seashore safari - marine conservation society · explore the seashore with the marine conservation...
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Explore the seashore with the M
arine Conservation Society
Stretching around 16,000km, the
coastline around the British Isles is a huge playground for everyone to enjoy.
Follow the M
CS Seashore Code and enjoy the coast, w
ithout harm to
yourself or wildlife.
Photos supplied by: Paul Naylor, Jack Sew
ell/MBA
, Fiona Crouch, Richard H
arrington/MCS, Ryan Tow
nley/MCS, Jo Jam
ieson, Sean Clark, A
ndy Hay/RSPB-Im
ages, Nola Barker,
Andy Pearson, A
lan Jones and Stuart Askew
.
Seashore illustration: Claire H
amm
ond (clairieham@
hotmail.com
) w
ww
.claire-hamm
ond.co.uk
Produced with generous support from
516-2016
I se
e se
ash
ells
on the
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shore
on the
sea
shore
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ells
I se
e se
ash
ells
I se
e se
ash
ells
on the
sea
shore
I se
e se
ash
ells
I se
e se
ash
ells
I se
e se
ash
ells
I se
e se
ash
ells
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e se
ash
ells
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e se
ash
ells
on the
sea
shore
on the
sea
shore
on the
sea
shore
on the
sea
shore
Do
you
know
you
r bar
nacl
es fr
om y
our
limpe
ts o
r you
r hor
nwra
ck fr
om y
our
blad
derw
rack
?
Can
you
spot
a s
ande
rling
, sta
r� s
h or
sea
po
tato
with
out a
sec
ond
glan
ce?
Wel
l, if
you
like
scou
ring
the
shor
elin
e fo
r bi
ts o
f drif
twoo
d an
d sh
ells
or h
ave
ever
w
onde
red
at th
e na
tura
l tre
asur
es th
e tid
e br
ings
in b
ut a
ren’
t sur
e w
hat e
very
thin
g is
, the
n th
e M
CS S
eash
ore
Safa
ri G
uide
will
re
veal
som
e of
the
secr
ets o
f the
stra
ndlin
e.
The
stra
ndlin
e - t
he to
p bi
t of t
he b
each
w
here
man
-mad
e an
d na
tura
l obj
ects
w
ashe
d up
on
the
wav
es a
re le
ft a
s the
tid
e re
cede
s - is
a p
lace
of w
onde
r and
fa
scin
atio
n.
Take
the
MCS
Sea
shor
e Sa
fari
Gui
de w
ith y
ou
ever
y tim
e yo
u he
ad to
the
beac
h an
d se
e ho
w m
any
seas
hore
trea
sure
s you
can
� nd
.
You
can
delv
e de
eper
into
the
wor
ld o
f fas
cina
ting
fact
s an
d in
trig
uing
info
rmat
ion
abou
t the
cre
atur
es o
f the
sho
re a
nd a
ll th
e w
ork
we
do a
t ww
w.m
csuk
.org
© M
arine Conservation Society (MCS) 2016. A
ll rights reserved. Registered Charity N
o: 1004005 (England & W
ales); SC037480 (Scotland).Com
pany Limited by G
uarantee No: 2550966.
Registered in England VAT No: 489 1505 17.
Marine Conservation Society,
Overross H
ouse, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye
Herefordshire H
R9 7QQ
01989 566 017 W
ww
w.m
csuk.org facebook.com
/mcsuk
twitter.com
/mcsuk
Seashore Safari Guide
Seashore CodeExplore responsibly
Leave animals w
here you � nd them.
Carefully lift and replace any rocks you m
ove and leave attached seaweed in
place.
Seashells nurture an interest in nature am
ongst children, so if you want to take a
couple home only take em
pty open shells (like lim
pets and mussels) and leave the
shells that can provide a home for herm
it crabs (like w
helks and periwinkles).
Keep it tidyTake your rubbish hom
e - don’t bury it or burn it.
Poop scoop your dog’s waste then bin it
responsibly.
Watch with careW
atch quietly from a distance, especially
near birds and seals with pups.
Control your dog and keep it on a lead near birds and seals.
Mind your stepKeep to established paths and dune boardw
alks.
If you dig holes in the beach, please � ll them
up again.
Don’t clim
b up or go near the top or bottom
of a cli� .
Check tide times to avoid being cut o� .
Keep away from
soft sand and mud, and
beware of slippery rocks.
Keep it tidy
© N Fryatt
© Stuart Askew
© Stuart Askew
© Stuart Askew
© Stuart Askew
© Paul NaylorProt
ectin
g ou
r sea
s, s
hore
s an
d w
ildlif
eO
ur se
as a
nd sh
ores
are
hom
e to
am
azin
g w
ildlif
e,
vita
l � s
h st
ocks
, and
giv
e en
joym
ent f
or e
very
one.
Bu
t too
man
y � s
h ar
e be
ing
take
n ou
t, to
o m
uch
rubb
ish
is g
oing
in a
nd to
o lit
tle h
as b
een
done
to
prot
ect o
ur th
e se
as a
roun
d th
e U
K.
MCS
wor
ks ti
rele
ssly
for h
ealth
ier s
eas a
nd
abun
dant
wild
life
– an
d yo
u ca
n he
lp u
s ach
ieve
ou
r vis
ion
of se
as �
t for
life
.
Beach
watch
Regu
lar b
each
cle
ans
that
hel
p us
id
entif
y w
here
rubb
ish
com
es fr
om
and
how
to s
top
it.
Sea C
hampion
s A
net
wor
k of
act
ive
volu
ntee
rs
who
cha
mpi
on th
e se
as o
n be
half
of M
CS.
