Life In The Rock Pools of Treyanon Bay
The UK has a huge variety of marine life living around its shores. Intertidal Zones have always been a favourite area of mine to search for marine life. So a chance to delve into the rockpools of Treyanon Bay was not to be missed.
We spent the early May bank holiday weekend exploring some of Cornwall’s top rock pool beaches. Including Readymoney Cove and Hannafore Beach, which are both on the south coast. This was our only trip to the north coast. The sun was shining, the tide was out and I had missed getting into the sea for a paddle. If you are looking to stay around Treyanon Bay there is a YHA hostel based at the top of the cliff next to the car park. Ideal if you want to make the most of a weekend there. You will find a cafe in the YHA as well as a food stand and small shack selling beach wares in the car park. Other beaches not too far away from Treyanon Bay are Harlyn Beach, Constantine Bay and Porthcothan Beach.
A Rockpooling Hotspot – Treyanon Bay
Heading over to the Padstow area of the Cornish North Coast is always a treat. Stunning coastlines, surfing beaches and popular harbour towns. No wonder it’s so popular to visit. Treyanon Bay is a large sandy beach with high cliffs surrounding it. Below these cliffs are plenty of rocks that have created large tidal pools that you can get into and enjoy. If you start exploring the rocks further, start discovering the rock pools are full of life.
As the rock pools were fairly deep I opted to wear my wetsuit and wetsuit boot. This allowed me to get up close to any marine life and explore the pools that are big enough to swim or float in. Reminder: keep an eye on those tides! The last thing you want is to get stuck or cut off by a fast-moving tide as it comes in.
Marine Life Discovery
I was really excited by the rockpools on offer at Treyanon Bay as they were full of seaweeds and rocks. So perfect hiding places for marine life. Wading into the first pools I started to carefully lift rocks, moving the seaweed, searching carefully for signs of life. Some shrimp were darting around, their translucent bodies making them difficult to follow. In the deeper area, there was a small school of fish swimming above the algae.
Moving aside some of the larger seaweeds and algae uncovered a small common shore crab. Who scuttled out and across to another hiding spot in the pool. Unfortunately for me, these guys were too quick to capture on camera. So pressing on, I headed to the lower shore in search of other species and I found some new species! (For me anyway) Nothing better than finding something you haven’t seen before. How exciting!
The Rock Pool Strawberries
I love anemones, I know a lot of people find them boring, however, there’s more to them than what meets the eye. Also, the colours and patterns always make them a treat to spot on the rocks. So the discovery of a Strawberry anemone hiding in a rock crevice ticks another sighting off my list of ‘Must See Marine Life’
Strawberry anemones or Actinia Fragacea to give them their scientific name, is an easily identifiable anemone. It’s a crimson colour with small green spots looking rather like a strawberry hanging on a rock. Not the smallest of anemones as they have broad bases, which can reach up to 10cm wide. When searching for them look in cracks in the rocks, crevices and under the overhangs as they enjoy living in shaded areas. There is more chance in finding them on the lower shore closer to the sea too.
Along with the Strawberry anemones, I spotted a small Snakelocks anemone all retreated in the lower tide. What makes these distinctive when closed up are the stripes on them. Also, they are a more brown/green tone compared to its fellow Strawberry and Beadlet anemones who are more of a red colour.
Treyanon Bay’s Underwater Rainbows
The usual beach finds of Barnacles and sea snails were very welcome and an easy spot for us all. There were some interesting seaweeds and algae too, again that I hadn’t seen before. More specifically the Cystoseira Tamariscifolia. Otherwise knows as rainbow wrack. A very pretty seaweed which at Treyanon Bay is in shades of blue and turquoise.
The rainbow wrack is more likely to be found on the South West coast in the UK. Mainly on the lower shores of rocky or gravely beaches. When out of the water its a more olive colour and if you find it completely dry its a black colour. However, when in a rock pool or under the sea the rainbow wrack has its blue and green iridescence, all these colours give it its name. This bushy seaweed branches irregularly and can grow quite large with to 60cm, but you are more likely to find them sitting around the 30-45cm range. A nice spot that stands out in the rockpools.
Spotting Sea Hares
The most exciting find for me was seeing the sea hares. Having never seen them before it was fascinating to scramble over to the next rock pool and find it full of small sea hares. The scientific name for the sea hare is Aplysia punctata. They get their name from the little tentacles on their heads as they look like hares ears!
Interesting fact time: the sea hare is actually a sea snail. It has an internal shell which is covered by fleshy ridges.
It is said its colour varies based on the diet of algae it eats. So look out for it in a range of shades including red, brown, olive and green. They are usually quite small in size but can grow to around 20cm. There are a few divers and snorkelers who have spotted them up to 22cm around the South West coast this year!
Related Posts:
Exploring Studland Bay and It’s Marine Life
Rockpooling Afternoon at Kimmeridge Bay
They were a fantastic chance to practice some macro underwater photography. Here is me in action photographing the sea hares. Who said a photographers life was glamorous!! However, the results are worth it as the 2nd photo below was what I captured.
