It was a pleasure to lead a survey and training day at Trevone, on Cornwall's north coast near Padstow, last Sunday. We had a cracking day for weather (rare for this summer!) and a great team of volunteers old and new! And none were disappointed by the choice of location. Trevone rocky beach has a huge area of intertidal rocky shore exposed on a spring low tide. We walked down the shore following the storm overflow pipe until we were at the start of a long reef running north into the bay - With this as our central point we carried out a Shore Thing timed 20 minute survey for key climate change species and discovered that we were on an area with tremendous diversity all around us!
We then carried out a walkover survey - basically a rockpool ramble where we recorded everything we found using cameras and filling in a Shoresearch walkover form. A rocky gully full of large slates was probably the most productive area. Each slate was home to many different species of crab and other crustaceans and there was a huge diversity of seaweeds. there are many large shallow pools some over run by wire weed but many home to high diversity of species including rainbow wrack and ceramium, false irish moss Mastocarpus stellatus and irish moss.
Higher level pools were full of Bifurcaris bifurcata (tuning fork seaweed), and home to Montagus blennies and a butter fish - to slippery to photograph. Jake waded out to a nice overhanging rock which was home to Bugula plumosa and cowries.
It was great that volunteers came from all over corwnall including John Meakin from Looe, Jane Wiltshire and Sarah Stevens from Polzeath, Jake from Hayle and new recruits Bettina and Andrew from Padstow and Alex from Falmouth. It is a great shore and was another great survey! Next ones are coming up in September when we have a week of surveys at all of Cornwalls VMCAs!