Marine
life sig
hting
scheme
sIf
you
are
luck
y en
ough
to s
ee
bask
ing
shar
ks, t
urtle
s or
jelly
fi sh,
us
e ou
r onl
ine
wild
life
sigh
ting
surv
eys
to re
port
them
to M
CS.
If yo
u di
ve, y
ou c
an ta
ke p
art i
n un
derw
ater
Sea
sear
ch s
urve
ys.
Good
Fish G
uide
Cont
act u
s fo
r a p
ocke
t Goo
d Fi
sh G
uide
, or d
ownl
oad
our
smar
tpho
ne a
pp to
hel
p yo
u ch
oose
sus
tain
able
sea
food
- v
isit
ww
w.g
ood�
shg
uide
.org
Join us
As
a ch
arity
we
rely
on
dona
tions
an
d su
bscr
iptio
ns to
car
ry o
ut o
ur
vita
l wor
k. B
y be
com
ing
a m
embe
r yo
u w
ill b
e su
ppor
ting
the
UK’
s le
adin
g m
arin
e co
nser
vatio
n ch
arity
–
visi
t ww
w.m
csuk
.org
/join
to fi
nd
out h
ow.
© Paul Webster
Explore the seashore with the Marine Conservation Society
BARNACLES These animals live upside down, permanently stuck to the rock with their legs sticking upwards ready to catch drifting food.
COMMON LIMPET A snail with a homing instinct! It grazes on algae while the tide is in and returns to the same spot, called a home scar, when the tide retreats.
SLIPPER LIMPET Accidentally introduced to England from North America and now found in huge numbers. It has no predators in Europe.
COCKLE Cockles spot predators using their many antennae and eyes. By extending their ‘leg’ outside the shell, they can jump around 10cm.
RAZORSHELL Shaped like an old-fashioned cut throat razor, these animals live buried end-up in the sand.
DOG WHELK Meat-eating sea snails that drill holes into limpets, turn their insides into soup and suck up the yummy contents!
COMMON WHELK A large edible sea snail, twice the size of the dog whelk, the empty shell makes a good home for hermit crabs so please leave these shells on the shore.
COMMON WHELK EGG CASES Pu� y balls of white eggcases laid by the common whelk. Used to be used by sailors as wash balls!
CUTTLEBONE Cuttle� sh aren’t � sh at all, but are molluscs related to squid and octopus. This structure once gave the shape to the cuttle� sh body.
SEA POTATO A heart shaped sea urchin adapted for burrowing. It lives just below the surface on clean sand.
MERMAID’S PURSE Egg cases of dog� sh, skates and rays, which attach to seaweed with entwining tendrils and often wash up once the animals have hatched.
COMMON STARFISH The familiar � ve arms and usual orange colour are unmistakable. They move with their tube feet and eat with their stomachs inside out!
HORNWRACK Remains of a colony of hundreds of tiny animals called bryozoans, or ‘moss animals’. It has a distinctive lemon-like smell when fresh.
BLADDERWRACK The small air-� lled bladders along the fronds help this seaweed to � oat towards the surface of the water to photosynthesise.
KELP HOLDFAST Curious oddments that can look like skeleton sections, but each is simply the holdfast, or ‘roots’ of large seaweeds known as kelp.
DUNLIN The dunlin is the most widespread and common wader in Europe. It has a slightly down-curved bill and a black belly patch in breeding plumage.
SANDERLING These birds can be spotted running up and down the shore as each wave comes in. A winter visitor to the UK.
HERRING GULL These cheeky fellows with the red spot on their beaks are found along most coasts and are easily attracted by a bag of chips!
OYSTERCATCHER Striking black and white plumage with long bright orange-red bills, oystercatchers eat a third of their body weight every day.
SNAKELOCKS ANEMONE These anemones can have up to 200 tentacles! Their tentacles remain out all of the time, they don’t retract them like other anemones.
BEADLET ANEMONE Has a band of “beads” around the top of its body, hence the name. When the tide goes out they retract their tentacles so they won’t dry out.
BRITTLESTAR These guys have a small central disk and long slender arms which they can self-amputate if being attacked and then regrow once the wound heals.
PINK SEA FAN SKELETON Although they look like plants, pink sea fans are actually colonies of coral that are made up of animals whose hard skeletons run through the fan.
PAINTED TOP SHELL A tall shell with stripes of purple and white in a striking conical shape. The body of this “snail” is also colourfully � ecked with purple, red and brown.
PURPLE /FLAT TOP SHELL This shell is a � attish cone shape with stripes of reddish purple.
COMMON SHORE CRAB A common rock pool or shallow water species. Males have a triangular shape on their stomachs - females a semi-circular shape.
SANDHOPPER This shrimplike creature lives amongst seaweeds on the beach, they are found hopping around when the tide is out.
MOON JELLYFISH Mostly harmless, though may sting sensitive skin. Jelly� sh are the favourite food of the leatherback turtle.
EDIBLE CRAB This pinkish brown crab has chunky claws and its shell looks like a pastry crust.
ROCK GOBY Gobies are often confused with blennies but they have two distinctly separate � ns on their backs whereas blennies only have one back (dorsal) � n.
VELVET SWIMMING CRAB Its upper shell has a feeling of soft velvet and its blood red eyes and aggressive demeanor have given it the common name “Devil Crab”.
COMMON BLENNY These � sh can change colour to blend in with their surroundings. They have sharp teeth for crunching barnacles o� rocks.
Seashore Safari Guide
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Seashore Safari Seashore Safari Seashore Safari Seashore Safari Seashore Safari Seashore Safari GuideGuideGuide
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