on the underside of rocks just above Chart Datum. One fully grown Bullhead, Taurulus bubalis, was noteworthy and there was one Edible Prawn, Palaemon serratus, large enough to eat. The small fish under rocks were juvenile Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, and Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus. 

2 June 2012
With a week to go before Adur World Oceans Day 2012, I made a late afternoon trip on a low tide of 0.8 metres (above Chart Datum) to Kingston Beach, to collect some specimens for the exhibition. Access to the best prawning spot was inaccessible by land so I had to make do with sweeps of the prawn net frequently capturing first year and bigger Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, three sub-adult Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, and two very small > 20 mm ones,  one first year (born 2011) Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, numerous small prawns Palaemon elegans, and one damaged Moon Jellyfish, Aurelia aurita. Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas, were frequent as expected including a female with eggs. Some of these were caught in the net and the only biggish crab under the rocks and boulders was an Edible Crab, Cancer pagurus. However, the most notable discovery was a Worm Pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis, under a rock.
BMLSS Worm Pipefish

7 May 2012
A short trip to Kingston Beach on a cool evening low spring tide produced a sparse mobile fauna including two small Common Starfish Asterias rubens on the underside of the larger boulders with a chiton Acanthochitona crinita and a Sting Winkle Ocenebra erinacea as noteworthy discoveries. One small Edible Crab, Cancer pagurus, and at least one Hairy Crab, Pilumnus hirtellus, were noted with small prawns only in the pools.
 

Chiton, Tunicate (=Sea Squirt), Edible Crab (small) and Common Starfish (small)	Hairy Crab

Juvenile (first year) Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, were frequently found under boulders on the estuarine (west of the Lifeboat Station) part of the beach (7). 
BMLSS Starfish
BMLSS Molluscs

30 September 2011
An early morning visit (7:50 am - 9:20 am) caught the turn of the tide (7:51 am) which had receded past the Chart Datum Gauge (1) on Kingston Beach. Under the few large boulders just above Chart Datum, I discovered the expected Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas, one small Edible Crab, Cancer pagurus, frequent small Squat Lobsters, Galathea squamifera, occasional small Hairy Crabs, Pilumnus hirtellus, a few small Common Starfish Asterias rubens on the underside, and a handful of small Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus, in the muddy puddle depression. One scarce discovery was a single specimen of the sea anemone Sagartiogeton undatus, attached to a pebble under the largest boulder. Very frequently tiny Long-clawed Porcelain Crabs, Pisidia longicornis, were seen on the underside of rocks and boulders. 
 

One scarce discovery was a single specimen of the sea anemone Sagartiogeton undatus, attached to a pebble under the largest boulder. The anemone discovered had its tentacles completely retracted and it needed a keen eye to spot the inconspicuous anemone.  It has been discovered on Kingston beach before.

Winkle shells scuttling across the sand were about eight small Common Hermit Crabs Pagurus bernhardus. 
The prawn net landed hundreds of small prawns, Palaemon, and when the incoming tide reached about one metre on the gauge small fish were included in the net: juvenile Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, which were returned, very small Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, fry which were mostly returned and one horizontally striped Ballan Wrasse, Labrus bergylta, Too tiny to be caught in the net a Worm Pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis, swam/wriggled next to the Irish Moss hanging from the metal groyne at Chart Datum. A few Long-legged Spider Crabs Macropodia rostrata, crawled over the black netting. 
At mid-tide level (4), I only lifted a couple of rocks to find one very small Blenny, Lipophrys pholis. In a mid-tide pool next to the pipeline (8)  50+ small gobies darted to and fro with one fully adult Rock Goby that darted under a boulder and was netted when the boulder was lifted. It was returned to the pool. The smaller gobies were not captured but were thought to be juvenile Common Gobies. Pomatoschistus microps, 
Oysters and Dogwhelks Nucella lapillus were noted. 
BMLSS Rockpooling
BMLSS Rock Pool Fish
BMLSS Molluscs

28 September 2011
It was dark by the time I arrived to meet the dusk low spring tide below Chart Datum (1) on Kingston Beach. In the first prawn net dip in shallow water netted four juvenile Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, which were returned. Later one very small Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, fry and two small Long-legged Spider Crabs Macropodia rostrata, were found in the net. There was a small Common Starfish Asterias rubens, on the underside of a boulder and at least two small Squat Lobsters, Galathea squamifera, but it was really too dark on a moon less night and I went home early. 

30 August 2011
A Little Egret stalked the shallows on a low spring tide. But there were only small prawns and two juvenile Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, netted near Chart Datum (1) on Kingston Beach. A few Squat Lobsters, Galathea squamifera, and a very small Common Starfish Asterias rubens, hid under boulders. A Tern dived into the calm sea and an Oystercatcher flew overhead before landing on the sand and then flew away squawking. 

17 May 2011
Conditions on the low spring tide at Kingston Beach were inimical to rockpooling because of the black silt near Chart Datum. I did catch a few large Edible Prawns, Palaemon serratus, a very small Common Starfish Asterias rubens, prised from under a rock, a small sea anemone Sagartia troglodytes on the underside of a boulder, a small Common Hermit Crab Pagurus bernhardus in a Periwinkle shell; and I noted frequent large Dogwhelks Nucella lapillus, and their eggs and some of them were very large for the species and included a brown specimen. 

22 April 2011
At the last minute I decided to postpone my shrimping trip and make a visit to Kingston Beach on a 0.63 metres low tide. There was very little to discover: 

Only one large Edible Prawn, Palaemon serratus, and a small adult Rock Goby, Gobius paganellus, were noteworthy.

