October, 2004 - British Shell Collectors' Club

Page 10PALLIDULApractice. Sloshing, wading and hobbling over rocks to “work” the beach. What surprised the teamwas that the rocks were covered in huge swathes of seaweed. I became quite adept at swinging upover the rock to peer at ledges and sides looking for treasure. However, mostly I found crabs as theyhad yet to disappear with the water. Then once the tide had moved, suddenly I was able to findCalliostoma zizyphinum, Ocenebra erinacea, Trivia monacha as well as the usual Monodonta lineata.The gastropods were out in their masses. Beached at the top of the shore were many yellow andmulti-coloured Littorina obtusata and other micro shells. Strangely though, there were very few bivalvesto be found. Derek and John said often they would be left in the sandy channels, but this timethey were strangely empty. It was a great end to a great trip, and I learned a huge amount fromDerek and John as well as had a huge number of laughs. Any morals? Well don’t try to be first onthe beach, John is already there. And never presume the same shells will be in the same place,because the molluscs keep moving around – and that’s the fun isn’t it, finding out what is there.