Seals, Snakes and Long-shore Drift

Back in November the children from Stoke Heath Primary school spotted this young Common Seal in the Dwyryd estuary near Borth y Gest. It would have been born during the summer, probably further along the coast of the Llyn Peninsula. Single pups are born on tidal rocks or sand banks and are able to swim and dive from birth.The other species of seal seen around our coast is the Grey Seal.The Common Seal can be distinguished from the Grey Seal by its smaller size and short muzzle with a concave profile between forehead and nose. Also the closely set nostrils form a V as clearly shown in the photo. Another unusual encounter occurred higher up the estuary when a canoeing group from Ernesford Grange school came across a huge wooden sphere, almost a metre in diameter, partially submerged in the river channel. Unbeknown to the students they had discovered a work of art on a journey through the landscape! The journey began in the 1970s when a local sculptor, David Nash, carved the giant ball from a huge fallen oak in woodland near Dol y Moch. When completed, the ball was rolled into the nearest stream with the idea of following its progress and interaction with the environment over time. I well remember watching its eventful journey down the stream over the years as I often visited that tributary  stream with groups of students studying freshwater biology. People from all over the world would come to photograph the ball on it's journey as David Nash is a world renowned artist. Eventually the ball was washed into the River Dwyryd to begin its journey to the sea and beyond. Over the intervening years there have been many sightings as the ball was moved by the ebb and flood of the tide, but it  would also disappear for years on end. So, by finding it, I think that the students from Ernesford Grange have made a significant contribution to the history of the Giant Ball! 

Tremadog Bay from Criccieth with the Rhinog mountains in the background.  November 2013

When the wind is light and from the east  Tremadog Bay looks like this..........a mill pond. On Christmas Eve the scene was very different. Gale force south westerly winds heaped the sea into large  destructive grey waves that battered the coastline. It is at these times that whole beaches can be swept away together with the sea walls they protect. A beach is a very important front-line sea defense structure. Criccieth beach, shown in the foreground, has a series of groynes ( wooden barriers) that prevent the beach from being swept away. Waves crashing onto a beach  pick up the sand and pebbles, moving them sideways along the shore line.This process is called Longshore Drift. Longshore drift on Criccieth beach (foreground), and Harlech beach (background) moves beach material from right to left, both converging on Blackrock Sands (far left in the photo).
The groynes on Criccieth beach trap the eroding sand and pebbles and so maintain the beach. The beach in turn  protects the Sea Wall, Guest houses and Hotels behind it. Next time you spot a groyne at the seaside, check the beach level on both sides: the highest side is the side collecting most transported material and therefore faces the direction of Long-shore Drift.

Moving inland now to my compost heap! I recently had a pleasant surprise when I discovered the remains of a snake skin (shown below) on the end of a bramble shoot that I  pulled out of the heap. Snakes periodically moult their skin which can be used to identify the species to which it belonged.

The three native snakes in Britain are the; Grass Snake, Adder or Viper and the Smooth Snake. The latter species is very rare and confined to southern England. Therefore, the skin must have come from either a Grass Snake or Adder. Checking the shape of the preanal belly scale indicated that it came from an Adder, a very beautiful creature.

REMEMBER!
A bite from an Adder(Viper) is rarely fatal.
Keep calm.
Get help.
Avoid vigorous activity and never  cut or suck a snake bite.