Suffolk’s coastline I believe is one of the most stunning I have ever encountered. I may be a little biased considering I was born here and have returned to live here but I do consider myself very well travelled and Suffolk’s beaches are without a doubt my favourite place to be. I love to enjoy the warmth of Suffolk’s shingle stones on my feet and then dipping my toes into the frothy water to get a chilling contrast! As I stare out to sea I like to imagine a map and think of myself as on the exact point of where the blue meets the green! But my undoubted favourite part of the beach is the stunning and diverse wildlife you get there.
This summer I have been lucky enough to spend many days down on the beach at Minsmere and I have been amazed by the huge variety of species that also spend their time on and around our shingle shores. Every day on the beach I have encountered seals both common and grey swimming close to the shoreline, numerous butterflies, wasp spiders and adders in the dunes and plenty of bird species flying over the beach and feeding offshore. One of the most bizarre sightings I had was a bat flying in the midday sun right over my head. I didn’t quite believe it until I was informed by one of our knowledgeable guides that there is actually a migratory species of bat.
The family summer activity which allowed me this precious time was a beach scavenger hunt. As a child I remember scavenging along the beach in search of items which would always be considered as treasures to me. We would often head to the beach after a big storm to see what had been washed up, our best find being a huge rope ladder which served as our tree house access for many years to follow. Before starting this summer activity I took a trip to the beach to see what items I could put onto the scavenger hunt list. It saddened me to think that one of the items I was certain every child would find was a piece of rubbish and so I made the decision to put a container on the beach to collect rubbish in when running the activity and it was utilised by many of the families without me even asking.
This weekend (16 – 19 September) you have the opportunity to do something amazing for nature by taking part in the Great British Beach Clean. It is a national scheme organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and is the UK contribution to the International Coastal Clean –Up. At RSPB Minsmere we are all too familiar with the problems rubbish can cause to wildlife so have signed up to be an organiser for this year’s event. We will be running the beach clean between 10 am and 4 pm on Saturday 17 September from the end of North Wall towards Sizewell. Anyone can come and volunteer to pick up some rubbish along our stretch of coastline between these times. As little of as much as you can do will all be greatly appreciated by the wildlife here and those unseen that are also affected by beach litter.
If you still need some convincing, here are some astonishing facts from Beachwatch Suffolk Results 2015.
On average, 99 bottles were found per kilometre of beach cleaned.
The number of wet wipes found on beaches has risen by 31% since 2014.
The number of balloons found on beaches has increased by 11% since 2014. Balloons and their associated strings have a huge impact on the wildlife by entanglement and indigestion.
And finally, some photos I took over the summer of some of the stunning wildlife found along our coast.
We will also be doing more beach art on Saturday 17 September, why not come and join in?
Great photos, Amy. I agree that the Suffolk coast is absolutely stunning - I'll try to get to my local beach clean this year.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.