19 April 2011
 On Kingston Buci Beach (at the entrance to Shoreham Harbour) an adult Sand Smelt, Atherina presbyter, got stranded alive in a mid-tide shallow pool (6) as the tide receded to Chart Datum.  It had a dozen dark blotches over its streamlined body. I netted the 14 cm long fish and released it into the sea and watched it swim of into deeper water. Its survival is unlikely without the rest of the shoal. Otherwise, the rockpooling trip was a very poor result with about ten small Edible Crabs, Cancer pagurus, the only thing that would be small enough for the aquarium. Dogwhelks, Nucella lapillus, had returned with their egg cases frequently seen on rocks all over the shore. 
 

25 March 2011 An adult Blenny, Lipophrys pholis, was discovered at mid-tide level on Kingston Beach.  Common Mouse-ear (a tiny wild plant) was seen in flower above the high tide mark.

---

11 August 2010
A very quick visit to Kingston Beach to collect a few mussels and I spotted scores of Rock Goby, Gobius paganellus, fry darting around in the highest shallow pools by the groynes plus a single large Snakelocks Anemone, Anemonia viridis, in an equally shallow pool. This anemone is unusual on the shore at Shoreham.

26 May 2010
On a tide that was a metre or so above Chart Datum, I caught half a dozen juvenile (first year) Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, and three Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis, in the prawn net. 

1 February 2010
There was a large range of seven metre tides measured by WXTide at Shoreham Harbour (Kingston Beach), from 6.9 metres high to minus 0.1 metres below Chart Datum. 
BMLSS Tides

---

22 September 2009
At the early morning 0.5 metre equinoctial low spring tide at Kingston Beach (entrance to Shoreham Harbour) there was a patrolling Little Egret, a Grey Heron feeding as the tide came in around the Chart Datum mark, and two Cormorants, at first fanning their wings and then actively searching for fish and prawns.

An Eel, Anguilla anguilla, was discovered under a rock and in the mid-tidal pools under the wooden groyne, I netted one 5-Bearded Rockling, Ciliata mustela. As the tide came in there were a few small Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis and occasional very small first year Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, two emerald green first year Ballan Wrasse, Labrus bergylta, with mostly small prawns, and one tiny Squat Lobster Galathea squamifera, and a few Common Hermit Crabs, Pagurus bernhardus, one in a Periwinkle shell. Very small (25 mm) first year Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, and Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus, were very frequently to be discovered in the saucer-like pools under both small and large rocks. 
BMLSS Rockpooling

18 September 2009
A rather hurried visit on the low spring tide to Kingston Beach only recorded small prawns, but there were a few small Bullheads, Taurulus bubalis and two first year Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops, in the large prawn net at the Chart Datum mark. There was also a tiny Long-legged Spider Crab, Macropodia rostrata.

17 September 2009
The Worm Pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis, caught in June 2008 died in my home aquarium, probably killed by the Rock Goby or large prawns. 

10 September 2009
An early morning low tide visit to Kingston Beach, Shoreham with Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd, to film the Blenny sequence for a TV four programme series called The Seasons with Alan Titchmarsh, recorded the expected Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, a large Rock Goby, Gobius paganellus, half a dozen large Edible Prawns, Palaemon serratus, and a notable young green Ballan Wrasse, Labrus bergylta.

26 May 2009
An early prawning expedition captured a meal of large Prawns Palaemon serratus, at the Chart Datum marker, plus a few edible-sized Brown Shrimps, Crangon, and a couple of very small Blennies, Lipophrys pholis. 

25 May 2009
A brief rockpooling foray in the early morning to Kingston Buci Beach, east Shoreham, was much more productive than the previous day.  A more promising start was found with frequent (enough for a meal) large Prawns Palaemon serratus, at the Chart Datum marker, and in the prawn net came a capture of a Corkwing Wrasse, Symphodus melops , an adult Blenny, Lipophrys pholis, and two smaller ones, with a medium-sized Bullhead, Taurulus bubalis. Turning a few rocks uncovered a small Edible Crab Cancer pagurus, two juvenile Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus,  two more Blennies, and at least one of the tiny shrimp like crustacean Athanas nitescens. Oysters and the usual molluscs were present. I noted the largest expanse of the eggs of the Dogwhelk, Nucella lapillus, since I began recording on this beach in 1979. This was clear evidence of recovery since TBT pollution. A few (at least two) large grey specimens of this gastropod were seen on the mussel beds. A few live Cockles were lying about the surface of the sand. A Little Egret was feeding on the tideline to the east. 
The purple variety of Goat's Beard was just beginning to open in flower on Kingston Buci Beach.

---

23 June 2008
A Snakelocks Anemone, Anemonia viridis, seen in the pool underneath the second groyne (5) was unusual for this beach. 

3 June 2008
A small Worm Pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis, wriggling under a rock on Kingston Beach, was an unusual discovery on this or any local shore. In the mid-tidal pools under the wooden groyne, I netted one 5-Bearded Rockling, Ciliata mustela. Occasional  small Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, and one small Edible Crab Cancer pagurus, hid under rocks with hundreds of tiny Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas, scuttling everywhere with a few adults under rocks. The tiny shrimp Athanas nitescens was seen in the pools under rocks a few times.
Previous Report of a Worm Pipefish
British Marine Life Study Society
 

31 May 2008

6 May 2008
A low spring tide brought very frequent small prawns, a few small Blennies, Lipophrys pholis, and a few small Rock Gobies, Gobius paganellus, under rocks, mostly at mid-tide level. 

30 April 2008
A young Red Fox was discovered lying dead on the shingle on Kingston Beach. 

Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden

 

Kingston Beach Reports 2 007

Link to Kingston Rockpooling 2006

Lighthouse